Day 15 (D-46) Jewel Cave National Monument

This cave was discovered in 1900 and is the third longest cave in the world with over 180 miles of passages filled with fragile formations and glimpses of brillant color.  We won't be getting lost in the cave!   In fact, there are several tours.  The Scenic Tour lasts an hour and twenty minutes...with 723 stair steps, but the

Discovery Tour is an excellent short visit to Jewel Cave.  This 20-minute ranger talk is a brief introduction to Jewel Cave's natural and cultural history, with only 15 steps into one large room of the cave.

When we are there, I'll probably be thinking of the Choranche Cave in the Isère, France and of The Chauvet Cave in Ardèche, France ...without the amazing rock art. I took another group of Uiad students there in April of 2016.

My best,
Jane
PS. For anyone who doesn't know these two caves in France, you must take a look here at the site of the Pont d'Arc Cavern (a reconstruction of The Chauvet Cave).: http://www.cavernedupontdarc.fr/discover-the-pont-darc-cavern/the-pont-d-arc-cavern-site/the-chauvet-pont-d-arc-cave/
Extraordinary.
_____________________________________________
--Quick math again: 180 miles --> add 18 x 6 (108 which means 60%) = 288 kilometres.
--glimpse = a brief or quick view or look

Day 14 (D-47) Custer State Park, Buffalo/Bison

We'll visit Custer State Park in the Southern Black Hills. It's time now for the animals in this part of the US. The park is home to a famous herd of 1500 free roaming bison.  Elk, coyotes, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goats, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, river otters, pronghorn, cougars, and feral burros also inhabit the park. The park is famous for its scenery. 

For now, a few pictures to learn the vocabulary. We'll come back to the buffalo/bison soon, knowing that "All Things Are Connected" (Chief Seattle).  They are a part of the Native American story too and the story of The Great Plains. 

My best,

Jane

Day 13 (D-48) Lakotas / Wounded Knee / Chief Big Foot

The story of the Native Americans is long, complex and sad.  Not enough time here.  For those who would like the full story, I would suggest the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (1970). I finally took time to read it this past summer.  The same story over and over again: wars, massacres, broken treaties, unkept promises, starvation, illness, cold, reservations, sadness, pride, desire to return to their homeland and death.

With so many tribes, it's difficult to remember everything.   We've taken a little look for now at the Cheyenne. At times they were allied with the Lakota and Arapaho, and at other times, enemies of the Lakota. The Lakota come from the Sioux Nation, along with many others.  I'm giving you here the three divisions and the different bands of Indians, if you are curious.  The information in red is what concerns this part of our trip: The Western division (Lakota) in the Black Hills.  

Great Plains Indians were called “Sioux” by French trappers who abbreviated a Chippewa term. The Chippewa were not allies of the Plains people, and the term “Sioux” translates to enemy or little snakes.

Oceti Sakowin  -Seven Council Fires- properly refers to the entire Great Plains tribal system. Within the Oceti Sakowin, there are three tribal divisions, and each division is comprised of bands, who all speak different and distinct dialects.

• Eastern division - Isanti/Santee (Dakota)
  Originally, called Isanti - or Knife Makers - they were also known as the Santee. The eastern division consists of four bands. Members of this division spoke the distinct Dakota dialect.
  1) Mdewankanton - Dwellers by the Sacred Lake
  2) Wahpekute - Shooters Among the Leaves
  3) Wahpetonwan - Dwellers Among the Leaves
  4) Sisitonwan or Sisseton - People of the Marsh




• Middle division - Ihanktown-Ihanktowana (Nakota)
  The smallest division, these Native Americans moved into eastern South Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. The division consists of two bands. In addition to speaking the Nakota dialect, they are known as the Keepers of the Sacred Pipestone.
  1) Ihanktown (Lower Yanktonai or Hunkpatina) - End of the Camp Circle
  2) Ihanktowana (Upper Yanktonai) - Little End Village




• Western division - Tetonwan/Teton (Lakota)
  Made up of seven bands, the western division is the largest division. All members of these bands speak the Lakota dialect. Tetonwans - Dwellers on the Plains - traditionally occupied the area west of the Missouri River; later, they spread out and settled the sacred lands of the Paha Sapa - Black Hills.  
  1) Oglala - Scatter Their Own
  2) Sicangu/Brule’ - Burnt Thigh
  3) Mnicoujou - Planters by the River
  4) Hun’kpapa - Campers at the Horn
  5) Itazipo or Sans Arc - Without Bows
  6) Oohenumpa - Two Kettles
  7) Sihasapa - Blackfeet

After thousands of years of roaming their vast buffalo hunting land, the Lakota people were required to settle on eleven reservations - nine of which are in South Dakota that today make up the Great Sioux Nation.

