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JACKSON HOLE’S ALTERNATIVE VOICE | PLANETJH.COM | JANUARY 4-10, 2017

Wyoming’s hushed history of diversity reveals much about attitudes today on race and discrimination.

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JACKSON HOLE'S ALTERNATIVE VOICE

VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 52 | JANUARY 4-10, 2017

13 COVER STORY Wyoming’s hushed history of diversity reveals much about attitudes today on race and discrimination.

MELTING POT OF THE WEST Wyoming’s hushed history of diversity reveals much about attitudes today on race and discrimination.

Cover photo illustration by Cait Lee

4 THE NEW WEST

20 CREATIVE PEAKS

6 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

22 CULTURE KLASH

8 THE BUZZ 18 MUSIC BOX

23 FEAST 30 SATIRE

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Natosha Hoduski, Carol Mann, Traci McClintic, Sarah Ross, Chuck Shepherd, Tom Tomorrow, Lisa Van Sciver, Jean Webber, Todd Wilkinson, Jim Woodmencey

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January 4-10, 2017

By Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey The month of January in Jackson Hole is usually pretty similar to December, in regards to how the averages look, generally characterized by two words: “cold and snowy”.

January’s average snowfall is very similar to December; December averages 17 inches of snow, January averages 19 inches in town.

The snowiest January ever was in 1969, with 56 inches of snowfall in Jackson that month. That was also the snowiest month ever recorded in the town’s weather history.

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Average low temperatures this week are in the single digits. Record low temps are much cooler. Like we had in January of 1979, with five days in the first two weeks of the month establishing record low temperatures, which still stand today. The coldest temperatures achieved this week are 47-degrees below zero on both January 7th and 8th, 1979.

Thank you to whomever the weather observer was back in 1979 for braving the cold to take those readings!

We often think that the most recent decades have been the warmest in history. In Jackson Hole, however, some of our warmest decades occurred in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The record high temperature from last week was 52-degrees, set back in 1933. This week’s record high temperature is also 52-degrees, and that was set back on January 6th, 1927.

Those records still stand today. Also note that the record low and record high this week are almost 100-degrees apart.

NORMAL HIGH 26 NORMAL LOW 4 RECORD HIGH IN 1927 52 RECORD LOW IN 1979 -47

THIS MONTH AVERAGE PRECIPITATION: 1.5 inches RECORD PRECIPITATION: 4.9 inches (1969) AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 19 inches RECORD SNOWFALL: 56 inches (1969)

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Jim has been forecasting the weather here for more than 20 years. You can find more Jackson Hole Weather information at www.mountainweather.com

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Inconvenient Truths Saving Greater Yellowstone means confronting its myriad elephants in the room.

BY TODD WILKINSON

I

n 1804, President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their expedition known as the “Corps of Discovery” with finding a pathway to the Pacific Ocean from present-day St. Louis.

Based upon sketchy fur trapper intel, Jefferson believed it might be possible to get there and back by water. Lewis and Clark floated up the Missouri River unaware of the formidable obstacle represented by the northern Rocky Mountains.

Two years later, after covering thousands of miles, the explorers returned to Washington, DC with a fairly accurate map of the linear route they circumnavigated.

But when examining their cartography in hindsight today, it is striking how much they missed—or overlooked—in charting the interior West.

Lewis and Clark’s travels via the

Missouri did not often extend more than a few miles, relatively speaking, beyond the river corridor. Lacking an aerial perspective and modern knowledge, the duo’s mapmaking was hobbled by a limited 19th century perspective.

How do we, as denizens of Greater Yellowstone, similarly suffer from our own narrow conceptualization of what the ecosystem is, and where is our own myopia leading us?

As difficult as it is trying to discern things beyond our own ken, it’s equally as daunting trying to make sense of problems right before our eyes but which we choose, for a variety of reasons, to skirt.

Indeed, why not simply play today and worry about the future when it arrives?

Dr. Susan Clark, who has spent 45 years in Jackson, says the British coined an appropriate term. They called it the elephant in the room—the metaphorical idiom for an obvious truth that goes unaddressed. The expression also applies to obvious challenges or risks no one wants to discuss—and to a condition of groupthink no one wants to challenge.

Nex t Monday, January 9, Clark and I invite you to a conversation about some of Greater Yellowstone’s lumbering elephants in the room. The free event in Jackson starts at 5:30 p.m. in St. John’s Church’s Hansen Hall and is sponsored by the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, a scientific think-tank co-founded by Clark 35 years ago.

We’ll begin by pondering this conundrum: What makes Greater Yellowstone

“What promises are we willing to make to future generations?”

SNOW PACK REPORT OLD SNOW WILD CARD

The 2017 winter has begun and in the Tetons at 9,000 feet there is up to seven feet of snow on the ground with more than 260 inches of snowfall for the season.

These snow depths and snowfall totals are well above average for early January.

The 2016 year ended with a month of snowy weather and great powder skiing. As the snow fell, just about daily through early to mid-December, each snowflake quickly knit together with the surrounding snowflakes developing a strong cohesive unit of snow, or a slab.

In many areas this slab formed on the ground or a thin layer of late November snow creating a good base, but above 9,500 feet on east to northwest aspects the slab formed over a weak layer of faceted snow on a hard crust.

These problem layers are deep in the snowpack, so they may remain dormant causing the slope to appear safe until the right trigger is present. The only way to truly know what

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

THE NEW WEST

The Lucas Fabian homestead in Grand Teton National Park. incomparable? And given the fact that it is sui generis the world over, can it remain that way in the face of trends that have doomed most other places?

Some of the obvious elephants in the room for Greater Yellowstone include the impacts of climate change and its implications for water, wildfire, agriculture and the recreation economy; growth in human population, corresponding development patterns and outdated thinking about planning and zoning; the balance between resource exploitation and protection; and our willingness—or lack of willingness— to accept some limitations of private self interest in order to protect the public’s common interest.

In a valley like Jackson Hole, where working families and young people, teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses and service workers already cannot afford to live here, what is the remedy and what

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is happening deep in the snowpack is to dig down and see the unconsolidated, large grain, faceted snow resting on the hard crust. The only true test for these types of persistent weak layers is time.

So far this month, like many Januarys in Wyoming, has been cold with occasional light density snowfall. Light density snow is easily transported by the wind and may form new surface slabs. These surface slabs will lay on a variety of old snow interfaces. Over the past few weeks clear skies at night has weakened the snow’s surface. On solar aspects the sun has created crusts and large temperature gradients from day to night. All these temperature changes, from long wave radiation loss to short wave absorption, create different snow surfaces.

Note the snow’s surface before it is buried to better predict how the new snow will react to it and always travel through the hills with respect for the hazards which exist.

– Lisa Van Sciver

are the costs of the spill-over effect for the environment and other communities?

How are the challenges of Jackson Hole’s and cities like Bozeman’s elephants in the room metaphor for other valleys in the region and for our society as a whole?

By the middle of this century, less than one lifespan from now, Clark notes, Earth’s human is expected to climb to 10 billion from the current 7 billion—or by nearly 40 percent.

Some demographers believe the number of people pouring into our ecosystem will accelerate beyond its current unprecedented pace as emigrants flee urban centers and megacities. Fifty years from today, the Gallatin Valley cradling Greater Bozeman could be a city as large of Minneapolis.

Clark, who is on break from Yale University where she teaches in the school of Forestry and Environmental

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

HALF OFF BLAST OFF!

Studies, says part of what makes Greater Yellowstone extraordinary is the promises that society makes to itself—past promises, future promises and present promises.

“For over 140 years, dating back to the creation of Yellowstone and continuing to the conservation of wildlands and passage of environmental laws, past generations made a promise to the future and we are now reaping those benefits,” she said.

“So one of the questions is: What promise are we willing to make to future generations? The promise of the present involves asking how are we willing to live by that ethic daily? One could argue that we are failing to meet the promises given to us from the past and which we’re bound to pass along to the future.”

Elected officials and civil servants in Greater Yellowstone, Clark explained,

Examining photos that depict Greater Yellowstone’s past compel viewers to ponder its future.

Here bison corral at Mammoth Hot Springs in the early 1900s. from city and county commissioners to the senior leadership of land management agencies and non-government organizations, are beset by “bounded rationality”—the idea that when individuals make decisions, their rationality is limited by the tractability of small problems at hand, the cognitive limitations of their minds, and time available—usually not enough— to make foresighted decisions.

“For high-level leaders, learning and education should be about active reflective efforts on their experiences directed at shaping the future in Greater Yellowstone,” Clark wrote in a draft of her forthcoming book, Signals from the Future: Our Greater Yellowstone of Tomorrow?

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“Leadership should be about focusing on putting practices, thinking, organizations, institutions, and society on a trajectory that is sustainable and open to continual learning, reflection, and adaptation. This to me seems to be the needed real mission for all of us who care about the future of this place.”

We hope you can join for a lively, no-holds barred discussion about this ecosystem we call home. PJH

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NATOSHA HODUSKI

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

Backed Against a Wall Desperation has set in at the Souda refugee camp.

BY NATOSHA HODUSKI

W

e arrived at Souda camp this morning to distribute women’s coats. The temperatures have plummeted, and it seems like no matter what we do, we can’t help anyone in the camp stay warm. It’s dipped below freezing every night the past week.

To compound the problem, it has been more than 48 hours since Souda lost electricity. The power outage is nigh on inexplicable in this cold. Something that should be of paramount importance has taken a back seat to bureaucratic nonsense, and the people of Souda are suffering for it.

For some perspective, let me try to articulate what a power outage means in these temperatures. Imagine 900 people (men, women, and children) living without heat, without hot water, without lights. Many people from the camp are too cold to leave their blankets to get food. Children sleep in their winter coats. Showers are so cold people haven’t been able to clean themselves for weeks. There is no escaping the cold.

The residents of Souda aren’t survivalists. Many of them crossed the Aegean Sea with just the clothes on

People at the Souda refeugee camp on the Greek island of Chios are protesting inhumane living conditions via an 18-day hunger strike. their backs, because the smugglers threw their belongings into the sea or sold them, because there wasn’t room in the overcrowded rubber rafts. They are resettled in Ikea “containers,” or $10 Wal-Mart tents with three UNHCR blankets per a person to keep them warm. They are essentially throw blankets.

I sat in my apartment with my heat cranked up all the way with blankets piled on top of me, and I still used hot water bottles to keep myself warm enough to sleep.

I met a man who hasn’t had a good night’s rest in two weeks. “You cannot hold, you cannot hold enough to heat,” he told me, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to show that there was nothing he could do to stay warm. His hands felt frigid and numb against my fingers. I have no idea what it’s like to be cold for weeks.

The men have organized a protest outside of the fenced area of the camp: a sit-in hunger strike begging for humane treatment. Many of them feel forgotten, left to rot on the shores of this small island forever. An eight-yearold boy named Achmed sat with the men holding a sign that read, “We are not animals. We are humans.” His countenance was serene as he stared out into the world, defying the trappings of childhood as he settled into a role much too old for his size 31 shoes.

