By Journal Staff

East Idaho is expected to be pounded by winds of up to 45 mph on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory warning the public about the powerful gusts, which will likely reduce visibility via blowing dust, cause rough waters on local waterways and make driving a vehicle difficult.

The winds will be strongest between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The gusts are going to hit hardest in lower elevation areas, such as Rexburg, Rigby, Idaho Falls, Ammon, Roberts, Shelly, Firth, Blackfoot, Aberdeen, Fort Hall, Pocatello, Chubbuck, American Falls, Craters of the Moon and the Idaho National Laboratory.

The winds are being caused by an approaching cold front, according to the weather service.

Anyone planning to travel on the region’s interstates Tuesday is being told to use extra caution.

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal
Dancers make the grand entry at a previous Shoshone-Bannock Indian Festival. This year’s event will take place Aug. 10-14.

By Journal Staff

FORT HALL — The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes will hold their 53rd annual Indian Festival at Fort Hall from Aug. 10 to 14 with the theme this year being “An Experience Like No Other.”

The crowning of the new Miss Sho-Ban for 2016-17 will take place Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. Four contestants are vying for the title this year: Emerson Edmo-McArthur, Courtney Morgan, Taylor Haskett and Kalley Trahant.

Haskett is a sophomore at Idaho State University and the daughter of Russell and Bobette Haskett. Edmo-McArthur is a professional photographer and the daughter of Hank Edmo-McArthur and Nicole Thurman Snow. Morgan is a sophomore at ISU and the daughter of Darla Morgan. Trahant is working full time but plans to take veterinary medicine in the near future. She is the daughter of Torey Trahant and Carol Arrowch.

The festival will include local and nationally known drum groups, international competition of powwow dancing and singing contests, a free cultural buffalo and salmon feast, the Indian Relay races, traditional kids games, two parades and a co-ed softball tournament.

There will be more than 65 cultural and contemporary arts and crafts vendors and 25 food vendors participating in the festival.

The events will include, a golf tournament, a one-day skate jam, a fun run, the Indian Nationals Final Rodeo, junior-senior rodeo and bull riding.

The event schedule for the entire festival is available online at www.shobanfestival.com and the festival Facebook page, under forthallfestival.

Indian relay races at the Fort Hall rodeo grounds will kick things off on Aug. 10 at 5 p.m. The Miss Shoshone-Bannock competition will begin at 6 p.m. in the dance arbor with traditional food available at 6 p.m.

On Aug. 11, the junior-senior rodeo will start at 9 a.m. in the arena and admission is free. There will be a children’s parade starting at Fort Hall Elementary at 10 a.m. and ending at the festival arbor. Arts and crafts vendor booths will open at 10 a.m. featuring Native American handicrafts including beadwork and jewelry. A free barbecue will be held at the arbor beginning at 1 p.m. It is sponsored by the Fort Hall Housing Authority.

Thursday evening at 7 p.m. the Miss Sho-Ban talent show will be held at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center at 7 p.m.

Friday’s events begin with the festival pageant at the dance arbor with the TZI-tsi Princess, Future Princess, Little Princess and Festival Princesses participating at 11 a.m. The Indian National Finals Rodeo will take place in the rodeo arena beginning at 1 p.m.

The free traditional buffalo and salmon feed will take place at the white tents near the arbor at 4 p.m.

The Miss Sho-Ban competition will continue at the dance arbor beginning at 5 p.m. with the crowning of the winner at 6 p.m. followed by the grand entry.

The invitational Bull Riding Mayhem event will take place at the rodeo grounds at 8 p.m.

The Festival Fun Run/Walk will begin at 7 a.m. Aug. 13 at the Fort Hall softball field. At 5 p.m., there will be more Indian relay racing at 5 p.m. and the INFR rodeo continues at 7 p.m.

On Aug. 14, the final day of the festival will feature an 11 a.m. finish to the INFR Rodeo and the final grand entry at the dance arbor at 1 p.m.