This is becoming too long.  I don't like to give you too much to read. But I would like to point out on the map of South Dakota a place we won't be visiting, Wounded Knee.  The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Native American reservation. 
The massacre of Wounded Knee occurred on December 29, 1890. 150-300 Lakota were killed there.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre

Spotted Elk (Chief Bigfoot) lies dead, frozen in the snow,

after the massacre of Wounded Knee

My best,

Jane

PS  (https://vimeo.com/112639971 the television film of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, made in 2007) _________________________________________

--over and over again = again and again

--unkept promises = you keep a promise (tenir une promesse)  keep -kept -kept -->  unkept

--starvation = to die from having no food to eat

--to roam = here, to travel purposefully not disturbed through a wide area

--required = it's an obligation

 --to settle = to make their homes

Day 12 (D-49) South Dakota / The Lakota / The Black Hills

We'll leave Wyoming on the third day of our trip to spend two days in our third state, South Dakota, and then return to Wyoming.

A few facts first:

• Capital:  Pierre
• Became a state:  1889
• Population:  815,000  (85% white; 8% Native American) https://suburbanstats.org/population/how-many-people-live-in-south-dakota
• It's named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes.  The Sioux are a confederacy of several tribes--> Lakota, Dakota, Nakota were their different dialects. Lakota and Dakota are different pronunciations for the same tribal name which means "allies".

Click on the map to make it bigger. 

From Wikipedia, Simple English, I'll share this information with you:

The Black Hills are a small mountain range in the Great Plains in South Dakota.

Native Americans have a long history in the Black Hills.  After conquering the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota took over the territory of the Black Hills.

The Black Hills ("Paha Sapa") are the most potent symbol of the tribal connection between spirituality and sovereignty.  The Hills -- named for their dark silhouettes against the horizon -- have long been of spiritual significance to the Cheyenne and the Lakota.  The Lakota have always called the Black Hills "Khe Sapa", "The Heart of Everything That Is."  http://www.gonativeamerica.com/1-DayTours-p1.html  

http://www.republicoflakotah.com/2009/kȟe-sapa-and-paha-sapa-russell-means-response-to-david-swallow/ 

In 1868, the U.S. government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.  This exempted the Black Hills from all white settlement forever.

But, when European Americans discovered gold there in 1874, miners hurried into the area, another gold rush.  The US government broke another treaty and sent the Lakota, against their wishes, to other reservations in western South Dakota.  Unlike most of South Dakota, the Black Hills were settled by European Americans from population centers to the west and south.  Miners rushed there from earlier gold boom places in Colorado and Montana. 

As the economy changed from mining to logging, the tourism industry has grown.  The Black Hills have two areas: "The Southern Hills" and "the Northern Hills".  The Southern Hills are home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Harney Peak, the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies (2,207 m), Custer State Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, the world's largest mammoth research center.

My best,

Jane
___________________________________

--mountain range =  http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/mountain%20range
--to take over =  a phrasal verb, here it means "to take control of something"
--settlement = colonie
--gold rush = la ruée vers l'or
--logging = cutting trees and transporting the logs (rondins) to sawmills (scierie)

Day 11 (D-50) Fort Laramie, A radio Western, a film

Fort Laramie, on the radio and on the screen
Excuse me for this long post with English that will be too difficult for my students.  But I thought you might find it interesting nonetheless.
I never knew that Americans listened to Westerns on their radios before John Wayne became the American hero!  Fort Laramie is a CBS Radio Western series.  Americans could listen to the episodes on Sunday afternoons January 22-October 28, 1956 at 5:30pm ET.
There were 400 soldiers at the fort.  There were nearby towns and settlements and a nearby Indian reservation with 4,000 Sioux camped there.  Major Ned Daggart was in command and he didn't always see eye to eye with Captain Quince.  Daggart had a niece called Terrie Lawson, who had her eye on the Captain.....  
This Western drama depicted the life at old Fort Laramie during the 19th century.
Here's what's too difficult, listening to the radio in English, in 1957!
If you are curious, you can open this site:
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Fort_Laramie_Singles/Fort_Laramie_56-01-22_ep01_Playing_Indian.mp3

Next came the film in 1957.  It's with subtitles.
Revolt at Fort Laramie
A story of "Cowboys and Indians" and Bluecoats.  A part of America's history and fascination with the West. Today, politically incorrect. 
https://youtu.be/YVOvzAz1oww

And here's a short documentary film, but I'm afraid the subtitles are not always correct.  But please take a look.
An interesting 10 minutes. "Echoes From Fort Laramie" --Wyoming's Role in The American Frontier.
https://youtu.be/yDard0_FL1Y