The hunger strike will last 18 days, highlighting the terrible living conditions in the informal camp. One of the Algerian men stripped down to his undergarments in protest, exposing his body to the freezing temperatures.

The scene was heartbreaking as the goose bumps rose on his flesh, and he spread his arms out in silent protest, welcoming the wind. I wanted to throw my coat around him.

“We are not animals.

We are humans.”

I wanted to wrap my arms around him. I wanted to protect him. And there he stood, because the children are cold, unbathed, without protection. Because there is electricity in Aleppo, but they don’t have it here in Greece. Because they long to be remembered.

The construction of a new detainment facility is currently underway. The municipality of Chios has voted to build it on top of an old landfill in an unveiled metaphor that would be too “on the nose” for many publishers to appreciate.

And I can’t help but draw a comparison between the holiday season and how forgotten these people feel. A few weeks ago a woman I volunteer with called nearly every church on the island of Chios begging for refuge for a few of these families, and not one would take them in. Not one.

I remember the sound of her voice as she said, “Shame on you, who say you protect the weak and the broken. Who say you defend the poor and the helpless. Shame on you for dismissing their suffering.”

The irony of the nativity story almost makes me laugh. So I raise a toast to the Mary and Joseph of this windy shore. When there was no room in the churches or the homes of Europe for their weary hearts, they were wrapped in swaddling UNHCR blankets and left to fight the cold alone. PJH After volunteering this fall at a refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios, reporter Natosha Hoduski couldn’t stop thinking about the people she had met there. So she packed up all her things in Jackson Hole and returned to the island to continue her work with refugees.

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THE BUZZ Public Land Peril WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Despite recent wins in the West, land advocates warn the battle to protect public lands in Wyoming has just begun.

BY MEG DALY @MegDaly1

A

fter celebrating President Barack Obama’s designation of Utah’s Bears Ears and Nevada’s Gold Butte as national monuments, conservationists are shifting their gaze back to Wyoming, where lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment in November that paves the way for state management of federal lands. While legislators have downplayed the potential consequences of the amendment, public land advocates are readying for battle.

“The bill came out of nowhere,” said Chris Merrill, associate director of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “We were really surprised and caught off guard.”

Merrill says the constitutional amendment is part of a long-range plan to get around current constitutional restrictions.

The Wyoming state constitution is clear in its language that sales of federal lands are prohibited.

Merrill’s organization, along with the Wyoming Wilderness Association and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, belongs to a large coalition of diverse stakeholders who have come together under the banner, Keep It Public, Wyoming. Ranging from anglers to hunters to wildlife enthusiasts, cyclists, conservationists and many others, the group hopes to influence lawmakers in the coming session.

An online petition—KeepItPublicWyo. com—has gathered hundreds of names from across the state, and several communities are organizing events to battle the proposed amendment. The nonprofit organization Council for the Bighorn Range conducted public workshops last week in Buffalo and Sheridan, and will offer a workshop in Worland to detail the process the proposal will go through to reach the ballot in 2018 and how the public can stop it. Citizens can stay apprised of news and upcoming workshops and rallies through the Keep It Public, Wyoming Facebook page.

This land is… whose land?

The amendment originated in the Select

The Middle Piney Lake trailhead offers access to stunning vistas in the Wyoming Range, where 40,000 acres of land were subject to possible oil and gas development until a recent decision by the Forest Service.

Federal Natural Resource Management Committee, which met in November.

Members of the committee were slated to discuss the recent $75,000 study by Y2 Consultants of Jackson that explores the feasibility of transferring management of federal lands to the state. The study, commissioned by the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments, determined it would be a costly endeavor for Wyoming to manage lands under federal mandates with little benefit to the state.

Though no specific transfers are on the table, the committee felt that the amendment was worth discussion, according to committee member Rep. Tim Stubson (R-Casper).

“I don’t support wholesale transfer of public lands, but I think there’s an opportunity for more responsible management,” Stubson told PJH. “What we’ve seen over and over again is that we get really good input at the state level that gets ignored once it’s sent to DC.” However, opponents of the amendment note that public lands belong to the public at large, not just Wyomingites. And that’s a good thing, according to Bryon Lee of the Wyoming Wilderness Association. “When we start locking people out, we are forgetting that our second largest industry is recreation,” Lee said.

From Lee’s standpoint, public access depends on lands remaining public.

Myriad constituents apparently share this notion. Voters and activists turned out in droves at both the November and December meetings of the select committee. Merrill noted that during the December meeting not one citizen spoke up in favor of the amendment. “The room was packed,” he said. “Even though the meeting was in Cheyenne in December, people traveled from all over the state to testify in opposition to this amendment.”

Lee says the fact that the committee decided to push the bill along in spite of overwhelming citizen opposition has left a

bad taste for many. “They are not listening to outdoor public lands users. It begs the question: are they fiscally responsible and conservative? The time this will use up in session doesn’t seem responsible.”

According to Lee and others, proponents of the amendment appear out of touch both with public sentiment and economics. “Outdoor recreation brings in so much money to the state,” Lee said. “It’s going to be sustainable if we protect public lands.”

To some, the amendment may sound innocuous. It only has to do with transferred land, and seems to favor Wyoming interests. The amendment would require that lands transferred from the federal government to the state after January 1, 2019 “be managed for multiple use and sustained yield when those lands are granted for that purpose.”

However, Lee points out that public lands already are managed for multiple uses. “There already are safeguards in place for the BLM or the Forest Service to conduct public meetings when they want to open up an area to a road, or oil and gas leasing,” Lee said. “It would be reinventing the wheel.”

Jeff Muratore, of the Wyoming Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, went further and said the amendment would result in the fox tending the henhouse.

“Lawmakers who currently have voted to restrict our use on state trust lands would become the stewards of these new ‘state lands,’” he said. “While currently managed for multiple use of the people, these lands in state hands would be managed for profit.”

The amendment states that lands may be exchanged, federal for state lands, however, “no net loss or net gain, in either size or value, or decrease in public access to the lands would be allowed.”

According to Merrill, the bill’s language is misleading. “If you look at the language closely, the ‘no net loss’ applied only to

land exchanges,” Merrill said. “There is no language that would prohibit the sale of public lands. That is of huge concern and it’s something the public should understand.”

The other key area of concern in the amendment is the “multiple use and sustained yield,” including oil and gas leasing as well as public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation, as prescribed by the legislature. Merrill thinks that amending the constitution to include state management is a move toward selling off lands.

“Right now the cost of the management of Wyoming’s great national parks, forests, and BLM lands is spread out across hundreds of millions of taxpaying Americans,” Merrill noted. “If you say instead, ‘We’re going to take these over,’ it doesn’t make sense unless you are planning to sell off the lands.”

Committee member Sen. Eli Bebout (R-Riverton) made no bones about what “multiple use” means: mineral development. Essentially the bill would create a situation such that newly acquired public lands could be managed in a way that mineral development, a.k.a. coal mining, could be directed by the state legislature.

The owner of an oil and gas drilling company, Bebout says the feds aren’t managing public lands the way he wants them to. But he doesn’t support taking over management without also getting the federal funding to do so. In a strange sort of double-speak, he said, “I am opposed to public lands being privatized or sold. … This is not about taking away access; it’s about protecting our state if lands should ever be transferred.”

Bebout acknowledged what the recent YK Consulting study concluded about Wyoming’s management of federal holdings–the state couldn’t afford it. “We’re not going to ever afford it,” he said. “I’d never support us doing it on our own.

There’s no way we’d take over lands unless we see money from the feds and money

from mineral extraction. We also won’t take lands over and keep the same level of bureaucracy in place.”

Momentary celebration Despite the amendment, regional advocates for public lands are riding high as of late. In addition to Obama’s protection of 1.35 million acres of land in Utah and Nevada, people celebrated a victory here in Wyoming, where the Forest Service reissued a no-leasing decision for the Wyoming Range in December.

At least for the moment, these important tracks of land in the region are protected from oil and gas drilling, and sales to private entities. The battle to keep public control of the Wyoming Range has lasted a decade, starting in 2005 when 40,000 national forest acres were offered for oil and gas lease sale. The federal government owns the rights to drill for oil and gas, and considered leasing those rights to private companies. A period of public comment ensued.

The public’s vehement involvement was key. The unpopular decision galvanized a huge network of recreational users, outfitters and environmentalists who pushed back and ultimately won. Undersecretary of Agriculture Robert Bonnie cited the more than 62,000 public comments as influential in his decision to not allow oil and gas leasing in the Wyoming

Range. Bonnie wrote in a statement that he received comments “from all over the nation, from state and local governments, organizations, and members of the local community.”

“What the Bridger-Teton heard strongly influences this decision,” he wrote.

This kind of cross-section of interests coming together signals a proud moment for Wyoming, not only because the voice of the people was so loud all together but also because a diversity of people coalesced for a common cause, setting aside other political differences.

Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance director Craig Benjamin applauded the decision. “This result is the culmination of years of hard work by our friends and partners in the conservation and sportsmen communities, the Forest Service and tens of thousands of regular folks who spoke up in defense of protecting our legacy and the beautiful landscape and habitat the Wyoming Range provides,” he said.

Time will tell if this cohort of citizens stand to play a role in defeating the proposed constitutional amendment in Wyoming. The amendment will start wending its way through the legislature when the 2017 session begins January 10.

PJH

REPORTER

WANTED THE QUALIFIED APPLICANT: • IS PASSIONATE ABOUT NEWS, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, LONG-FORM NARRATIVES, AND COMMENTARY • DISTILLS COMPLICATED ISSUES FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION • WRITES WITH CLARITY AND CONTEXT • OBSERVES, LISTENS, AND ASKS THE RIGHT QUESTIONS • DIGS DEEPER TO FIND THE UNTOLD STORY AND THE ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE

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Voting starts January 6th

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THE BUZZ 2 The Youth Factor Trump’s millennial advisor wants to engage Jackson Hole students.

BY JESSICA SELL CHAMBERS

Turning to Jackson Hole Kirk told PJH he expected to see many millennials in attendance at last Thursday’s fundraiser at Pizza Artisan.

Hosted by several local families, Mike and Carol Marshall, Peter and Christy Lawton, and Rich and Sue Sugden, the event required that all attendees RSVP. Members of the press were not permitted to attend.

One millennial in attendance was Henry Sollitt, a graduate of Jackson Hole Community School studying political science and environmental studies at University of Vermont.

He estimated 30 people attended the event, but said he was the only millennial in the room.

A major theme of Kirk’s talk, he said, was protecting students from the leftist influence of college and “safe spaces” on college campuses, something he said Kirk called the “biggest threat to Western civilization.”

Sollitt says he would oppose a local chapter of Turning Point USA. “I don’t think they promote the truth or create programs that cater to parts of the most vulnerable student population.”

TPUSA has some hefty valley ties. Local multimillionaire Foster Friess was one of TPUSA’s first backers. Bloomberg News reported, Kirk, having memorized his elevator pitch and the names and faces of the most powerful conservative donors, saw Friess at the Republican National Convention and pitched him on TPUSA, an organization to rival liberal orgs like MoveOn.org. Weeks later, Friess sent him a five figure check.