East Idaho Interagency Fire Center
Firefighters battle the Lone Pine Fire east of Fort Hall Monday.

By Michael H. O’Donnell, modonnell@journalnet.com

FORT HALL — Winds hitting 25 miles per hour drove the Lone Pine Fire east of Fort Hall seven miles in one day Sunday. But firefighters had the wildfire 40 percent contained by noon Monday, according to U.S. Forest Service public information officer Logan Linnan.

The fire did spread to about 9,200 acres by Monday, but no structures were immediately threatened or destroyed, Linnan said. No one was injured. He said because of the continuing windy conditions in Southeast Idaho, it’s difficult to say when the fire will be 100 percent contained.

Fighting the wildfire involved 200 people and 26 engines at one time. The DC-10 tanker and two smaller single-engine planes, as well as two helicopters, were involved in air support in the fire suppression effort.

In addition, the firefighting efforts involved an 11-man smokejumper crew and a 22-man hand crew from the Targhee area, according to Linnan. Two shifts of firefighters remained on the fire Monday.

Linnan said a backfire set Sunday to stop the fire from spreading south of Simplot Road was successful and stopped the flames from spreading further south toward Mount Putnam.

Despite the success, some residential properties located south of the Lone Pine Fire remain listed as threatened. Linnan said there have been no evacuations.

Linnan said a thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon brought numerous lightning strikes to the mountain range about eight miles east of Fort Hall along Simplot Road not far from the old Gay Mine. Smoke was first reported at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Resources from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, including Fort Hall Fire and EMS, were the first to respond. Their efforts were bolstered by resources with the Bureau of Indian Affairs range management, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Snake River Hot Shots.

Bulldozers and engine units attacked the quickly spreading fire.

Linnan said the terrain was extremely steep, especially on the east side of the range where the fire originated.

All firefighting efforts were staged off Ross Fork Creek Road about a mile from the fire area.

“Crews are working diligently with tribal resource officers to protect and preserve cultural and natural resources,” Linnan said.

Three other fires brought responses in Caribou County Sunday and Monday.

A lightning-caused fire located five miles north of Grace burned sagebrush and grass. Resources were able to contain the fire Monday at 2 p.m. Airtankers and a helicopter helped aid in suppression efforts. The fire started off State Highway 34 and the cause of the fire under is investigation. The 203-acre blaze was later fully controlled and firefighters were released from the site, according to the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center.

A brush fired that burned about 15 acres near the Monsanto plant north of Soda Springs on Sunday afternoon rekindled and grew in size Monday afternoon. Caribou County Sheriff Adam Mabey said federal resources joined the effort to contain that fire Monday afternoon so it wouldn’t advance into nearby grain fields.

Authorities said the fire is well over 100 acres and as of 9 p.m. Monday it was not contained and was still burning out of control. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management firefighters were on the scene and battling the blaze with Caribou County firefighters.

The sheriff said a Sunday afternoon haystack fire reported on Yost Road south of Bancroft was controlled, but will remain smoldering for some time.

By Shelbie Harris For the Journal

Former Fort Hall Elementary School Principal Brenda Honena pleaded guilty Tuesday in United States District Court to stealing over $9,463 worth of fundraising money.

Officials in the Blackfoot School District 55 discovered certain suppliers for fundraisers had not been paid dating back to 2012.

An investigation launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Hall Police Department revealed that Honena, 52, of Blackfoot admitted to spending the money for her personal use and did so without authorization.

Honena is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

“At that time, the judge will have a pre-sentence report that will be done by the United States Probation Office,” said Jack Haycock, an Assistant United States Attorney in Pocatello. “The report will include information on her background and the crime itself.”

The charge of theft from an organization receiving federal funds is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Haycock said the judge will have calculations regarding the sentencing guidelines provided by the United States Sentencing Commission. And although it’s not normally something that’s part of the process, he can access credit reports and other financial statements during that process.

