Wyoming Humanities

05/03/2026

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to honor the diverse contributions and stories of AAPI communities across our nation. In Wyoming, this month holds particular significance as we reflect on our state's unique and complex relationship with Asian Americans, especially Japanese Americans.

The Heart Mountain Interpretive Center preserves and shares the story of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, where more than 14,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Located between Cody and Powell, Heart Mountain was one of ten internment camps established across the United States, and it stands as a powerful reminder of both injustice and resilience.

Today, the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center serves as an essential educational resource, inviting all Wyomingites to explore this difficult chapter of our history and understand its lasting impact on civil liberties, community, and what it means to belong. We encourage you to follow the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center to learn more about their programming, exhibits, and the stories they preserve. More information can also be found at https://www.heartmountain.org/

Heart Mountain Interpretive Center is a 2026 Culture Grows Grantee of Wyoming Humanities.

05/02/2026

🌿 CULTURE GROWS IN LANDER, WY 🌿

Culture Grows Grantee: Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival!

Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival reflects the vision of the founders, Ami Vincent and Alma Law. Their goal was to create an event that inspires readers and writers by giving voice to our shared Wyoming experience. Since its inception in 2020, Bookmarked has grown into a three-day festival with over thirty Wyoming authors in attendance. Bookmarked's vision, mission, and values allow the Bookmarked Board of Directors to continue the founders’ goal of celebrating the art of writing by connecting writers and readers in a supportive setting.

Vision: Bookmarked elevates Wyoming literary arts.
Mission: Bookmarked exists to connect writers and readers and to celebrate the art of writing.
Values: Collaboration, Local, Connection, Celebrating Creativity, Shared Literacy

Now in its seventh year, Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival is a three-day event in Lander. The festival is scheduled for October 9 – 11, 2026 in Lander.

Thanks to our Wyoming Humanities 2026 Culture Grows Grant, Bookmarked is pleased to announce the new Meet a Wyoming Author speaker panel. In May and September, Bookmarked will invite three authors to participate in our evening speaker panel. During the day, the authors will work with students in area schools. Bookmarked will distribute free books to the public through our partnership with Fremont County Libraries. Participating area schools will receive free copies of the authors’ books for the students and teachers. To learn more visit: https://bookmarkedliteraryarts.com

Bookmarked Literary Arts Festival is supported through Wyoming Humanities' Culture Grows General Operating Support Grant.

05/01/2026

May is Wyoming Historic Preservation Month, and we're celebrating the dedicated work of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming.

The Alliance for Historic Wyoming works with individuals, organizations, and state and local governments to identify places that represent Wyoming's history and culture, and to take steps to ensure that these important places survive – respecting the stories of past generations and enriching our lives for the future.

Follow along with the Alliance for Historic Wyoming on their social media channels to discover preservation projects, learn about historic sites, and connect with others who value Wyoming's past.

Join us in celebrating the places that shape our communities and the people dedicated to preserving them.

04/30/2026

Save the Date: Teton Powwow🪶

The 6th Annual Teton Powwow brings together dancers, drummers, artists, and community members for a day of celebration, culture, and tradition.

Powwows are vibrant gatherings that honor Indigenous heritage while fostering community connection and cultural exchange.

📅 Saturday, May 9, 2026 | 10 AM – 10 PM
📍 Snow King Sports & Event Center (100 Snow King Avenue, Jackson)

Everyone is welcome to attend and experience this powerful cultural tradition.

04/29/2026

🌿 CULTURE GROWS IN GREEN RIVER, WY 🌿

History Matters!

The Sweetwater County Historical Museum is housed in the 1931 Green River Post Office building. The museum moved into the historic building in 2000 after being housed in the Sweetwater County Courthouse basement for decades.

The building is a well-preserved example of Neoclassical architecture, constructed under the Supervising Architect for the Treasury Department, James A. Wetmore. The building and its floor plan are typical of many small-town post offices, built throughout the nation under the massive federal building programs of the Depression Era.

The Green River Post Office is representative of the early recovery efforts. It was a product of heightened building efforts built from “Cabinet Sketches” that provided standard floor plans for different size post offices, minimizing drawings needed.

Today the Green River Post Office is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more visit: www.sweetwatermuseum.org

Sweetwater County Historical Museum Foundation is supported through Wyoming Humanities' Culture Grows General Operating Support Grant.

04/27/2026

Since 2018, the Native Voices series has brought together community members, scholars, and tribal leaders to discuss issues facing the Wind River Reservation and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho communities.

Hosted in partnership with the Central Wyoming College Institute of Tribal Learning in Riverton, the series encourages deeper understanding, respectful dialogue, and stronger relationships between Native and non-Native communities in Wyoming.

📅 2026 Native Voices: Honoring Indigenous Ways
May 5–9, 2026
Jackson, Riverton, and the Wind River Reservation
cwc.edu/native-voices/schedule-of-events

04/27/2026

🌿 CULTURE GROWS IN GREEN RIVER, WY 🌿

Behind the Scenes!

A few years ago, the museum’s mission was revised to include “presenting natural history” to the broad collection plan for the museum. Prior to this change, they focused mainly on collecting and preserving human history and the artifacts that go along with this. When an opportunity arose to get a donation of full-sized taxidermy mounts in the Fall of 2025, museum staff members Laura Dale and David Mead worked with the donor to get these animals to Wyoming.

The donor, Alan Baier, owns and operates the Little Creek Ranch in Colorado. The ranch specializes in big game hunts of elk, deer, and bison. The museum is very thankful to Alan and his team for considering a donation to a museum of his collection. Because of his generosity, the wildlife mounts can continue to educate and bring joy to people for many years to come.