“He impressed me with his capacity to lead, intelligence, and love for America,” Friess told PJH. “I instantly knew I wanted to support him.”

The message and messenger are clearly resonating with donors. In 2014, the nonprofit received more than $2 million dollars in charitable donations, according to its tax-exempt filings for that year.

Speaking with conviction and infusing his orations with facts and figures, Kirk seems to have a mesmerizing effect on adults. One woman in attendance for the Jackson

YOUTUBE

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member of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team who wants to groom America’s next conservatives has his eyes on Jackson Hole. Charlie Kirk, 23, Trump’s millennial advisor, said during a valley fundraiser last week that he wants to launch a local chapter of Turning Point USA. The organization is responsible for the controversial ProfessorWatchlist.org, a database of professors “that advance a radical agenda in lecture halls.” Turning Point USA describes its goals as furthering the values of free markets, limited government, and the Constitution, though critics say it demonizes professors on its “watchlist” for their use of free speech and makes them targets for harassment.

Hans-Joerg Tiede is the associate secretary for the department of academic freedom, tenure and governance at the American Association of University Professors. In an interview with The New York Times he noted of the site, “There is a continuing cycle of these sorts of things.

They serve the same purpose: to intimidate individuals from speaking plainly in their classrooms or in their publications.”

Charlie Kirk, a member of the Trump transition team, visited the valley last week to raise money and gauge young people’s interest in a local chapter of his youth-centered organization Turning Point USA, which launched the controversial ProfessorWatchlist.org. fundraiser was in town visiting her parents for the holidays.

Before the fundraiser started she discussed how impressed she was with the 23-year-old. She was intrigued by what she called his “anti-college message” and wanted to know more about why she should be discouraging her children from going to college. The evening before the event, the woman recounted how Kirk dined with her family at her parents’ to give the kids his anti-academia message in person.

However, Kirk, who was once a part-time student at New York’s Kings College, says this was one person’s interpretation of his message. Though he said he “really hopes [academia is] under attack,” he says he is not anti-college.

Instead he challenges the notion that everyone needs to go to college to succeed.

Author (and liberal) Thomas Frank would agree. In his book Listen Liberal, he argues the exclusivity of academic departments by their very nature do not allow for dissent or criticism from outsiders. He said everyone in academia agrees with each other and that it fosters a very homogenous thought process.

Breitbart News, Jr.?

Kirk’s critique of academia is decidedly not what worries some. TPUSA exalts far right ideologies that shun diversity.

The group is admittedly anti-secularist, pro-Christian, and espouses American Exceptionalism.

Others worry the organization is encouraging a new kind of McCarthyism among young people, where exercising free speech gets you denigrated on the internet.

The group’s presence is supposedly growing on campuses across the country. According to a glossy program-recruiting booklet, TPUSA has a presence on more than 1,000 college campuses in all 50 states, and puts on more than 5,000 campus activism events per year. But it’s hard to confirm all of this because only the organization itself is tracking its numbers.

Since TPUSA’s inception, it has launched various off shoot “projects,” such as ProfessorWatchlist.org and Hypeline.org, a millennial-run conservative news site dedicated to campus news and untold narratives of current events.

ProfessorWatchlist.org reads like a one-strike-andyou’re-out vilification of professors who either wrote an objectionable blog post or tweet, are pro-Palestinian or pro-Iran, admitted socialists, or the more extreme, Holocaust deniers. Some have made disparaging remarks about conservatives or organizations like the National Rifle Association. The site claims to only use previously reported news stories by credible sources. However, the single “source” is often Campus Reform, the news branch of conservative activist training group, the Leadership Institute.

The watchlist hangs professors out to dry, often without empirical evidence and with zero room for nuance.

Hypeline.org appears to be TPUSA’s version of Campus Reform. The site features some stories that are reminiscent of Breitbart News, an “alt-right” white nationalist news site.

A few headlines read, “NYPD will now allow officers to wear turbans” and “Fox News host destroys liberal University of Chicago student.”

Teton County School District officials said they have not received an application from Turning Point USA. However, creating a student organization is not an easy process.

TCSD superintendent Gillian Chapman provided the application rules via email and said she believes it is valuable for students to have a variety of options and activities in school. She said she would support this organization the same as she would any other for that reason.

“Our goal is to prepare students for their futures, and having opportunities to learn from each other and apply content knowledge through a variety of organizations is very advantageous.”

Chapman learned of TPUSA from a recent newspaper article. Admittedly, she had not looked into it extensively, but she said it sounded like a Young Republicans or Democrats Club. Regardless, “should there be an interest in starting an organization at JHHS, the attached policy will need to be followed.”

Teton County School Board trustee Keith Gingery also pointed to the application process that all prospective student organizations must follow. Though he says he doesn’t believe the organization would qualify based on numerous requirements, he “has no feelings on it one way or another.”

The district’s “Student Organizations Regulations” were adopted in 2004 and require applicants to get approval from school administrators, student council, and the board of education. Applicants must provide information on their target audience, a high school staffer who will sponsor the club, its functions and rules, meeting/practice times, criteria for lettering (if applicable), and membership criteria.

Student clubs are strictly limited to practicing according to their specifics as approved by the board and must be open to all students regardless of identity.

Incoming TCSD trustee Annie Band said she had also read some news about TPUSA. While she doesn’t agree with the organization’s ideas, she says she believes in protecting free speech. “What I think is appropriate for my child of course won’t fly with some right wing folks here.” Students have the right to their own political leanings, she said. PJH

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| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 11

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

12 | JANUARY 4, 2017

NEWS

By CHUCK SHEPHERD

OF THE

Oh-So-Sweet Dreams

WEIRD

The Hastens workshop in Koping, Sweden, liberally using the phrase “master artisans” recently, unveiled its made-to-order $149,900 mattress. Bloomberg News reported in December on Hastens’ use of superior construction materials such as pure steel springs, “slow-growing” pine, multiple layers of flax, horsehair lining (braided by hand, then unwound to ensure extra spring), and cotton covered by flame-retardant wool batting. With a 25-year guarantee, an eight-hour-a-day sleep habit works out to $2 an hour. (Bonus: The Bloomberg reviewer, after a trial run, gave the “Vividus” a glowing thumbs-up.)

The Job of the Researcher Humans are good at recognizing faces, but exceptionally poor at recognition when the same face’s features are scrambled or upside down. In December, a research team from the Netherlands and Japan published findings that chimpanzees are the same way—when it comes to recognizing other chimps’ butts.

That suggests, the scientists concluded, that sophisticated recognition of rear ends is as important for chimps (as “socio-sexual signaling,” such as prevention of inbreeding) as faces are to humans.

Suspicions Confirmed Humanity has accumulated an estimated 30 trillion tons of “stuff,” according to research by University of Leicester geologists—enough to fit over 100 pounds’ worth over every square meter of the planet’s surface. The scientists, writing in the Anthropocene Review, are even more alarmed that very little of it is ever recycled and that buried layers of technofossils that define our era will clutter and weigh down the planet, hampering future generations.

Finer Points of the Law A federal appeals court agreed with a jury in December that Battle Creek, Mich., police were justified in shooting (and killing) two hardly misbehaving family dogs during a legal search of a house’s basement. Mark and Cheryl Brown had pointed out that their dogs never attacked; one, an officer admitted, was “just standing there” when shot and killed. The officers said that conducting a thorough search of the premises might have riled the dogs and threatened their safety.

(Unaddressed was whether a dog might avoid being shot if it masters the classic trick of “playing dead.”)

Sounds Like a Joke Spencer Hanvey, 22, was charged with four burglaries of the same MedCare Pharmacy in Conway, Ark., in October and November, using the same modus operandi each time to steal drugs. Bonus: Oddly, the drugs were not for obsessive-compulsive disorder. n If You See Something, Say Something: Hamden (Connecticut) High School was put into lockdown for an hour on Dec. 15 when a student was seen running in the hallway, zig-zagging from side to side, swinging an arm and leaping into the air. Police were called, but quickly learned that it was just a 12th-grade boy practicing a basketball move and pretending to dunk.

[Arkansas Online, Dec. 7, 2016]

The Aristocrats!

A camera-less Alan Ralph, 62, was arrested in Sarasota, Fla., in December after being seen on surveillance video in October in a Wal-Mart stooping down to the floor to peer up the skirt of a woman. n John Kuznezow, 54, was charged with invasion of privacy in Madison, Wis., in November after he was discovered, pants down, up a tree outside a woman’s second-floor bedroom window.

Bright Ideas For about 10 years, organized crime rings operated a makeshift U.S. “embassy” in a rundown pink building in Accra, the capital of Ghana, issuing official-looking identification papers, including “visas” that theoretically permitted entry into the United States. The U.S. State Department finally persuaded Ghanian officials to

close it down, but it is unknown if any purchasers were ever caught trying to immigrate. The “embassy,” with a U.S. flag outside, had well-spoken “consular officers” who reportedly collected about $6,000 per visa.

Weird Old World Wu Jianping, 25, from China’s Henan province, complained in November that he had been denied home loans at several banks for not providing fingerprints— because he has no arms (following a childhood accident) and “signs” documents by holding a pen in his mouth. He was not allowed to substitute “toeprints.” n Classes were canceled in early December in the village of Batagai in the Yakutia region of Siberia when the temperature reached -53 Celsius (-63 Fahrenheit)—but only for kids 15 and under; older children still had to get to school. Yakutia is regarded as the coldest inhabited region on the planet.

Sex Toys in the News The government in Saxony, Germany, chose as third-place winner of its 2016 prize for innovation and start-up companies the inventor of the ingenious silent vibrator (leading to shaming of the economy minister Martin Dulig, now known as “Dildo Dulig”). n An unknown armed robber made off with cash at the Lotions and Lace adult store in San Bernardino, Calif., in December—although employees told police they angrily pelted the man with dildos from the shelves as he ran out the door.

Least Competent Criminals Leonard Rinaldi, 53, was arrested in Torrington, Conn., in November following his theft of a rare-coin collection belonging to his father. The coins were valued at about $8,000, but apparently to make his theft less easily discoverable, he ran them through a Coinstar coin-cashing machine—netting himself a cool $60. n James Walsh was arrested in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Dec. 12, 2016, at a WalMart after carting out an unpaid-for big-screen TV. Walsh said he had swiped a TV on Dec. 11 with no problem—but failed to notice that, on the 12th, the store had a “shop with a cop” event at which St. Lucie County deputies were buying toys for kids.

Recurring Themes Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation remains the most storied, but Venezuela is catching up. In mid-December, the government declared its largest-currency bill (the 100-bolivar note) worthless, replacing it with larger denomination money (after a brief cash-in period that has ended and which some drug dealers were likely shut out of). The 100-bolivar’s value had shrunk to 2 cents on the black market.

Stacks of it were required to make even the smallest food purchases, and since wallets could no longer hold the notes, robbers feasted on the “packages” of money people carried around while shopping.

