The Indians Should Be Mad

Yellowstone National Park: The pinnacle of the American wilderness. A symbol of the rugged American frontier. A uniquely beautiful place. A great money-making scheme for the government.

Now before I launch into one of my expected rants, I must tell you some about Yellowstone. This national park is so much for than just some mountains and trees protected by the law. Yellowstone is truly a unique place—complete with natural formations found nowhere else on earth. The thing most people probably think about first is geysers—the Old Faithful geyser to be more specific. Geysers, thermal pools, hot springs, and some crazy almost indescribable formations all can trace their beginnings back to lava activity right under the surface. As we were hiking around the thermal pools, the mist, brilliant colors, and extremely odd looking formations had me all but convinced I had left the planet. The landscape looked exactly like something out of C.S. Lewis’s space novel Out Of The Silent Planet. I really thought I was dreaming as I wandered through the misty trails. This mysterious natural phenomenon has been capturing the imagination of men and women for years.

Speaking of years, the Yellowstone area has a rich history. For almost 10,000 years various Indian tribes inhabited the land. The Sioux, Crow, Blackfeet, and countless other ethnic groups lived, worked, and hunted in the modern Yellowstone area. Now we must remember, this was back when the land was free, pure, and undefiled. This was before. Before the white man drunk on the liquor of manifest destiny came to rape the virgin land. Before our great “Christian Nation” forced hundreds of thousands of Indians into far less impressive reservations. Before Yogi the bear. That was before.

Now. Now Yellowstone is “protected” for tourists to come and marvel at natures wonders from the safety of precut hiking trails. Now the Indians are far enough away to not cause any trouble. Now you have to pay a $25 entrance fee just to enter the park. Now they sell wood for $6.80.

I hope you have caught on by now. If I was an Indian from any of these aforementioned tribes, I would be pretty ticked off (to put it mildly). To have an experience even slightly similar to that of my ancestors, it would cost me. For those keeping score at home I have broken it down:

• Entrance Fee: $25
• Camp-Site: $20
• Wood+Kindling (gathering not allowed): $9.15

So in the same land where camping and exploring was once encouraged and free, it now costs $54.15 for a similar night’s experience. Yellowstone is a dazzling and marvelous place, and I am completely grateful that it is being protected for future generations to enjoy. I’m just doing my part to help you think and question. It might not be like it was back when the Indians ruled the area, but at least you can get an old faithful sweatshirt now…if you want to cough out $30.