Yonder Lies: Unpacking the Myths of Jackson Hole

This is the first episode of Jesse's new show, All This Life Here. If you enjoy the free-flowing nature of this sort of dialogue please head over to the Apple Podcast page for the show and rate and subscribe!

Without a doubt, our community has its work cut out for us in terms of affordable housing now, and in the years to come. Is it possible to create a world where all of our community members can choose to affordably live in Jackson, if they want? What actions are being taken? What changes need to be made?   Thanks to April Norton, Housing Director at Jackson/Teton County Housing Department, Skye Schell at ShelterJH, and and Kelsey Yarzarb for thought-provoking and inspiring interviews!

In this episode, we continue to interrogate the myth of the cowboy, this time through the lens of music history and songwriting! American songster Dom Flemons shares about the history of American folk music and the process behind the creation of his Grammy-nominated album "Black Cowboys."

In this episode, we explore the experiences of Latino community members in Jackson, Wyoming. What's behind (what's up with) the gap between perceptions and reality when it comes to Jackson's demographic? Alina Indracas and Lina Collado share their stories of living Latino in Jackson and how they hope to see Jackson grow into the future.

Hannah talks to Marcia Brownlee, project manager of myth-busting sportswoman group Artemis. They talk about developing an intimate connection to the land and the joys of creating all-female hunting & angling communities. They also dive into the weeds of BLM oil and gas leasing sales in the time of COVID, and the implications of these sales for public lands.

On the slated release date of his new 2020 album Donda: With Child we thought it would be good to tell the story of perhaps the most famous Wyomingite ever. No, we're not talking about Dick Cheney or Jackson Pollock, but Kanye West. In this episode, we cover the story of one of the most talented musicians in a generation. We'll cover where Kanye came from, his upbringing, his vaulting into the musical pantheon, his subsequent resentment of being pigeonholed as only a musical genius, and what his bringing of his Yeezy brand to Cody, Wyoming may or may not mean for the town.

Recently, Jesse sat down (virtually!) with the Executive Director of the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Ben Williamson, to discuss environmentalism, academia, and our historic present moment! This was the first in a series that NRCC will be hosting every other Thursday from 12-1 on Zoom. Enjoy!

This is an extended interview we conducted in February for E2 with Northern Arapaho/Hunkpapa Lakota #MMIWG advocate Lynnette Grey Bull. Obviously, a lot has changed since then...more than you think!

In this episode, we compare and contrast two types of cowboy: the historical cowboy and the mythologized cowboy. How do these two separate realities converge or diverge? And how does the mythologized cowboy course through the blood of Jackson Hole, Wyoming?

This is an episode about a theory: Environmental problems don't exist out there, but inside of us.  We come to see problems in the world when our expectations about how the world should work are not met. Our expectations about how the world should work are shaped by the myths — the patterns of understanding we unconsciously use to understand the world — that live inside of us. And therefore situations we call "problems" arise when our myths fail to explain it, and conflicts often arise over environmental problems when myths are divergent and unrecognized.

There's no doubt that water, and its absence, is an issue deeply stitched into the fabric and conflicts of the American West – and when you start looking into a future where megadroughts are the norm, it gets spooky quick. It's easy to get lost in the science and projections around climate change – so, how can fiction and art help us to better imagine a landscape and way of life drastically different from our present? How can stories create empathy and invoke action in the present? In this episode, Hannah shares an excerpt from her senior thesis The Space is Not Empty, exploring how a West without water would feel, be experienced by a woman named Theresa – by a body, by somebody with memories and family and dreams and sorrows. When a change is so all-encompassing, sometimes it's all we can talk about.

This one should resonate with everyone, given our current global situation with COVID-19. Today we look at the decades-long policy debate over how to best deal with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wyoming, and specifically, on the National Elk Refuge, and even more specifically: in regards to the century-old program of feeding wild elk throughout the winter.  Hang on. It's going to be a wild ride. A cataclysm awaits! Feeding the Problem

Jesse spent the summer of 2018 living in Ten Sleep, WY looking at the ways in which the explosion of rock climbing was affecting the small ranching town. In this episode, Jesse reads a piece he recently published in Sage Magazine about the American rock climbing community, identity, and socioenvironmental conflict and change in the rural West.