The Passing Parade In October, Chicago alderman Howard Brookins Jr. publicly denounced “aggressive” squirrels that were gnawing through trash cans and costing the city an extra $300,000. A month later, Brookins was badly injured in a bicycle collision (broken nose, missing teeth) when a squirrel (in either a mighty coincidence or suicide terrorism) jumped into one of his wheels, sending Brookins over the handlebar. n In October, officials of Alaska’s Iditarod reaffirmed an earlier decision to allow mushers to use mobile phones during the 2017 race; “purists” maintain that phones destroy the “frontier-ness” of the event.

Thanks this week to Stan Kaplan, Rob Zimmer, Alan Magid and the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors.

Wyoming’s hushed history of diversity reveals much about attitudes today on race and discrimination.

W

Still, she sometimes finds herself convincing white Wyomingites, including her relatives, that racism exists. For Mitchell, this can feel like fighting “for my basic humanity, even to family.” In these moments, Mitchell faces erasure in the face of a dominant culture that leaves little room for her experiences.

In the space between hyper-visibility and invisibility, people of color in the Cowboy State find solidarity. Mitchell is studying History and African American Diaspora at the University of Wyoming, where she’s gravitated toward those “who don’t feel like they belong in Wyoming, but don’t feel like they belong anywhere else,” like Latino and LGBTQ Wyomingites.

Members of these groups report they have received the message that they don’t quite belong in Wyoming, that tolerance is not a guarantee. Perhaps this is partially due to the fact that people of color and their contributions throughout the state’s history seem invisible, despite rich and complicated stories of race and racism in the state.

Exploring some of this history reveals the ways people of color here have resisted and assimilated, found success and faced discrimination, since the founding of one of the whitest states in the Union. They are people in the shadow of Wyoming’s history, constructing the state without being welcome in it.

Growing up, Mitchell said she was “socialized as an average white kid in Wyoming.” She did not discover the state’s history of diversity until college. She says uncovering this history helped her realize “that I matter, that many of the people

Justice: Lynching and American Society, author Michael James Pfeifer explained that Woodson had called a white waitress a liar when she told him the restaurant was out of food. A white railroad worker threw Woodson out of the restaurant. Later Woodson returned and shot the white man.

An officer who saw the crime took him to jail. Hours later, a mob broke Woodson from his cell, dragged him to the railroad depot, “knocked him unconscious ... and hanged him, publicly displaying his corpse for four hours,” Pfeifer wrote. After the lynching, all of the African American people in Green River were forced to leave.

The notion of the “protection” of white women was often used to justify violence against African Americans, especially men.

Woodson had “violated white Wyomingites’ notion of the deference required from African American men in their encounters with white women,” Pfeifer explained.

Some Wyoming women took this a step further. In 1924, a group called “Women of the KKK” formed in Cheyenne. Language from the original charter via the American Heritage Center reads: Members would have “ritualism, fraternal and secret objects, words, grips, signs and ceremonies” that only American born “white, female persons, of sound health, good, morals, and high character” could know and use.

A tiny kingdom of diversity

Other people of color in Wyoming had similar experiences to those in Empire.

Since white settlement in the mid 1800s, Wyoming has been at its most diverse when large numbers of cheap laborers were needed for the state’s railroads, mines, and farms. Many of these workers were

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 13

‘They looked like me’

responsible for creating such a beautiful state looked different, looked like me.”

She did not know, for example, that just 10 miles north of her hometown, about 50 African American settlers formed a community called Empire in the 1900s— the same time her mother’s family was settling in Goshen County.

Charles Speese and his wife Rosetta founded Empire. Speese, along with his three brothers, bought 100 acres of land near Torrington. Their farm became one of the 65 farms, out of 10,915, owned by people of color in Wyoming in 1911, according to historian Robert Galbreath in an article for Wyohistory.org.

The families built their own school, post office and church. However, unrelenting racial animosity wore on them. They were frequently denied services in Torrington, and five African American men were lynched by white mobs in Wyoming between 1904 and 1920.

Crimes committed by African Americans at the time often resulted in death. In 1913, a resident of Empire, Baseman Taylor, was killed after vandalizing a door in Torrington.

Todd Guenther, a history professor at Central Wyoming College, called his lynching an act of police brutality, though at the time it was not perceived as extrajudicial. By 1930, in the face of violence and prejudice, all the residents of Empire had abandoned the town and state. According to the Nebraska Historical Society, Empire is now nothing more than an “archeological site.”

About five hours from Empire, in Green River, the lynching of black janitor Joel Woodson by a mob of more than 500 white people in 1918 sent a message to people of color there. In the book Rough

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

hen Tawsha Mitchell was 6 years old, she remembers waiting in line for the water fountain at Torrington Elementary School while a classmate demanded she give up her spot in line.

“N*gger girls go to the back of the line,” he told her. The year was 1999.

Shocked and confused, she walked to the back of the line. Mitchell never actually got a drink, and she says the boy didn’t face any consequences besides being forced to apologize after she started crying.

In the 2014 documentary Blacks in the West, Mitchell says she was just mad because she lost her spot. Now, however, she thinks about the fact that families in her small town were using the racial slur enough that the little boy felt empowered to use it, to tell her where to go.

Mitchell is biracial—her mom is white, her dad is black—and she was the only black student in school for most of her life. She told PJH about walking a fine line between belonging and not belonging in Wyoming. Her mom’s family has been in Torrington for five generations, so she’s “just Tawsha” there. But in other parts of the state, her experience is much different.

“People always turn to look when I walk in a room, there’s a chatter, an assumption I don’t belong,” she said.

Mitchell sometimes feels as if she’s on display. She receives questions like, “What do you mean you don’t play basketball?” and “Where are you really from?” She’s meant to perceive the following remarks she hears as compliments: “You don’t dress or speak like a black person,” and “You’re not really black.”

identity in the state were high. Little trace of Rock Springs’ diverse history remains because Chinese miners, once the town’s majority, were driven from the state by white miners who feared their jobs were being taken. In 1885, white miners surrounded Chinatown, an enclave of 97 buildings, and burned it to the ground, massacring 28 people. Those who survived were left penniless and were blocked from entering the mines or even the grocery store. The Rock Springs Independent urged every man to “unite in the demand that the Chinese must go.” Over the next several decades, the Chinese population virtually disappeared. By 1900, Rock Springs had a 6 percent Chinese population, down 44 percent in just 10 years.

No heart in this mountain

One of the darkest examples of discrimination in the state’s history is the incarceration of 14,000 Japanese Americans at the internment camp, Heart Mountain War Relocation Center during WWII. Dakota Russell is the museum manager at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, near the site where people were imprisoned midway between Cody and Powell.

In the camps, prisoners were often banned from speaking Japanese, celebrating their holidays, or cooking traditional food.

They were put in the position of proving their patriotism while attempting to preserve their culture.

Heart Mountain was remote--creating prisoners’ dependence on the government and lessening the likelihood of their escape.

The camp, a series of barracks surrounded by nine guard towers, opened during one of the coldest winters in history, and prisoners did not have enough warm clothes or bedding. A city of more than 11,000 was built virtually overnight, and workers were needed for construction, agriculture, a newspaper, a hospital, and a school. Depending on their work, prisoners made $12 to $19 a month, which they could spend in catalogues or at

stores in Powell. They avoided Cody, where Japanese customers were forbidden from entering stores in town.

The reception to prisoners in Wyoming was cold--the populace believed prisoners would poison the water and bomb the dams.

This perception softened when the locals, who were paid well to work in the camp, developed an appreciation for detainees.

“They could have gone their whole lives without seeing a Japanese person, and this was a window into a larger world,” Russell said. In addition, when white men were drafted into the war, sugar beet farmers begged for workers from the camp. Japanese American prisoners are credited for saving farms in the region.

Prisoners were also asked to join the war, which was presented as an opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty to the country.

After little success recruiting volunteers, the government made Japanese Americans eligible for the draft again (they’d been deemed unsuitable after Pearl Harbor).

Resistors at Heart Mountain formed The Fair Play Committee, stating they would fight when they were considered citizens, when their families were released. The government was irate. “They rounded up and removed founding members of the leadership committee and the young men who had resisted the draft and put them on trial,” Russell said. It remains the largest mass trial in Wyoming history. All 88 people who were tried were sentenced to three years in prison.

Those who didn’t resist were drafted into the 442nd, an all Japanese American unit. One of the members of the 442nd was Stanley Hayami, who moved to Heart Mountain at 16. Hayami’s parents were Japanese, though he was born in California.

He kept diaries of his time in Heart Mountain and in one entry he describes speaking with his uncle, a leader in the Fair Play Committee, about whether he should resist the draft. Ultimately, he decided going to war would prove his patriotism and he

was killed in battle in San Terenzo, Italy, at 19 years old.

Hayami’s family was still in Wyoming at the time of his death. Like all Japanese Americans after the war, settling in Wyoming after the camp dismantled was not an option. Japanese born residents were not allowed to buy land or seek citizenship until the 1950s, and their children could not obtain fishing or hunting licenses. “Many of these people grew up in Wyoming, will always be tied to this place,” Russell said.

“It’s sacred to them.” Though they may not have been welcome in the state, a lot of people will always carry Wyoming in their hearts, he said.

Erasing the past

The same year The Dude Rancher made it clear that people of color were not welcome in Wyoming, an unknown number of Mexican migrants, likely in the thousands, labored on the state’s sugar beet farms under the Bracero Program.

The program was a result of diplomatic agreements between the United States and Mexico by which the US agreed to provide shelter, food, and minimum wage to Mexican laborers who were legally brought to the country to work on large-scale farms.

According to Lawrence Cardoso, a former history professor at University of Wyoming, many of the laborers were recruited from Mexico with promises of their own chunk of land and high wages. These promises, however, were almost always broken.

For 14 years, the US legally imported 200,000 workers every year. Cardoso writes that migration gave landowners a taste for cheap labor, and tens of thousands of workers illegally migrated to meet demand.

Without this reserve of laborers who were underpaid, politically disenfranchised, and barred from unionizing, Cardoso argues it is unlikely that corporate scale farming would have been viable in the United States or Wyoming.

Some of these laborers formed a

JAPANESE PRISONERS AT THE HEART MOUNTAIN INTERNMENT CAMP.

UC BERKLEY

A DEPICTION OF THE ROCK SPRINGS MASSACRE.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

14 | JANUARY 4, 2017

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

of African, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Mexican descent.

At one point, for example, Rock Springs’ coal boom made it the “Melting Pot of the West.” In his historiography of the state, A Little Kingdom of Mixed Nationalities, Tim Dean Draper reports that in 1890, Rock Springs’ population was half Chinese, more than 60 percent foreign born, with residents speaking more than 35 languages within its limits.

Though people of color heavily inhabited certain urban centers in the state, a stubborn narrative was entrenched in the early 1900s that excluded nonwhites from the state’s identity. This marginalization wasn’t entirely inevitable. According to Liza Nicholas in her book Becoming Western, in the parade in Cheyenne commemorating statehood, the Afro-American Club marched behind the Seventh Infantry Band and the Girls Guards.