Honena was employed as the principal at the school and initially denied taking the money.

However, in a later interview with special agents from the FBI, she admitted to stealing the money and being responsible for the entirety of the missing funds.

Though U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced information about the case Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Pocatello indicted Honena months ago on February 23, 2016.

“We will frequently speak with the defendant and their defense council before any indictments in an effort to resolve the case or to get a plea agreement,” Haycock said. “That process frequently accounts for some of that delay.”

Additionally, Haycock said the type of fundraising event that raised the money and the way in which it was spent is unknown.

Brian Kress, the Blackfoot School District 55 superintendent, said Honena worked for the district for about five or six years before being investigated.

“We have a contract service that through fingerprints does a full background check,” Kress said.

The case became a federal issue because the Blackfoot School District 55 receives at least $10,000 in federal funding, and the amount of stolen funding was more than $5,000.

“The law states that if you steal money from an organization that gets federal money to run the organization then we don’t have to prove it was actually federal money that was stolen,” Haycock said. “It’s just a crime to steal money from a federally funded organization.”

Paul Gritton
Farmer Kyle Wangemann uses his tractor to create a fire break ahead of the flames during Monday’s wildfire north of Soda Springs.

By Journal Staff and wire reports

Kyle Wangemann has more experience in farming than firefighting, but that didn’t stop him from pitching in to help when a wildfire near the Monsanto plant north of Soda Springs rekindled into a larger blaze on Monday.

Wangemann, who is part of the family-owned Clodhopper Farms, said he initially drove a tractor and disc out to create a firebreak in front of their barley fields on the east side of a hill. But then firefighters asked him to continue his work. He ended up creating a firebreak along the entire east side of the hill from the north to the south end and he helped in other areas, too.

Though photos taken at the scene show the flames not far from where he was working, Wangemann said he wasn’t concerned.

“I was ready to help any way I could,” he said.

Still, Wangemann noted that he wasn’t alone in his efforts. Neighboring farmers were also creating similar firebreaks and others on his family farm were doing their part to protect their crops and stop the fire.

Eric Hobson, Caribou County’s director of public safety, said the farmers’ efforts did make a difference.

“It gave us a place that slowed the fire before it entered the fields,” Hobson said.

Firefighters with Caribou County, Soda Springs, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service were then able to use their own equipment and resources to reinforce the firebreaks and put out the blaze by 10 p.m. on Monday.

“Our goal was to get it stopped as quickly as possible,” Hobson said, adding that there were multiple crops, high-voltage power lines and homes in the area.

Thanks to the firefighters’ and farmers’ efforts, none of the fields or structures were damaged. The fire burned 365 acres, but it was mostly brush, Hobson said. He added that they continued to work in the area and monitor it on Tuesday.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Other wildfires also continued to burn on Tuesday.

Firefighters expected to have the lightning-started Lone Pine Fire east of Fort Hall contained by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, said U.S. Forest Service public information officer Logan Linnan. That fire was still estimated to be 9,200 acres in size.

Linnan said the blaze, which began on Saturday afternoon, did not cause any structural damage or injuries.

Multiple resources from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, including fire, EMS, Fish and Game, transportation and public safety personnel, have responded. Their efforts have been bolstered by resources with the Bureau of Indian Affairs range management, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and Snake River Hot Shots among others.

“The support from Tribal leadership has been outstanding,” Linnan said.

Officials have reopened roads to the public, but they are asking drivers to be cautious. There are still fire engines and water tenders in the area, according to Linnan.

Firefighters also responded to a brush fire along the railroad tracks between Pocatello and Inkom on Tuesday afternoon.

That fire was reported at approximately 4 p.m. on a stretch of land off W. Old Highway 91 between the railroad tracks and the Portneuf River.

Crews with the Pocatello Valley Fire Department and Union Pacific were able to contain the fire, with most of the flames being extinguished by 5 p.m. However, there was a small flare-up involving a patch of weeds later in the evening.