My best, 
Jane
PS There is also a town in Wyoming, to the 50 miles northwest of Cheyenne, which is called Laramie (pop. 31,000).  It's where the former Vice- President Dick Cheney went to the University of Wyoming. (Today 13,000 students.) In the United States, universities have their songs, sung at sports events and for remembering one's alma mater. In Wyoming: Ragtime Cowboy Joe and others.  If you are curious, look and listen here: http://www.uwyo.edu/alumni/about-the-uwaa/songs.html

There is also another television series called Laramie that I vaguely remember.  You can take a look here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhbs3-sAtHs
Another example where the "Indians" are the enemy and are shot, already in the opening scene.
__________________________
-- nonetheless =  "néanmoins"
--ET =  (not the film!) = Eastern Time; there are 4 time zones in the United States, this one is for the eastern states.
-- settlements =  "colonies"
-- to see eye to eye = http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/english-in-a-minute-see-eye-to-eye/3620611.html
--- depicted = showed, "dépeindre" 
--alma mater = the university where you did your studies; also the song of that university

Day 10 (D-51) Fort Laramie

We'll leave the city of Cheyenne on the third day of our trip to head for Custer National Park in the Black Hills, with 400 km to cover this day.   Two stops along the way, to break up the 5-hour drive.
First, Fort Laramie.

The first Fort Laramie as it looked prior to 1840. Painting from memory by Alfred Jacob Miller.

In1834 this outpost was named Fort William.  They traded with the Native Americans.
In 1841 it became Fort John.  That year, the first of many emigrants going west arrived at Fort John.  Tens of thousands of emigrants bound for Oregon, California, and the Salt Lake Valley would eventually stop at the fort.  The traders at Fort John did seasonal business selling to the emigrants the things they needed for their journey. 

In 1849 the US Army bought the fort and the post was officially renamed Fort Laramie, becoming a military post.  As the years went by, the post continued to grow in size and importance.  Fort Laramie played an important role in several treaty negotiations with the Northern Plans Indian Nations.  But there were more and more emigrants arriving, and conflicts grew.  
When the Indian Wars came to an end, Fort Laramie's importance diminished.  The post was abandoned and sold in 1890.  Fort Laramie didn't come to life again until 1938 when it became a part of the National Park System.

Tripadvisor gives you some photos here, for those who will not be traveling with us.  For the group, don't look, if you prefer to wait until June 18th!
https://www.tripadvisor.fr/LocationPhotos-g60809-w6-Fort_Laramie_Wyoming.html#223075143

My best,
Jane
________________________________
--to head to =  Remember, it means "to go in that direction."
--along the way =  http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/along%20the%20way
--to break up the drive =  "couper le trajet", make some stops
--bound for =  headed for, going in the direction of
--went by (to go by: a phrasal verb) = to pass  ("As time goes by", the song from the film Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman!)

Day 9 (D-52) The Beaches of Cheyenne...WHAT???

It's time for a break.  Another song.  Country music.  A musical genre with a story to tell.

Listen to the song, The Beaches of Cheyenne, with the lyrics.

Can you understand why Garth Brooks sings about the beaches of Cheyenne? 

I hope you like Country music as much as I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrIDoZlgVzc

My best,
Jane
_________________________
--lyrics = the words of the song

Day 8 (D-53) Cheyenne, the cowboys, Frontier Days

Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The event, claimed to be one of the largest of its kind in the world, draws nearly 200,000 people every year.  It's the peak tourist season throughout southern and eastern Wyoming and even into Colorado and Nebraska. The ten-day celebration is always at the end of July.  It will be from July 22nd to July 31st in 2017.  We'll miss it, but we'll have an opportunity to see a rodeo later on during our trip.

Take a look here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m9nYh0Shoo

It should be noted that animal protection groups, like SHARK (SHow Animals Respect and Kindness), are against this festival.  Many Americans, like many Europeans with their bullfights, are questioning the traditions of the past.

We will visit the Frontier Days Old West Museum.  As the brochure suggests, we'll travel back in time and relive the western legend. Permanent exhibits include Western horse-drawn carriages and wagons, the history and memorabilia of Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo celebration, local history of Cheyenne, pioneer artifacts and clothing, and Western and folk art.

My best,
Jane
_________________________________________
--draws = attracts, brings in
--artifacts = American spelling; artefacts, British spelling

--folk art = Folk art expresses cultural identity by conveying (transmettre) community values and aesthetics.  It includes a range of functional and decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay (argile), metal and more.