Judge M.C. Brown proclaimed that, “each citizen of the state should enjoy the same right guaranteed to every other citizen, whether high or low, black or white, male or female.” Wyoming sought to differentiate itself from the racism, “complacency and old traditions of eastern states,” Nicholas writes.

Quickly, though, Wyoming was deemed the “last bastion of Americanness,” serving as a balance against the “degenerate, emasculate, foreign influences” perceived to be controlling America’s cities.

While new white immigrants to the state faced prejudice, they were ultimately assimilated into white history, while immigrants of color were not. In 1939, The Dude Rancher magazine boasted that Wyoming had “little in it that is exotic ... it is pure America ... America is safe as long as the West hangs on[to] its traditions … and stands aloof from the self-beggar psychology of disinherited races.”

Ideas of racial purity had long lasting impacts. Wyoming’s Anti-Miscegenation Law banning interracial marriage wasn’t repealed until 1965.

The consequences of threatening white

Failing to teach history

Like Ramos, many people of color in Wyoming face interpersonal discrimination

as they struggle to belong. These injustices also exist on a systemic level, and are visible in the education and criminal justice systems.

Along with four other states, Wyoming received an “F” grade in 2014 from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Teaching Tolerance Project for its Social Science Standards. Wyoming school received this grade because they do not require schools to teach specific civil rights history. The SPLC found that most students surveyed could only remember two names from civil rights history: Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. The SPLC argues that many students learn a sanitized history in which there is slavery without enslavers. This version of the past causes students to leave school either feeling excluded by curriculum that ignore their lived experiences of race and racism, or having “no framework for understanding racism and other forms of inequality today.”

The Wyoming Department of Education includes five sections in its social studies guidelines, one of which, Standard 2, outlines the “Culture and Cultural Diversity” knowledge students should have at every grade level. It includes vague knowledge students should have about diversity and discrimination. Twelfth graders, for example, should be able to “analyze human experiences that integrates views of cultural expression.” Civil rights leaders are mentioned once: by 5th grade, students are asked to “identify and describe tensions between cultural groups, social classes and/or individuals in Wyoming and the United States (e.g. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Sacagawea, Chief Washakie).”

In contrast, South Carolina, one of three states to receive an “A,” has more specific, historicized standards. Third graders, for example, are expected to know about “the role of Africans in developing the culture and economy of South Carolina, including the growth of the slave trade; slave

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

AFRICAN AMERICAN SETTLERS IN EMPIRE, WY.

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 15

SOME OF HEART MOUNTAIN INTERNMENT CAMP’S YOUNGER PRISONERS.

from the years 2000 to 2010, Latinos accounted for two thirds of population growth. “When people come here for the first time, I say, ‘you have to watch your life.’ It’s different here—you have to respect everybody; you have to be quieter.” Ramos describes Latinos as needing to be aware at all times of how others might perceive them.

In the book Losing Matthew Shepard, Val Pexton, who grew up near Douglas, agrees that people who are different have to be careful: Wyomingites “say we don’t get into anybody’s else’s business” but “we are really on the lookout for anybody who is different. If that person keeps it real low key, then they’re ok ... But the minute they move out of that safe zone, that tolerance is gone.”

Ramos has experienced the consequences of being too visible. Her first home here was a small apartment in downtown. The landlord didn’t know she had kids, so every day she’d leave the house at 7 a.m., and not return until late at night. Still, someone complained to the landlord that her kids were too loud and she was kicked out.

Ramos maintains, “they never heard my kids running around, we were never there.”

Now, Ramos says she feels strong. She says her experiences here have helped her understand a lot about life, “how hard it can be, how beautiful.” For her, success means her children having the opportunities she never had. As a child in Mexico, without shoes, or much clothing, she started working when she was nine years old. “I know how it is to come here and not have a place to sleep, a place to eat, a place to shower,” Ramos said. She remembers the loneliness of not speaking the language, of not knowing where to go for help. Now, she gives all she can. “People can stay with me for days, for months. At one time I needed help, and now I give it.”

WYOHISTORY.ORG

‘You have to be quieter’

In 1997, an immigration enforcement raid in Jackson rang with the memory of Operation Wetback. As reported by Lisa Jones in High Country News, police officers and federal agents swept the town, gathering about 150 documented and undocumented Latino workers, inking numbers on their arms and transporting them to jail via patrol cars and horse trailers.

The memory of this event weighs on the minds of many Latino residents, such as Ana Ramos.* She immigrated to Jackson from the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, more than 20 years ago. Ramos has learned that silence can be a survival skill in a place not entirely hospitable to difference.

Though Latinos constitute about 33 percent of Jackson’s population, the highest concentration in the state, Ramos says she doesn’t ever feel entirely comfortable in Jackson. For her and many other immigrants, life can be difficult--immigrants’ average income is $26,000 in a town where other people here make an average of $72,000.

She has struggled to make ends meet, and has lived in more places than she can count, one of which was a tent she stayed in for several winter months with two children.

Currently, Ramos is selling her house and she recently lost her job as a house cleaner because her boss wanted to hire someone she could pay less.

Ramos has often been made to feel inferior in Jackson Hole. She remembers a time once, in her early years in the valley, when she was speaking Spanish with her sons in the grocery store. A man overheard them and started screaming, “What the fuck, why are you speaking Spanish? Shut up. You live in the US now.” At the time she says she “had nothing, less than nothing.”

In the years before Latino Resource Center, now One22, “there was no one to help.” So she relied on neighbors and friends to help fill out her kids’ papers for schools, to learn how to be in Jackson.

Ramos has passed these lessons on to new arrivals to Jackson. And there are many—

AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER/BILL MANBO

settlement in Lovell, WY, known only as the Lovell Mexican Colony. The colony was home to dozens of families for more than 30 years, until the mid 1950s. In a 1979 thesis for a master’s of education degree at University of Wyoming, Augustin Redwine wrote what appears to be the only thorough examination of the colony. He described residents living in one-or two-room adobe homes with dirt floors and no running water. The work was hard, and they were treated as outsiders who had little recourse but to endure.

In 1954, the colony was demolished.

Like Rock Springs’ Chinatown and Torrington’s Empire, Redwine writes that “nothing remains that would indicate that a unique people came to Wyoming” but “a mound of adobe, grass, and straw.”

The disappearance of the workers can likely be attributed to Operation Wetback, an immigration enforcement law implemented in 1954 in response to fears that Mexican workers were taking American jobs. In the New Republic, Jeet Heer writes that the program was a “humanitarian crisis” and had all the earmarks of a “military offensive.”

INS Border Control repeatedly swept the country from California to Texas with the goal of making 1,000 arrests per day.

Under the act, 100,000 people were repatriated, many of them taken in cargo ships and dumped in Veracruz, Mexico.

A congressional investigation would later compare the vessels to 18th century slave ships. Nearly 100 workers died in the process of exportation, and an unknown number of American citizens were swept up in the raid.

To the horror of those familiar with Operation Wetback, in the November 2015 Republican primary debate, President-elect Donald Trump praised Operation Wetback, and suggested it could be a model for his immigration plan.

an AME church. “When you can’t even go to church, can’t even go to your place of worship and feel safe, we’re in big trouble,” he said.

Benjamin Watson has been the pastor at Allen Chapel AME for more than seven years. He noted that the state’s history is just as much one of color as it is white, but he says this history has been “covered up” or mis-told. “For too long, others have been telling our history for us—what should be said and how it is to be said. Truth is, they can’t tell our history like we can tell our history.”

Watson believes that after so many years of being “mistreated, misjudged, and misunderstood,” African Americans are “afraid to speak truth concerning community issues so not to offend or hurt someone else’s feelings.” People in Wyoming, he says, particularly those in power, “walk a fine line,” taking great care to not be seen as unjust without actually standing up for justice.”

In this context, Watson challenges the idea of Wyoming as the Equality State.

Mitchell would agree with this challenge.

“People in Wyoming don’t want to be racist,” she said. But they’re unwilling to broach topics of race or to confront current and historical discrimination. “There’s an avoidance because it’s scary—we live in a beautiful state, but underneath that, this land doesn’t belong to us. To address racism, we need to get real about settler colonialism, to give up some ownership of this state we all love so much,” to recognize how much of the state’s history has relied on the subjugation of people of color. The Ivinson Mansion in Laramie, one of the state’s iconic structures, for example, “was paid for by sugarcane wealth.

Slavery paid for that building.”

The ongoing battle to belong

The founding of Wyoming, as it is now known, depended on the marginalizing of people of color here in Jackson Hole too.

According to That’s the Way it Was in Jackson Hole, a historical account of the town, in Jackson alone, five Native tribes were splintered and forced into reservations in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana during the colonization. The 1868 Fort Bridger Treaty moved the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho to the Wind River Reservation, and Yellowstone National Park officials forced all indigenous people from the park. Legislation was passed to ban them from hunting or camping in Teton Valley, as their ancestors had done for millennia.

While Native Americans were made aliens in their own land, newer residents of color were excluded from claiming a sense of belonging.

The feeling of not belonging remains for many minority residents who have been made marginal in Wyoming’s history.

Though Cheyenne is his home, Hayes says he often doesn’t feel welcome.

However, after a lifetime of discrimination, it impacts him less now.

“You know when it first happens, your first thought is retaliation, but then I think of a lesson my 92-year-old mother gave me. ... You just keep your head to the sky and keep walking. That’s been a handy lesson.”

PJH *This person’s name has been changed.

FR ANK C. HIRA

HARA COLLEC

TION

serve n*iggers here.”

Now though, he doesn’t see racism as an issue. “Show me where all these racist people are,” he said during a phone interview. “I don’t see them.”

In contrast, James Hayes Jr., 61, of Cheyenne, is an African American who believes that if anything, “racism is getting worse.” Hayes was born and raised in Cheyenne, and grew up in the years where people of color were not allowed to live north of Pershing Boulevard, and it was common to see “No Dogs or Coloreds” signs in restaurants. Hayes was baptized at the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), one of two historically black churches in the state founded by Lucy Phillips in 1878.

Just three months ago, the church received a letter saying that they were “devil worshipers.” Hayes believes that the presidential election has given racism “the greenlight.” He pointed to a few recent incidents. While he was walking downtown, a group of white men began shouting, “Look at that, there’s a n*gger looking at me!” Then a woman cut in front of him in a store line as if he wasn’t even there, as if he were “a ghost.”

Growing up, Hayes says the racism he experienced was more hush-hush. Now, however, it appeared in plain view, he said.

Hayes calls it “open season” on people like him. He has seen white men walking through downtown Cheyenne with pistols strapped to their backs, “like they’re ready for battle.” For Hayes and other African Americans, this scene contributes to an overall sense of unease in a time where black men are disproportionately victims of extrajudicial killing. The 2015 shooting of nine African American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, occurred at

FROM STANLEY HAYAMI’S DIARY WHILE HE WAS IMPRISONED AT HEART MOUNTAIN INTERNMENT CAMP.