Officials said the fire was contained at 7 p.m. and that they expected to have the flames completely extinguished by Tuesday night.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No homes or structures were damaged, and there were no injuries.

On Tuesday morning, firefighters were able to quickly extinguish a grass fire off Interstate 15 in Pocatello.

That fire occurred between I-15’s Pocatello Creek exit and the Clark Street exit.

Lynn Ballard, fire information officer with the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center, estimated that wildfires have covered 14,500 acres in the area so far this year.

But that doesn’t include wildfires in other parts of the state.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, based in Boise, six wildfires in Idaho have burned more than 121 square miles in 2016. Only California has had more wildfires burn more land this year than Idaho.

In Lowman, a state highway reopened Tuesday morning after being closed by a wildfire for more than two weeks, and the evacuation level for the small town in mountainous central Idaho was lowered.

Officials opened State Highway 21 south of Lowman to Idaho City after Idaho Transportation Department workers cleared hazard trees along some 25 miles of the road.

Fire officials say cooler temperatures and mild winds Monday and Tuesday helped the 1,600 firefighters battling the 100-square-mile blaze that started July 18. As of Tuesday, the fire had only grown by 989 acres in the last 24 hours, fire spokesman Josh Thompson said.

“This is the first day the increase has been less than a thousand for quite a while,” Thompson said.

Boise County authorities also reduced the evacuation level for about 120 homes in the Lowman area to the lowest level, advising residents to just be alert.

In Yellowstone National Park on Monday, a smokejumper aircraft detected the roughly one-quarter acre Maple Fire located in a large expanse of the 1988 North Fork fire scar, 6 miles east of the Park’s west boundary, and 8 miles northeast of the community of West Yellowstone, according to a news release.

“The superintendent and chief ranger have approved this fire to be managed under a monitoring and point-protection strategy. It will provide fire managers a unique opportunity to study current fire behavior in the 1988 fire scar,” according to the news release.

There were no closures associated with the Maple Fire as of Tuesday.

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal
Idaho Power crews prepare to cut limbs off a downed tree at Pine Street and McKinley Avenue Wednesday afternoon in Pocatello. The tree was one of many knocked down by a wind storm that hit Pocatello and Chubbuck..

By Journal Staff and wire reports

Storms moving through the region on Wednesday led to lightning and strong winds that caused some damage and complicated fire suppression efforts.

Gusts downed trees in the Pocatello-Chubbuck area, one of which blocked the intersection of Pine Street and McKinley Avenue in Pocatello. They also lifted a shed out of a resident’s yard. The structure landed on Pocatello Creek Road near Olympus Drive and was removed by Pocatello police and citizens.

As of 5 p.m. the weather service had not issued any warnings or advisories, though the agency’s daily forecast listed thunderstorms as being possible Wednesday afternoon and evening in Pocatello and Chubbuck.

Meteorologist Bob Survick with the National Weather Service forecast office in Pocatello said the agency did have a 44 mile per hour wind reported at the Pocatello Regional Airport, and stronger gusts could have occurred elsewhere.

There were multiple lightning strikes as well, he said, adding that the bulk of the shower and lightning activity occurred around Pocatello and Soda Springs. As of Wednesday afternoon, he didn’t know if the lightning had sparked any fires because it can take awhile for flames to become visible.

Winds also complicated efforts to suppress the Toponce Creek Fire burning in the mountains near Chesterfield Reservoir in Caribou County on Wednesday.

Logan Linnan with the Forest Service’s Westside Ranger District, said winds of 40 miles per hour made it difficult for the four helicopters involved in water bucket drops, but firefighters still saw some progress. They hoped to have the fire contained by 9 p.m. on Thursday. They still didn’t have an estimated time of control.

The wildfire, believed to have been started by lightning, broke out earlier this week and was approximately 214 acres in size as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center also sent five engines to assist with a fire burning approximately 8 miles southeast of Rexburg in Madison County on Wednesday morning. That fire was estimated to be 30 acres in size.

