A self-guided mobile audio tour of the Wind River Indian Reservation, written by Fort Washakie School students.
FORT WASHAKIE WY (AUGUST 19, 2020)—The Explore The Wind River Reservation – Part One – the mobile audio tour will officially launch on Thursday, August 20, 2020. Please join Lynette St. Clair, Indian Education Director, and Paula McCormick, Wind River Visitors Council with a ZOOM call briefing on the story behind this innovative tour and its benefits to visitors at 1 pm.
ZOOM link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87164716528
Explore The Wind River Reservation – Part One is the first of a two-part audio tour of the reservation presenting inspiring information for travelers along 61 miles of US Hwy 287 from the Town of Lander WY north to the Rte. 26 junction, 43 miles east of Dubois. The tour features student-produced interviews and stories of the vast 2.2-million-acre Wind River Indian Reservation, highlighting the native Eastern Shoshone peoples who live there, the dramatic scenery, and wildlife of the region. Part Two of the tour will loop east and highlight the Northern Arapaho people, their history and stories, and regional geothermal features.
For visitors traveling through the Fremont County, the Wind River Indian Reservation or contemplating the trip on their way to Yellowstone or Grand Teton National parks, this hands-free, self- guided audio tour is the perfect companion. The free tour guides the traveler through a storied landscape, mixing fascinating stories of the people with an interpretation of the native cultures and key sites to visit. In Part One of the tour, travelers visit the historic town of Fort Washakie, and the gravesite of Sacajawea, the revered Shoshone guide, who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition with her extensive knowledge of the rugged region and her language skills. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the Wind River Trading Company with historical exhibits and learn about Wyoming’s largest Indian powwow and traditional celebration held in June. It is here, at the Fort Washakie School, that students researched and wrote the tours stories to interpret their culture and inform their visitors.
Using GPS technology, all the Explore The Wind River Reservation audio stories reach travelers hands-free on their mobile devices, once downloaded, accessible without cell service, to enhance their appreciation of the Wind River Indian Reservation. Particularly valuable for today’s world is the ease with which the Explore the Wind River Reservation tour can be enjoyed remotely. Virtual travelers can explore the tour as a podcast or go directly to particular sites of interest, hear the audio, and view images.
Explore The Wind River Reservation tour can be enjoyed free of charge by downloading the TravelStorysTM mobile app from the App Store or Google Play Store or at the Fort Washakie School or WindRiver.org.
“We, at the school district, see this program as serving both the traveler and our education giving students the opportunity to learn more about their culture, and practice interview, research, and writing skills. They also saw the great value of building this tour as a way to introduce travelers to the highlights of our beautiful and historic Reservation,” said Lynette St. Clair, Indian Education Director for the Fremont County School District #21.
Paula McCormick, Marketing Director of the Wind River Visitors Council added, “This is the first time that travelers traveling to or planning trips to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks can learn about our native cultures and landscapes on the go with stories told by local people, especially by students. It is a valuable project for our communities as it highlights the Wind River Reservation, which is one of the best assets of the region.” The Wind River Visitors Council informs travelers visiting Wyoming’s Wind River Country, including Dubois, Hudson, Lander, Riverton, Shoshoni, and the Wind River Indian Reservation, and invites you to visit their website for more travel information at https://windriver.org.
The tour has been built by TravelStorysGPS, a Wyoming-based technology company that works with communities to present self-guided audio tours of their destinations and routes of travel across the country. TravelStorysGPS has 36 other audio tours in the State of Wyoming and many more in the nearby states of Colorado, Idaho, and Utah and nationally. Tours are sponsored by educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, agencies, and businesses. “Our mission is to pair the greatest communication tool of our time – the smartphone – with the greatest communication tool of all time – storytelling to enrich the onsite and remote traveler’s experience,” said Story Clark, founder, and CEO of TravelStorysGPS. “Travelers will now be able to discover and enjoy the Wind River Indian Reservation in a new and very accessible way.”
Funding for the mobile audio tour has been provided by Fremont County School District #21, The Wind River Visitors Council, and supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. The Wind River Visitors Council (WRVC) is a Joint Powers Lodging Tax Board responsible for promoting the travel and tourism industry in Fremont County through expenditures of the lodging tax.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Paula McCormick
Wind River Visitors Council
[email protected]
307-332-5546 Office
307-851-1126 Mobile
Contact: Lynette St. Clair
Indian Education Director Fremont School District #4
[email protected]
(307) 349-4527