SMITHSONIAN

GEORGE AND

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

16 | JANUARY 4, 2017

contributions to the plantation economy; the daily lives of enslaved people; the development of the Gullah culture; and their resistance to slavery.”

Laurie Hernandez, the standard supervisor at the Wyoming Department of Education, told PJH she was unaware of the SLPC’s assessment. “Wyoming is a local control state,” she explained. “Standards won’t come right out and tell schools what to teach.” But that doesn’t mean civil rights history is not being taught: “The districts have control of how they decide they want to teach about diversity and culture.”

A committee of parents, educators, and business people sets the standards.

Wyoming teachers and administrators—96.3 percent of whom are white, according to the National Center for Education Statistics—have the great responsibility of creating curriculum that is representative of the state’s civil rights history. Mitchell says the school she attended deviated little from the Standards.

Her civil rights education began and ended with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. One graduate of Jackson Hole Middle School reported a similar experience. He says his civil rights education “made it seem like racism was something that was in the past that ended in 1960.”

Indeed, the standards do not elucidate Wyoming’s long, complicated history of race and racism, that it has been home to many different ethnic groups, that struggles for liberation are historically and currently pertinent.

One of the areas in which the struggle for justice is highly relevant is within the criminal justice system. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, African Americans in Wyoming are 3.5 times more likely to be imprisoned than white citizens, and are punished for crimes at vastly disproportionate rates. Though African Americans make up 1.6 percent of the state’s population, they comprise 5 percent of prisoners.

Native Americans and Latinos are also incarcerated at rates much higher than whites in Wyoming. Indigenous people are about 2.5 times as likely to be imprisoned as whites, and Hispanic people are about twice as likely.

A study conducted by The Sentencing Project examining which states had the highest proportion of Hispanic prisoners by population found that Wyoming ranked 18th in the country, despite its low population and diversity. Though Hispanics make up 9.7 percent of the state’s population, they are 11.7 percent of its prisoners. This is not necessarily a countrywide trend. In at least 23 states, Hispanics are represented less in prison by percentage than they are in the state’s population as a whole.

Despite the long history of racism and current examples of injustices, some Wyomingites do not see racism as modern problem here.

Former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson worked with an all black cement crew in Cheyenne, Lander, and Cody about 60 years ago. He remembers that his co-workers weren’t allowed to live within the town limits. “No hotel or motel would allow them to stay,” he said. Once, when Simpson went to a bar to get beers for the crew, he remembers the server replying, “We don’t

THIS WEEK: January 4-10, 2017

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4

n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n PTO 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Color Manipulation 5:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $77.00, 307-7336379 n Open Studio: Figure Model 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-7336379 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group 6:00pm, Eagle classroom at St. John’s Medical Center, Free, 307-732-1161 n Trivia Night 7:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n KHOL Presents: Vinyl Night 8:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n The Bo & Joe Sexy Show 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n SANDEE BROOKS AND BEYOND CONTROL 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 17

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Open Studio: Portrait Model 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-7336379 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Feathered Fridays 12:00pm, Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, Free, 307-201-5433

n Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapons 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Screen Door Porch 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Friday Tastings 4:00pm, The Liquor Store of Jackson Hole, Free, 307-7334466 n Winter Wonderland - Ice Skating on Town Square 4:00pm, Town Square, $0.00 $8.00, 307-733-3932 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Pam Drews Phillips Plays Jazz 7:00pm, The Granary at Spring Creek Ranch, Free, 307-7338833 n Moose Hockey Game 7:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Free Public Stargazing 7:30pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 844-996-7827 n Bootleg Flyer 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Jay Alm 8:00pm, Hole Bowl, Free n Phil Round 8:00pm, Dornans, $20.00, 307-733-2415 n Fire & Guns 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n Friday Night DJ Featuring Senior Hun 10:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n SANDEE BROOKS AND BEYOND CONTROL 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n REFIT® 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277

OPEN

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JANUARY 4, 2017 | 17

n Business Over Breakfast Legislative Edition 7:30am, Snow King Hotel, $16.00 - $25.00, 307-201-2309 n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Stackhouse 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

n Winter Wonderland - Ice Skating on Town Square 4:00pm, Town Square, $0.00 $8.00, 307-733-3932 n Color Manipulation 5:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $77.00, 307-7336379 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-690-6539 n Wyoming Grasslands Photography Exhibit 5:30pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Monotype + Collagraph 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $45.00, 307733-6379 n Alternative Thinking 6:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, safeschools@wyoming. com n Jackson Hole Communty Band 2017 Rehearsals 7:00pm, Centre for the Arts, Free, 307-200-9463 n Aikido Classes 7:30pm, 290 N Millward, Free, 307-690-3941 n Major Zepher 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Salsa Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Canyon Kids Duo 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n SANDEE BROOKS AND BEYOND CONTROL 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

Compiled by Caroline LaRosa

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5

S hop local, Save big!

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

18 | JANUARY 4, 2017

MUSIC BOX B-side of Swing The Minor Keys deliver rare, oldtimey gems at the Silver Dollar.

BY AARON DAVIS @ScreenDoorPorch

T

here is a bottomless well of pre-rock ‘n’ roll American music that has fallen between the cracks of mainstream consciousness. Even with the accessibility of streaming services and digitalized albums from the early 20th century, certain recordings only exist on vinyl or the even more rare phonograph/gramophone records, also known as 78s. Those willing to literally dig into the haystack will discover many gems, and local old-time blues and swing jazz trio The Minor Keys has pieced together a timeless repertoire that is both obscure and unequivocally charming.

Talking music with the band members is always a history lesson. “It’s hard to believe Slim & Slam had a No. 1 hit in the 30s and have since fallen into obscurity, whereas Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman are household names,” said Jeromey Bell, guitarist/vocalist and founder of the band. There were others too, Bell said. “Stuff Smith and The Harlem Hep Cats, though not as technically flashy as Django Reinhart, were more soulful and knew how to utilize witty innuendos in their lyrics that you couldn’t necessarily say in public. That has just as much resonance to me as the hot playing [before swing].”

The Minor Keys started out as a duo with classically trained violist Leslie Steen, a New York City transplant who spent her formative years attending prestigious music schools and music festivals in mountain towns like Aspen and Killington. Steen and Bell connected through a mutual friend in Haines, Alaska, where Bell lived before moving to Jackson. The two gigged for a while before inviting bassist Marty Camino to complete the trio.

The three musicians bonded over similar tastes in music and a passion to play. “I knew that Leslie liked Django and Stephane Grappelli, and Andrew Bird’s first

The Minor Keys album, which is primarily swing,” Bell explained. “She was into the music and some of the other musicians I had played with just wanted to make money. Marty came over and played a few songs with us and we knew it had to go in that direction.”

And so a trio was born. “There’s a profound Django quote that has always stuck with me,” Bell said of the band’s namesake. “When someone asked him if he had a song that he could relate to his life, he said, ‘certainly life is lived in the minor key.’”

Camino studied upright bass and jazz at the University of Wyoming and earned a master’s degree in music from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. From jazz in Alaska to symphonies in Bolivia and bluegrass in Croatia, he has performed a variety of styles in many corners of the world. He is also ambidextrous in his playing, slapping the upright as a righty and playing electric bass as a lefty.

As for Bell, he grew up to the sounds of his mother teaching and performing piano, which turned him onto Ella Fitzgerald and Armstrong. It wasn’t until he attended college in Ashland, Oregon, that he began to play guitar and search out the music of Fats Waller and Reinhardt. In Alaska, he played with the six-piece band Swing Set that further expanded his journey into the b-side of swing,

namely Stuff Smith and more contemporary groups like Tuba Skinny, Red Stick Ramblers, and Hot Club of Cowtown.

His neverending quest to uncover old masterpieces has turned Bell into a veritable vinyl detective. “Word of mouth is the best way to discover the hidden gems, but once I got back into vinyl it opened the door to different versions of songs,” Bell said. “Maybe there was a hot trumpet player on one version of a tune, and then I read the liner notes to get his name and then searched out other records he played on.”

The trio is working on a recording at Three Hearted Studio in Hoback due out at the beginning of this year.

Drummer Jason Baggett and trumpeter Lawrence Bennett will join The Minor Keys for the show Sunday, January 8.

The Minor Keys, 7:30 to 11 p.m. Sunday at the Silver Dollar Showroom. Free.

Zen Cowboy rides on

While John Denver, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Suzy Bogguss recorded Chuck Pyle’s songs, country fans knew him best for writing “Cadillac Cowboy,” recorded by the late Chris LeDoux, and for “Jaded Lover,” recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. Pyle passed away in November 2015 at

WEDNESDAY Bo & Joe Sexy Show (Town Square Tavern), Vinyl Night (The Rose) THURSDAY Canyon Kids (Town Square Tavern), Major Zephyr (Silver Dollar) FRIDAY Boondocks (Moose Hockey), Fire & Guns (Town Square Tavern), Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons (Trap Bar) Phil Round and the late Chuck Pyle the age of 70.

For longtime friend Phil Round, who will pay tribute to Pyle at Dornan’s this weekend, the first thing that intrigued him about Pyle was his inimitable finger picking style. “[Pyle’s method was] very complex, complete, harmonically sophisticated, and percussively attractive, creating a guitar groove like no soloist I’d ever heard before,” he said. “I initially tried to do this way back, but then gave up the attempt.”

Pyle’s vivid lyrics are also what helped to cement his place in the country music sphere. “He did many ‘place-based’ tunes about the West, more specifically the Southwest, that really capture the spirit of that country,” Round said.

The late musician’s spirtual sensibilities that could be discerned in his lyrics resulted in his moniker, Zen Cowboy.

He was a product of Austin’s “Cosmic Cowboy” scene of the 70s that weaved together the aesthetic of the American West with new age philosophy, the Denver Post explained.

Round first met Pyle at KMTN’s studio when it was located above Gaslight Alley. Pyle was asleep on the floor under the record stacks looking to get his record spun by Round’s wife and DJ at the time, Beth McIntosh.

Round got Pyle a gig in the mid 80s at the old Spirits of

SATURDAY Phil Round’s Tribute to Chuck Pyle (Dornan’s), Bootleg Flyer (Silver Dollar), WYOBASS (Town Square Tavern), Tram Jam (JHMR)

the West bar and they would occasionally cross paths while Round was touring nationally with Loose Ties. Round first sat in with Pyle more than a decade ago at Dornan’s.

“I’d say that I cover his tunes similar to the way that he presents them mostly (the progressions are accurate), but catering to my own strengths as a player, rather than doing a compromised facsimile of his style,” Round said of his approach. “We will also do a few of my original songs that I pretty much never do when I perform, so I have to learn them!” Listeners will also enjoy a banjo instrumental recorded years ago that Ted Wells of Loose Ties wrote.

Round will be joined by Wells on pedal steel and banjo along with Rob Honey on bass, who worked as a studio musician in Salt Lake City and was a staff songwriter in Nashville for many years.

Phil Round Trio’s Tribute to Chuck Pyle, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, January 7 and 8 at Dornan’s in Moose. $20 tickets at Valley Bookstore, The Liquor Store and Dornan’s.