There were also two new fires involving grain fields on Wednesday afternoon.

Shelley and Firth firefighters responded to a fire just south of Shelley off of Highway 91.

Mike Carter, chief of the fire station in Shelley, said that fire started in a combine and then spread.

No one was injured in the incident, and firefighters were able to keep the flames from reaching the unharvested portion of the field. Still, Carter estimated that the fire covered about 30 acres of stubble.

The combine was destroyed in the incident.

There was also a fire in a grain field in the Fort Hall area between Interstate 15 and Highway 91.

Fort Hall Fire Chief Brian Briggs said that fire also appeared to have started in a combine and it burned approximately 20 acres of stubble. Firefighters there were able to keep the flames from reaching any unharvested grain as well.

No one was injured in the incident, and the combine looked to be repairable, Briggs said.

Fort Hall, Blackfoot, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel all assisted at the scene, and a farmer helped to create a disc line, Briggs said.

In central Idaho, a 125-square-mile wildfire moved to within a mile of Lowman, where residents have been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Fire officials say burnout operations to bring controlled fire into Lowman and a nearby subdivision have been successful in burning fuel around portions of the town.

More residents in the region, including Garden Valley to the west of Lowman, are under a lower level evacuation notice and have been told to make preparations.

Officials didn’t have exact numbers of those facing evacuation, but a previous notice included more than 100 homes. Officials say no homes have been lost.

The Banks-Lowman Road remains closed west of Lowman but State Highway 21 is open.

About 1,800 firefighters are battling the blaze.

More firefighters are being sent to try to put out a new wildfire burning on the west end of Yellowstone National Park.

The fire that began Monday is about 4 miles north of the town of West Yellowstone. The fire has burned only about 180 acres, but officials say its proximity to the town and other issues prompted them to immediately fight it.

Four other fires are burning in the park, but all major tourist areas or roads remain open.

One of the fires is burning near the West Thumb Geyser Basin, but firefighters have kept that to about an acre and are making progress on putting it out.

Elsewhere in Wyoming, firefighters have gained 40 percent containment on fires burning northwest of Cody and southwest of Meeteetse.

By J.D. Wardell, for the Journal

FORT HALL — The Eastern Idaho Democrats are hosting an Our Revolution Kick Off Event on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Event Center in Fort Hall, Idaho. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., the event starts just before 7 p.m. and will continue until about 9:30 p.m. This event is free to the public, and everyone is invited.

Bernie Sanders will be addressing the group via live stream regarding his political revolution and local elections. The group he is founding, called Our Revolution, is dedicated to helping Democrats win local elections. Next Wednesday’s live stream event will be watched by people at Our Revolution Kick Off events all around the country.

The Eastern Idaho Democrats are hosting this event as a way to connect with local Bernie Sanders supporters, grassroots activists, and everyday voters in Idaho looking for change.

Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Bert Marley will be speaking after Bernie Sanders. Marley was a Super-Delegate for Bernie Sanders to the DNC.

“I am excited to meet with local grassroots activists, and talk about how we can move the progressive agenda forward in Eastern Idaho,” Marley said. “The best way to do this is by supporting and electing our local Democrats to the Idaho Legislature.”

Eastern Idaho’s congressional candidates, Jerry Strugil, candidate for U.S. Sentate, and Jennifer Martinez, candidate for House of Representatives, will also address the crowd. Following the addresses, attendees will be able to meet with local candidates, mingle with others at the event, and find out how to get plugged in locally.

You can learn more about this event on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/events/838692799597852 or via the Grassroots Democracy of Idaho’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/IdahoGrassroots. You may also call (208) 380-6433 for more information.

Charly Pongah

By Debbie Bryce, For the Journal

A woman who tried to hand off a baby boy to a witness after crashing her car through a fence on Hiline Road north of Chubbuck Monday morning has been identified as Charly Pongah of Fort Hall.