Jesse and Hannah talk through some of the implications of COVID-19 on the community in Jackson, Wyoming.

In this interview, Jesse talks with Dr. Justin Farrell of the Yale School of the Environment about wealth in Jackson, Wyoming and his new book Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultrawealthy and the Remaking of the American West.  

Today we are joined by Dr. Justin Farrell of the Yale School of the Environment to discuss wealth in Jackson Hole, and his new book Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultrawealthy and the Remaking of the American West from Princeton Press. Over the course, we try to understand the conditions that have made Teton County, Wyoming the wealthiest county in America and this means for the Jackson community. We also wonder if this is good, and if so, for who?

Content from this interview with Len Necefer, Founder of Natives Outdoors, was used in Episode 3: Indigenous Presents. We hope you enjoy the full conversation!

In this episode, we explore how ski resorts impact the people and land around them. What's behind the mythology of the ski bum? How do tourist economies impact local labor? And how have places like Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Snow King tried to mitigate their environmental impacts as a changing climate threatens the future of winter? We'll also hear from Phil Cameron, Executive Director of Energy Conservation Works, and his perspectives on Jackson's efforts to switch to greener energy sources.

On Monday, February 24, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt told Grand Teton National Park to "step down" with their helicopter gunning. GTNP has already killed some goats, but will not release how many exactly they have lethally removed. As the sun rises on the Tetons on Tuesday, February 25, everyone is in the dark.

More than half a century ago, Idaho Fish and Game decided they wanted to hunt mountain goats so they captured some near Coeur d'Alene and released them into the Snake River Range. Fifty years later, these goats are threatening the extinction of the Teton Bighorn Sheep.  Between the recording and when you'll hear this, nearly 100 mountain goats will be killed by helicopter gunners in Grand Teton National Park. In this episode, we try to understand how it came to this. More info: Working Group Assessment

In this episode, we hear the perspectives of three influential leaders from three different tribes: Jason Baldes (Eastern Shoshone), Lynnette Grey Bull (Northern Arapahoe & Hunkpapa Lakota), and Len Necefer (Navajo). Each will offer their perspective on the through-line from past to present and into the future. We will notice that in many ways this line finds its way following efforts of education, coalition building, and healing. We hope that after hearing this episode listeners will be inspired to get involved with indigenous issues in communities near where they live! For more info on our three guests, visit our website: yonderlies.com!

The stories of Native Americans have long been erased in tellings of the history of the United States and in histories of Jackson Hole. In this episode, we ask: How do we and how should we understand this violent and complicated history? What is true and what is false? And where does the legal relationship between the United States and North American Tribes stand today? This episode is the first of two, diving into the history of the Shoshone-Bannock people in this area and the creation of the Wind River Reservation and the Fort Hall Reservation. We’ll also explore two important Supreme Court cases with their roots in Wyoming, which have shaped the relationship between treaties, land use, and the hunting rights of tribal communities: Ward v. Race Horse and Herrera v. Wyoming. How can we move forward in telling a more accurate story of this landscape today? Recommendations for Learning More: An Indigenous People’s History of the U.S. by Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz Whereas by Layli Long Soldier The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer Dispossessing the Wilderness by Mark David Spence Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt The Modern West, Episode 2: Both/Neither Indian Country Today Native News Online Indigenizing the News   Support the show at our Patreon Page!

The controversial creation of Grand Teton National Park is in some ways the beginning of the culture that still dominates Jackson Hole today: outdoor recreation and aesthetic experience of nature. In this episode, we ask: What is there to do when the same activities that allow people to enjoy the land are also leading to its degradation? How do we reconcile seemingly irreconcilable land uses? Should wealth equate to decision-making power in regards to environmental management? And how do we combat the tendency for cultures of leisure to become cultures of apathy? We will cover the differences between conservation and preservation of land, the US Forest Service and National Park Service, how National Monuments are created and differ from National Parks, and the critical compromises made between the residents of Jackson, Wyoming and the US Federal Government that led to a very unique land management situation in Grand Teton National Park. Become a Jacksonite by supporting the show at our Patreon Page!

Episode 1, "Grand Teton National Park" coming January 19. Subscribe now on Spotify or iTunes!