307-733-2415. PJH Aaron Davis is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, member of Screen Door Porch and Boondocks, founder/host of Songwriter’s Alley, and co-founder of The WYOmericana Caravan.

SUNDAY The Minor Keys (Silver Dollar), Open Mic (Pinky G’s), Hof Band (Alpenhof) MONDAY Tucker Smith Band (Mangy Moose) TUESDAY PTO (Hole Bowl), Open Mic (Virginian)

n Moose Hockey Game 7:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Bootleg Flyer 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Phil Round 8:00pm, Dornans, $20.00, 307733-2415 n WYOBASS 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n Live Music w/ TILTED 10:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n SANDEE BROOKS AND BEYOND CONTROL 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8

n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n 1st Annual Free Nordic Ski, Fat Bike & Snowshoe Day 10:00am, Turpin Meadows Ranch, Free, 307-739-6399 n NFL Sunday Football 11:00am, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307.353.2300 n Major Zephyr 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913

n Winter Wonderland - Ice Skating on Town Square 4:00pm, Town Square, $0.00 $8.00, 307-733-3932 n Wine Tasting on a Budget 4:00pm, Dornans, $10.00, 307733-2415 n Stagecoach Band 6:00pm, Stagecoach, Free, 307733-4407 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Aikido Classes 7:30pm, 290 N Millward, Free, 307-690-3941 n The Minor Keys 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939

n Hospitality Night - Happy Hour 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500

MONDAY, JANUARY 9

n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Beginning Painting 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $160.00, 307733-6379 n Digital Photography 9:00am, CWC-Jackson, 307733-7425

n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Free Public Planetarium Programs 3:30pm, Teton County Library, Free, 1-844-996-7827 n B.O.G.D.O.G - Band On Glen Down on Glen 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n BCS Championship Game 4:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Sensation-Based Movement 4:45pm, On Stage, The Center Theater, Free, 307-733-6398 n Hootenanny 6:00pm, Dornan’s, Free, 307733-2415

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 19

n Collage 10:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $60.00, 307-7336379 n Teton Valley Winter Farmers’ Market 10:00am, MD Nursery, Free, 208-354-8816 n Assemblage 1:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $65.00, 307-7336379 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n She Jumps Backcountry 101 - Women’s Specific with Yostmark 6:00pm, Yostmark Mountain Shop, 208-354-2828

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 22

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

20 | JANUARY 4, 2017

CREATIVE PEAKS Come check out your favorite NFL/College team on our 10 HD tvs!

•••••••••••

HAPPY HOUR

1/2 Off Drinks Daily 5-7pm

••••••••••• Monday-Saturday 11am, Sunday 10:30am 832 W. Broadway (inside Plaza Liquors)•733-7901

An Intimate Crop A local film in progress will illuminate the people behind the glass at Vertical Harvest.

BY MEG DALY @MegDaly1

OLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR THE LATEST PLANET HAPPENINGS! @

H

ow do we nourish community? That is the question explored in a new film in progress, Hearts of Glass, about Vertical Harvest, the urban greenhouse in downtown Jackson that has made people sit up and take notice. Funded in part through a unique public/private partnership with the Town of Jackson, it is one of very few vertical greenhouses in the world.

Vertical Harvest has been written up in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and myriad other publications. It has garnered attention not only for an innovative approach to growing food, but also for co-founders Penny McBride’s and Nona Yehia’s commitment to employing people with developmental disabilities.

Currently in its first year of operation, the three-story greenhouse is built onto the side of the multi-story parking structure on Simpson Street between Milward and Glenwood. This 13,500-square-foot glass structure fits on a postage stamp one-tenth of an acre, but yields an annual amount of produce equivalent to five acres of traditional agriculture. The produce consists of lettuces, micro-greens, basil and tomatoes.

In total, the yield replaces 100,000 pounds annually of produce that would have been shipped into the valley.

Filmmaker Jennifer Tennican teamed up with Slow Food of the Tetons to produce Hearts of Glass, a feature length documentary to tell the story behind this innovative project. The film focuses on the people who staff the greenhouse, many who have developmental disabilities.

“I’m drawn to stories about community,” Tennican said. “As a documentary filmmaker who has chosen to focus on subject matter central to Jackson, Wyoming, where I live, it’s a gift from the story gods to have something as innovative and exciting as Vertical Harvest going on in your backyard.”

Indeed, Tennican’s recent films are centered on Jackson community institutions and icons. The Stagecoach depicts one of the valley’s most famous and enduring watering holes and how it has changed over time.

Far Afield profiled naturalist and writer Bert Raynes and his contributions to the local community’s appreciation of nature and its

Filmmaker Jennifer Tennican in her natural habitat. stewardship.

Now Hearts of Glass will tell the story of Vertical Harvest’s first year, through the experiences of the people involved, from the founders to the workers.

Tennican has brought on several scholars as consultants to the film. Michelle Jarman is an associate professor of disability studies at the University of Wyoming.

She commends the film’s commitment to highlight two aspects of social justice— local food sustainability and employment of folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“People with disabilities (of all types) continue to struggle disproportionally with unemployment or under-employment, and this is especially true of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Jarman said. “When employers like Vertical Harvest seek out qualified employees with disabilities, these employers and employees model an inclusive value system, where people with disabilities participate as integrated employees, residents, consumers, and citizens of their local communities.”

This model of providing employment to underserved communities fits with the larger mission of what practitioners call “urban agriculture.” UW associate professor of public health Christine M. Porter says urban agriculture has three roles. It should provide good food to people with limited financial resources at prices they can afford. Job training, work experience, and leadership development for people typically excluded from employment and leadership roles should also be among the offerings.

Finally, it should generate income for producers and create jobs funded by profits from sales.

Vertical Harvest is trying to do all three.

Porter says it is unusual to have such a high profile project in such a high visibility area, much less one with a tiny land footprint.

“Normally urban agriculture work is at the figurative and literal margins of our society, where community leaders in low-income, low-rent areas are reclaiming vacant lots to grow food with, for and by their

communities, usually communities that face high food insecurity rates,” she said.

Unlike Tennican’s previous projects where she knew the story ahead of time, with Hearts of Glass she and her film crew are capturing the story as it unfolds.

“Sometimes we are just a fly on the wall and other times we are doing on the spot interviews as people work.”

Focusing on people means capturing compelling story arcs and showcasing the diversity of the employees, aged 20 to 50 and beyond. Some live independently while others need full time support. Some are single, some married.

“It’s the kind of diversity you see in people without disabilities,” Tennican said.

“People living with disabilities want the same things other people want—they want to feel valued and have good relationships with friends, family and community.”

The reason Tennican makes documentaries is to transport viewers into worlds they don’t ordinarily inhabit and meet people they may not have met otherwise.

This mission, she explained, is particularly important in Hearts of Glass.

“There’s often a monolithic portrayal of people of disabilities that deprives them of their individuality,” she said. “This documentary tries to portray them as individuals. It’s important to me to film the employees as they are and let them express themselves in their own words.”

The film received initial funding from the Wyoming Humanities Council, Wyoming Arts Council, and the Wyoming Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. Currently the film is about 50 percent funded. People can donate to the project via Slow Food of the Tetons.

“We want to create a community around the film,” Tennican said. “There are a lot of different people interested in this, from different corners of our community and our world.”

Find more info and watch the trailer at facebook.com/HeartsOfGlassFilm PJH

DANCERS’ WORKSHOP & THE JACKSON HOLE JEWISH COMMUNITY PRESENT:

MR. GAGA DOCUMENTARY ON ISRAELI CHOREOGRAPHER OHAD NAHARIN

MONDAY, JANUARY 9

OHAD NAHARIN, GAGA PIONEER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE BATSHEVA DANCE COMPANY, IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHOREOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD. FILMED OVER A PERIOD OF EIGHT YEARS, DIRECTOR TOMER HEYMANN MIXES INTIMATE REHEARSAL FOOTAGE WITH AN EXTENSIVE UNSEEN ARCHIVE AND BREATHTAKING DANCE SEQUENCES. THIS STORY OF AN ARTISTIC GENIUS WHO REDEFINED THE LANGUAGE OF MODERN DANCE IS GUARANTEED TO LEAVE YOU SKIPPING.

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 21

307- 733- 6398 OR I N F O@ J H J E W I S H C OM M U N I T Y. O R G D W J H . OR G

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

6:15 P.M. AT THE CENTER THEATER 265 S. CACHE • JACKSON, WY FREE. GENERAL ADMISSION AT THE DOOR 5:30 P.M. OPENING RECEPTION: WATCH THE ALREADY IN PROGRESS MASTERCLASS BY FRANCESCO ROMO ON STAGE.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

22 | JANUARY 4, 2017

n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Mr. Gaga, A Film by Tomer Heymann 6:00pm, The Center Theater & Lobby, Free, 307-733-6398 n Intro to Astrophotography 7:30pm, Art Associaiton of Jackson Hole, $280.00, 307-733-6379

CULTURE KLASH

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10

n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n REFIT® 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n A Journey: Channeling Expression through Drawing Technique 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $160.00, 307-733-6379 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-733-2164 n Teton Plein Air Painters Critique 12:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Free, 307-733-6379 n White Lightning Open Mic Night 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-3532300 n The Maw Band 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Hand and Wheel 3:45pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $180.00, 307-733-6379 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-6906539 n Cribbage 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-354-5522 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Handbuilding Clay 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $184.00, 307-733-6379 n Watercolor 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $160.00, 307-733-6379 n Fat Bike Demo 6:00pm, Summit HS/Middle School Groomed Ski Track, Free, 307-739-9025 n One Ton Pig 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307732-3939 n B.O.G.D.O.G. 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-7333886

FOR COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS VISIT PJHCALENDAR.COM

Gone Gaga Free film premiere showcases the work of a modern movement master.

BY MEG DALY @MegDaly1

O

nce again, Dancers’ Workshop is serving up world-class dance, this time on screen. DW has teamed up with the Jackson Hole Jewish Community to show an award-winning documentary film, Mr. Gaga, about one of contemporary dance’s most respected choreographers, Ohad Naharin. Jackson filmgoers will enjoy a free advanced screening Monday at the Center for the Arts ahead of the film’s U.S. premiere in New York, February 1.

An anomaly in the dance world, Naharin did not begin dancing professionally until he was 22 years old. Soon after that he was invited by Martha Graham to join her dance troupe in New York City.

In 1990, he became the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company in Israel. Mr. Gaga tells the story of Naharin’s creative journey from a young boy growing up on a kibbutz to becoming one of the most important choreographers of our time.

The documentary takes the audience inside Naharin’s instrumental work, styles and philosophy, which have left indelible imprints on dancers around the world and in our backyard.

“Ohad Naharain is one of the most influential choreographers that I can think of right now,” said Carrie Richer of Hole Dance Films. “His work has impacted everything that I try to consider in my own artwork.”