The baby was a passenger in Pongah’s vehicle.

Pongah, 23, is charged with felony injury to a child, felony driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to purchase a driver’s license and failure to carry insurance.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27 and bond was set at $15,000 for the felony charges.

Pongah was also charged with a warrant out of Bingham County for failure to appear. According to court documents, Pongah was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving without privileges and failure to report striking an object in February in that county.

Bond in Bingham County was set at $5,000.

The child, an 18-month-old boy, was turned over to state Child Protective Services after being injured and abandoned at the scene.

The incident occurred at about 6 a.m. when Hiline Road resident Kellie Burrup said Pongah crashed into her in-laws’ fence across the street.

Burrup’s husband, Lyle, was on his way to work and after the car crashed into the fence, Pongah exited the vehicle and attempted to give him the infant boy.

Kellie Burrup said Pongah then threw the boy on the ground and fled the scene.

There was no car seat in the vehicle, and Burrup said the infant hit the windshield of the vehicle during the crash.

“(The baby boy) was bleeding from his nose and scared,” Burrup said.

Burrup wrapped the baby in a blanket and cuddled him until an ambulance arrived.

Pongah was arrested by law enforcement officers a short time later. The infant’s mother is currently incarcerated in Wyoming and the boy’s father is in the Bannock County Jail.

Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said a hearing will be held within 48 hours regarding placement of the infant. A second court procedure will be held to determine if the court has jurisdiction over the child.

Herzog said if the child is Native American, the tribe will be notified and will be able to intervene in the placement of the little boy in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The incident Monday was the second case involving children from Fort Hall in the past month.

Last month, a Fort Hall woman who videotaped a group of adults smoking pot with her son was arrested and charged with endangering a minor child.

The boy and his brother were removed from that home and placed with an aunt.

Fort Hall police learned about the incident after the video was posted on Facebook on Aug. 20. The post was removed two days later, but not before someone notified authorities.

Two women in the video were arrested the day after the video was posted. They were charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

An adult male seen in the video is currently incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail on unrelated charges.

Fort Hall police have not released the names of the adults in the video.

During the video, an adult can be seen blowing marijuana smoke in the boy’s face twice. On the second time, the boy turns his face away from her.

Courtesy image
This architectural rendering shows the planned casino and bingo hall attached to the existing Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Event Center in Fort Hall.

By Debbie Bryce, For the Journal

FORT HALL — The Fort Hall Business Council has approved a $35 million expansion at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel & Event Center.

The project, dubbed Casino Expansion Phase II, includes a 72,984-square-foot casino that will be directly attached to the existing event center.

The Shoshone Bannock Tribes announced Monday that Ormond Builders, Inc. of Idaho Falls, is the new contractor for the project.

Ormond Builders provided one of several bids submitted and reviewed by the Business Council and the Tribes’ project team. The team includes the Tribes’ finance, planning, TERO/TOSHA, and gaming staff.

According to a press release Monday, the construction agreement includes a one-story new casino, an 8,084-square-foot Bingo Hall, and a pre-function corridor with connected storage.

The pre-function Corridor and storage will be located along the north side of the existing Chiefs Events Center. It will complete functional requirements not started during construction of the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Events Center.

The new Bingo Hall will provide patrons immediate access to the games located on the casino floor, as well as the food and beverage venues.

Ormond Builders will begin construction later this month and an official groundbreaking for the new casino will be held Oct. 17 at noon on the west end of the hotel.

Groundbreaking for the new venue was originally set for early spring, but the project stalled when the original architect, Indian-owned, Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects, of St. Louis, MO, withdrew.

The Council’s unanimous resolution Monday cleared the way for the next phase of the project. And the decision to engage Ormond Builders is an example of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ efforts to promote business opportunities for Eastern Idaho employers, according to Monday’s statement.

