Rose Ann Abrahamson is a member of the Shoshone- Bannock Tribe, and a familial descendent of Sacajawea. In this photo, Abrahamson tells the story of the “doe-gwo’ah pah-do-up,” a tale of a reptile that created Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. (Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun)
This year marks 100 years since Craters of the Moon was first designated a national monument and preserve by the federal government. But long before that designation, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe lived and stewarded the land, and shared many tales of its origin.
At a ceremony – dedicated to a new interpretive trail honoring the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe at Craters of the Moon – with the National Park Service on Friday, Rose Ann Abrahamson, a member of the Tribe and descendant of Sacajawea, shared the Tribe’s oral history behind the volcanic monument.
Embracing Tennambo’i: The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Connection to Craters of the Moon
Among the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, it was said that long ago on salmon eater lands there lived a “doe-gwo’ah pah-do-up,” a snake-like reptile that nested in southern Idaho, Abrahamson said. One day, the creature moved and curled itself around a small mountain.