In mid-November, hoping that the weather would hold out (little did they know, winter would still not have shown by March), Laura and David packed down to Fruita, Colorado where the donor had the wildlife mounts. After a long drive, they arrived to pick up a bull moose, bull elk, buck and does of pronghorn and mule deer, wolverine, swift fox, Canada goose, and American badger. With the help of friends and family of the donor, these animals were carefully packed into a UHaul truck.

After a long drive back to Green River, staff called in reinforcements from the board to help unload this menagerie into the museum’s storage space. More recently, Jane Meiter and Laura worked to clean the animals. After years in the donor’s collection space and a 4 hour drive, they had gotten a little dusty. Luckily, besides dust, the collection is in amazing condition.

Prior to the generous donation, the museum held no full-mount animals except a lonely beaver. The natural history collection of the museum has increased tenfold because of this new donation, and the museum is very excited to create spaces to display them in the future. To learn more visit: www.sweetwatermuseum.org

Sweetwater County Historical Museum Foundation is supported through Wyoming Humanities' Culture Grows General Operating Support Grant.

04/25/2026

🌿 CULTURE GROWS IN GREEN RIVER, WY 🌿

Achievement Roll Call!

The Sweetwater County Historical Museum and Museum Foundation both host educational events and exhibits that appeal to a wide range of audiences in the region.

Each March, the museum partners with the Sweetwater County Quilters Guild to host an annual quilt exhibit. In 2026, the theme is Shelter and quilters produced 18-inch-wide quilts to go on exhibit in March and April. In the past, the exhibit featured blankets, clothing items, and much more!

Every year in May, the museum hosts the 3rd Grade History Fair. Over the course of a week, all the 3rd graders in the county, nearly 600, come to the museum for a day full of historical reenactments, butter churning, railroad demonstrations, and a museum tour. The museum partners with many volunteers to bring this event to life and it wouldn’t be possible without them. Students learn from people who work in the mining, ranching, and railroad industries about how they shaped Sweetwater County, and get to see reenactments from a mountain man and Native American perspective, plus tour the museum with a museum staff member.

Each October, the museum partners with BRIDGES for Community and Unity to create a celebration of Día de los Mu***os, the Mexican holiday of Day of the Dead. The celebration includes an exhibit with an ofrenda, or altar, and a community event where families are invited to learn about the holiday through dance, food, music, and much more. In 2025, a new exhibit featuring the dresses and outfits of the traditional folklorico dances was displayed through the end of Hispanic Heritage Month to Día de los Mu***os in November.

The Sweetwater County Museum Foundation has been active lately in hosting events in conjunction with the museum to teach people about the county’s history. These and many other events are designed to cater to the interests of a wide variety of audiences. From children and families to history buffs and creatives, the Sweetwater County Historical Museum and Museum Foundation wants to share the story of Sweetwater County with everyone. To learn more visit: www.sweetwatermuseum.org

Sweetwater County Historical Museum Foundation is supported through Wyoming Humanities' Culture Grows General Operating Support Grant.

04/24/2026

📚 Closing out National Library Week

Carnegie libraries continue to shape communities across Wyoming, evolving over time while remaining spaces for learning, creativity, and connection.

🏛️ Featured: Rock Springs Public Library, Rock Springs
(Now the Rock Springs Public Library and Community Fine Arts Center)

Funded by a $12,500 Carnegie grant in 1907, the Rock Springs library opened in 1910 in a sandstone building designed in the Neoclassical style. Sweetwater County is the only county in Wyoming with two Carnegie libraries, located in Rock Springs and Green River.

Over the decades, the building expanded and adapted to meet community needs. In the 1970s, it was joined with a former LDS church and transformed into the Rock Springs Library and Community Fine Arts Center. Today, it remains part of the Downtown Rock Springs Historic District.

🔎 Explore more Wyoming Carnegie libraries:
https://historicwyoming.org/profiles/cowboy-carnegies/

04/23/2026

📚 Happy World Book Day

Mark E. Miller’s A Sometimes Paradise: Reflections on Life in a Wyoming Ranch Family was selected as Wyoming’s 2025 Great Reads from Great Places adult title and showcased at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC.

In this memoir, Miller reflects on growing up on a Wyoming ranch, sharing stories shaped by the challenges and beauty of ranch life and the deep connection between people, land, and family in the American West.

📖 Watch the Wyoming Center for the Book’s conversation with Miller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zlHFoi3pjM

04/22/2026

📚 Celebrating National Library Week

Carnegie libraries were designed to be more than places to store books. They were spaces for learning, gathering, and civic life. Built to reflect the community's importance of knowledge.

🏛️ Featured: Cheyenne Public Library, Cheyenne

Funded by a $50,000 grant in 1899, the Cheyenne Carnegie Library opened in 1902. Before its construction, the city’s library was housed in a single room inside the Central School.

Designed by the architectural firm Patton, Fisher and Miller, with supervising architect William Dubois, the new building included a 240-seat auditorium, an art gallery, club rooms, and space for up to 50,000 volumes.

The building became a central gathering place, remembered by many for its grand staircase and the sense of importance it inspired. It served the community until it was demolished in 1971.

🔎 Explore more Wyoming Carnegie libraries:
https://historicwyoming.org/profiles/cowboy-carnegies/

04/20/2026

We are so proud of Board Member Scotty Ratliff and all of his work on Tribal Government: Wind River Reservation over the years. Purchase your copy today: https://thinkwy.org/programs/native-narratives/ -government-book

And HUGE thanks to the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund for a grant to purchase three copies of Tribal Government: Wind River Reservation for every high school in the state. Accessibility to information is essential for a broader understanding of our world.

For decades, Shoshone member and former legislator Scotty Ratliff worked to explain the tribal government on the Wind River Reservation. He's now revived…