The project will add about 90 jobs for a 16-month construction period in Fort Hall and Southeast Idaho, according to a press release in November 2015.

The expansion of the existing Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center will provide a premier entertainment destination throughout the Pacific Northwest, according to Monday’s release.

By Toastmasters International

IDAHO FALLS —District 15 Toastmasters will hold its Fall Conference on Oct. 21-22 at the beautiful Shoshone Bannock Hotel Event Center, in Fort Hall, Idaho. Members of the public are invited to learn more about Toastmasters or may attend the event by visiting the conference website above. Since 1924, Toastmasters International’s non-profit educational program has been dedicated to helping people become better speakers and leaders.

JOSEPH WADSWORTH/SB NEWS
The Fort Hall Indian Health Services took part in the national Rock Your Mocs campaign last week.

JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Elementary school students in western New Mexico are wearing their moccasins. So are students at Northern Arizona University, Purdue and the University of Michigan, as well as government and health officials on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

On the Cherokee Nation, there’s a waiting list for Friday’s moccasin-making class. And on a military base in Afghanistan, a soldier ties a beaded cross around her boot to symbolize her moccasins. Friday was “Rock Your Mocs” Day.

Coinciding with Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., the social media campaign started by New Mexico student Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye has gone global.

The 21-year-old Laguna Pueblo member says the idea was simple — to set aside one day each year to wear moccasins to celebrate the cultures of Native Americans and other indigenous people.

“When someone asks you, ‘What do your shoes represent?’ or ‘What’s the story behind your moccasins?’ there can be endless descriptions,” she said. “They show who you are. They’re an identifier. They can bring unity.”

Randy’L Teton, public affairs manager for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, applauds Atsye’s efforts. She agrees that the event not only draws attention to Native American Heritage Month, but also gives Native Americans a chance to share their heritage with their co-workers and friends.

“I think this is definitely a new way of celebrating Native heritage,” Teton said, adding that it’s a fun event that gets people talking and asking questions about Native Americans. “The event, ‘Rock Your Mocks,’ is part of educating the public that the tribes still exist and thrive and are very much in tune with our culture.”

Miss Northwest Indian Youth Queen Taylor Haskett, Miss Indian Nations XXI Alexandria Alvarez and Miss Shoshone-Bannock L Taylor Thomas encouraged tribal members in Fort Hall to participate in the event this year. Teton said government and health officials there showed up to work with their moccasins on Friday.

Moccasins historically were the footwear of many Native American tribes.

Though their basic construction was similar throughout the country, the decorative elements including beadwork, quillwork, painted designs, fur and fringes used on moccasins varied from one tribe to another. Indian people often could tell each other’s tribal affiliation simply from the design of their shoes, according to the nonprofit group Native Languages of the Americas.

Observers say the Rock Your Mocs campaign is helping to fuel a resurgence of Native American pride.

By Friday morning, a flurry of photographs had been posted on a Facebook page Atsye set up for the movement. On Twitter and Instagram, Rock Your Mocs hashtags showcased hundreds of images, from simple deerskin wraps to knee-high versions adorned with colorful beadwork.

Then there were the mukluks lined with fur, like the ones being worn Friday by Jessica Metcalfe, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa from North Dakota who runs the Beyond Buckskin blog.

“Moccasins can be worn and appreciated by anybody. That’s what’s really cool about it,” she said. “It’s like you’re wearing these pieces of art. They’re all unique.”

Metcalfe and others said Rock Your Mocs is a chance to educate more people about indigenous cultures. In recent months, the headlines have focused on controversies over the Washington Redskins pro football team name and backlashes against Native American-inspired fashion designs that many in Indian Country have found in poor taste.

Atsye said she wants to get away from the “whole racial thing.”

“The only way we’re going to be able to succeed is to move forward and forget all of that,” she said, outlining a string of trying times in Native American history. “We can’t change that. That happened in the past. Let’s focus on the things that we can change today.”

By Debbie Bryce, For the Journal