Day 7 (D-54) The Cheyenne, Native Americans

The Cheyenne tribe of Native American Indians were one of the most well known of Plains Indian tribes.  They were often allies of the Sioux and Arapaho but originally they came from Minnesota.  In the early 1800s, they migrated to the high plains, near the Black Hills in today's Wyoming and South Dakota.  They were divided into the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne. 

The Cheyenne tribe were a proud people who valued their freedom and relationship with the created world.  On horses acquired from the Spanish, they hunted buffalo which was the source of many of life’s necessities.  They lived in tepees and they often migrated with the buffalo herds.  Important rituals included the smoking of the peace pipe as a routine custom at council meetings, and storytelling as a way of preserving the past.  The Cheyenne originally called themselves the Tsistsistas, which meant beautiful people. The Sioux, however, referred to them as Cheyenne which means "red talker," or people with a different speech, and it was that name which was eventually adopted.

Their language is part of the Algonquian language and is still spoken by many Cheyenne descendants.  When the gold rush began, the Cheyenne tribe, like many other plains Indians, were eventually forced off their land and put on reservations.  Today, the Northern Cheyenne live primarily in Montana on their own reservation and the Southern Cheyenne tribe resides in Oklahoma.  The 2013 census shows a population of 22,970 Northern Cheyenne and 12,130 Southern Cheyenne.

When the land was their land, here is where the Cheyenne and other tribes lived: 

                                                                Montana

 Wyoming  

                                                                                                    South Dakota                                      

Theirs is a sad story, like the story of all the Native American tribes.  We'll return to them later in this blog.

My best,

Jane
______________________________
--proud =  http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/anglais-francais/proud/604599
--herd =  a group of animals
--gold rush =  mass migration to goldmine

Day 6 (D-55) Cheyenne, the city

We saw that Denver is the capital of Colorado.  Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming.  

In 1867 the place became a railroad terminal town and was named Cheyenne, the name of the local Native American Plains tribe, the original inhabitants of the region.   In fact, it's a mispronunciation of the word which was actually "shai-en-na".

The early town of Cheyenne was the Wild West town you see in films.  It was nicknamed the gambling center of the world. Mayhem and violence were a way of life, with the saloon and the cemetery being the most important places in town!

With the opening of the Black Hills gold fields in 1875, Cheyenne merchants sold provisions and equipment to the miners and prospectors.

In 1869 it became the capital of the new territory of Wyoming and in 1890 the capital of the new state of Wyoming.  In 1890 Cheyenne had a population of 10,000 people.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, sheep raising has been an important industry in the area.

Today's population:  60,000 with 87% being white and less than 1% Native American.

More tomorrow.

My best,
Jane

_________________________
--actually = remember it means, "in fact", NOT actuellement
--mayhem =  violent or extreme disorder; chaos 

--The Wild West = It reminds me of the Westerns I watched on television as a child.  There were many.  Here are two examples:
Bat Masterson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JvXTE2yWZU

The Wild Wild West :   Can you find it on youtube? 

And you?  Did you watch these Western television shows?

Day 5 (D-56) Good-bye Colorado, Hello Wyoming

Colorado became a state in 1876, when the United States was celebrating its first one hundred years.  That's why Colorado is called The Centennial State.  "Colorado" comes from Spanish, meaning "colored red". That name was given to the Colorado River because of the red sandstone soil of the region, and then it was used for the entire territory after the discovery of gold in the Pike's Peak region. First the river, then the territory and after that, it became Colorado, the 38th state to enter the Union.  Today's population is over 5 million, and growing. One of Colorado's nicknames is "Colorful Colorado" because of the magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains.

We'll learn more about Wyoming as we travel through the state.  For now, just a few facts.  Wyoming became a state in 1890.   

Here is some interesting information about its name, and a look at its population.  According to the Wyoming Secretary of State, "The name Wyoming is a contraction of the Native American word mecheweamiing ("at the big plains"), and was first used by the Delaware people as a name for the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania." I read that an Ohio Congressman in 1865 proposed the name ---but later, after coming west to visit the territory, he thought that perhaps he had made a mistake about the name after he saw the dry, wide plains.  Not the green valley of Pennsylvania, but Wyoming does have The Great Plains. Wyoming is called The Equality State (we'll learn why later) and The Cowboy State. 

It is the 44th state, with six more to follow, so it is not the last one.

But it is last in population, with a population of only 563,626 in 2016....that's less than the population of the city of Denver!

Colorado and Wyoming are easy to see on the map; they are both roughly shaped like rectangles.

So, welcome to Wyoming.   

My best,
Jane
___________________________________________
--sandstone =  http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/sandstone
--soil = http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/soil
--Pike's Peak =  4,300m (14,115 feet) mountain in the center of Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains.
--roughly = we saw this word on Day 1 of the blog