Directed by Tomer Heymann, Mr. Gaga was shot over seven years and includes

Choreographer Ohad Naharin has made myriad people go Gaga. archival footage of Naharin’s development as a dancer and choreographer. Heymann notes in the film’s trailer that his mission was to uncover how Naharin works with his dancers. That means exploring the movement language of Gaga, which emphasizes dancers’ exploration of sensation and what Naharin calls “availability for movement.”

It was devised by Naharin and is the primary training method for the Batsheva Dance Company.

San Francisco’s Literature and Arts Quarterly The Hudson Review described the Batsheva style as “focused, explosive, and feral” and “almost reptilian.” Dancers are more attuned with each other’s presence than with the onlooker’s. “A dancer might drop to a crouch, snap up straight with the leg extended to the side, rotate the leg behind, the toes groping like claws, then fall into an extreme backbend, all in about two seconds. Not a twitch of energy is superfluous.”

Dancers are keenly aware of those around them perhaps because Gaga training is done without mirrors. The dancers cannot watch themselves move. Instead they must mine their own imagination and passion. Naharin says Gaga is about “turning up the volume of listening” to one’s own body. He told the UK presenting organization Dance Consortium that Gaga “has to do with delicacy, with small gestures.”

In an interview with The Guardian, Naharin further explained: “I take form and I take content and I put them in a blender.”

The New York Times has described his choreography style as “distinguished by stunningly flexible limbs and spines, deeply grounded movement, explosive bursts and a vitality that grabs a viewer by the collar.” At times, what this looks like on stage is nothing short of earth shattering. The dancers reach and carve

through space with their bodies and limbs as if pushing the boundaries of space itself, punching into other dimensions. But the choreography can be quiet as well, exploring intimacy and gesture in subtle put perceptible ways. Naharin speaks of finding delicate moments, and indeed his dancers are attuned to movement down to their toes and even in their faces.

Actress Natalie Portman worked with Naharin for her role in the film Black Swan. In the trailer for Mr. Gaga, Portman calls Naharin, “One of the great dance minds of our time.” She comments on Gaga, describing it as a dance language without a set vocabulary. Instead, she says, “It’s like, ‘Take this idea and make the movement that your body makes.’”

The result is an embodied rhythm that emanates from dancers’ cores. It’s difficult to describe in words, but once a dancer has been trained in Gaga it becomes apparent in the way they move.

Jackson viewers might notice this quality of movement in Contemporary Dance Wyoming member Francesca Romo, who co-founded Gallim Dance Company out of New York. Gallim’s director was a student of Naharin’s.

Prior to the screening of Mr. Gaga, Romo will lead a master dance class in sensation-based movement. The class will offer a flavor of Naharin’s approach.

Romo said her aim is to get more young people involved and enthusiastic about the potential of the human body.

“Every day we are dancing, whether we think about it or not.”

Sensation-based movement master class with Francesca Romo, 4:45 p.m. Monday, January 9, Center Stage. $25, register at www.dwjh.org, 307-733-6398.

Mr. Gaga documentary opening reception, 5:30 p.m. Monday, January 9 at the Center Theater, film screening at 6:15 p.m. Free. PJH

Lucky Lobster Crustacean adventures for the curious foodie.

BY TRACI MCCLINTIC

T

Lobsters are omens of strength and abundance, making this lobster bisque a befitting dish for the new year. blade firmly down through the shell, and cut forward through the head, twisting off the tale, and removing the legs and underside of the tail with culinary sheers. With my misgivings finally put to rest, I forged ahead. Cheers to strength, discovery and abundance. Bring it on 2017.

Recipe: Lobster Bisque 1.5-2 lbs lobster ½ leek 1 carrot 1 onion 2 garlic clove 1 bay leaf ¼ c. butter (melted) ¼ c. olive oil 6 thyme sprigs 4 parsley stalks 2 T tomato puree ½ c. brandy 3 c. dry white wine 4 L seafood stock ½ c. rice flour 4 T butter ½ c. heavy cream ¼ c. brandy Pinch of cayenne Sauté minced garlic with butter and olive oil. Add mirepoix of leeks, carrots and onions. Add bay leaf, thyme, parsley and sauté to brown. Remove tail and claw meat from lobster, set aside. Add shell pieces to mirepoix and continue to cook. Stir in tomato paste and caramelize slightly. Add brandy, flambé. Deglaze with white wine, reduce by half. Add warm seafood stock and reduce. Skim off foam. Simmer for up to an hour. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, reserve liquid. Add shells to high-powered blender with a little bit of liquid and blend thoroughly.

Pass through fine mesh strainer, place back in pot. Bring to a boil and continue to reduce. Dilute rice flour with a bit of cold water and add to boiling broth to simmer. Add cream and remaining 4 T butter. Finish with 1/4 c. brandy and a pinch of cayenne.

Garnish with lobster meat that has been sautéed in butter and garlic. PJH

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 23

animals nestled into the aquarium’s dark corners.

“I have orders for between 12 and 22 lobsters a day between Christmas and New Years,” he reported, “which is a lot when we normally sell only two or three.”

Albertsons’ Maine lobsters are a cold water American species procured from Seattle Fish Company. They arrive in boxes of 12, standing on their tails, claw-to-claw beneath layers of wet paper towels and blankets. Each one is flushed with a salt water solution to clean their shells and rehydrate their systems before being added to the store’s tank, where they live out the remainder of their days, waiting to be distributed to places like The Blue Lion and Amangani, or to customers willing to look past the $18.99/lb price tag in the name of culinary alchemy.

Leaving the grocer with my prize, boxed in its temporary cardboard shelter, I returned home nervous and excited. To have a lobster, live and completely at one’s mercy is a weighty responsibility, and it takes a bit of research and planning to properly harvest this delicacy.

Under the right circumstances, lobsters can live at least 24 hours outside of the tank, but they must remain in a cool environment, such as a cardboard box lined with damp paper towels. Submersion in tap water will drown these salt water creatures, rendering them inedible. They must be cooked from a living state to reduce the chances of food poisoning from toxins present in bacteria, various algae, and parasites, so buyers should be prepared well in advance of purchase.

When it comes to “harvesting,” various methods exist, but today the most common technique is to chill the lobster in the freezer or beneath ice for between 20 minutes and two hours before cooking. According to studies by the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, those planning to cook their lobsters in boiling water will benefit from the chilling method because it delays the onset of [reflex] activity about 30 seconds and reduces the duration of movement to about 20 seconds.

For the purpose of making bisque, it was necessary to sauté the shell, so my lobster was best utilized cleaved into halves and pieces. After reviewing my notes from culinary school, along with various YouTube videos on the subject, I was ready.

With the crustacean centered on the cutting board, I placed the tip of a very sharp chef’s knife at the midline along its back, about an inch behind the eyes, tapped the

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

he holidays have come and gone and culinary folks across the country are untying their apron strings, wiping a tired arm across their brow and gazing with pride upon their now barren pantry shelves.

From Thanksgiving through the New Year, the holiday season is an exciting time for any foodie to spread her wings and indulge in laborious preparations for meals that might seem extravagant at other times of the year.

Some have cooked their way into 2017 with a finale of traditional fare. For those with Southern roots, cured ham and black-eyed peas were the order of the day on January 1, symbolizing luck and forward progress respectively. My mother, I’m sure, spent part of Sunday afternoon sautéing cabbage that would later be sprinkled with silver dollar coins, a spoonful of which gives the lucky gourmand an entire year’s worth of wealth and prosperity, if not a chipped tooth.

For me, there was a spoonful of soup that kept coming to mind, a smooth, rich lobster bisque I wanted to recreate and share with whoever was sitting at my table when Saint Sylvester’s Day arrived. While crustaceans are not traditional New Year’s fare, the lobster is an omen of strength, abundance and discovery, and who wouldn’t mind a little of each weaved into their personal almanac in the months to come?

Of course the bisque’s creation required the decimation of a certain innocent lobster, which gave me pause.

But as I was perusing Food and Wine Magazine’s Culinary Zodiac for 2017, this caught my eye: “You are an extremist in the best possible way, so embrace that all or nothing nature…” Thus the lobster’s fate was sealed. My horoscope went on to read, “You’re the sexiest of all the cooks out there…” This strengthened my resolve and I headed over to Albertsons, where Butcher Department supervisor Patrick Jensen was kind enough to assist me with the crime.

He fished out the day’s catch with a long handled rake as I barraged him with questions about the dozen or so

TRACI MCCLINTIC

FEAST

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

24 | JANUARY 4, 2017

LOCAL & DOMESTIC STEAKS SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK @ 5:30 TILL 10 JHCOWBOYSTEAKHOUSE.COM 307-733-4790

Trio is located just off the town square in downtown Jackson, and is owned & operated by local chefs with a passion for good food.

Our menu features contemporary American dishes inspired by classic bistro cuisine. Daily specials feature wild game, fish and meats.

Enjoy a glass of wine at the bar in front of the wood-burning oven and watch the chefs perform in the open kitchen.

Dinner Nightly at 5:30pm

Local is a modern American steakhouse and bar located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Serving locally raised beef and, regional game, fresh seafood and seasonally inspired food, Local offers the perfect setting for lunch, drinks or dinner.

Lunch 11:30am Monday-Saturday Dinner 5:30pm Nightly

45 S. Glenwood

HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-6:00pm

Available for private events & catering

307.201.1717 | LOCALJH.COM ON THE TOWN SQUARE

For reservations please call 734-8038

Are you a discerning drinker who knows her scotch from her whiskey? When you’re talking bouquets, are flowers the last thing on your mind? Then we want YOU. The Planet is looking for a drink columnist who likes to imbibe and write about it with authority.

EMAIL WRITING SAMPLES TO EDITOR@PLANETJH.COM.

Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom and pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves!

ASIAN & CHINESE TETON THAI

Serving the world’s most exciting cuisine.

Teton Thai offers a splendid array of flavors: sweet, hot, sour, salt and bitter. All balanced and blended perfectly, satisfying the most discriminating palate. Open daily. 7432 Granite Loop Road in Teton Village, (307) 733-0022 and in Driggs, (208) 787-8424, tetonthai.com.

THAI ME UP ®

Large Specialty Pizza ADD: Wings (8 pc)

$ 13 99

Medium Pizza (1 topping) Stuffed Cheesy Bread

for an extra $5.99/each

(307) 733-0330 520 S. Hwy. 89 • Jackson, WY

ELY U Q I N U PEAN EURO

F O H ‘ E H

T

R DINNEAGE I H LUNCTETON VILL I T S IN FA BREAKE ALPENHOF AT TH

AT THE

CONTINENTAL ALPENHOF

Serving authentic Swiss cuisine, the Alpenhof features European style breakfast entrées and alpine lunch fare. Dine in the Bistro for a casual meal or join us in the Alpenrose dining room for a relaxed dinner experience.

Breakfast 7:30am-10am. Coffee & pastry 10am-11:30am. Lunch 11:30am-3pm. Aprés 3pm-5:30pm. Dinner 6pm-9pm. For reservations at the Bistro or Alpenrose, call 307-733-3242.

ENTIRE BILL

Good between 5:30-6pm • Open nightly at 5:30pm Please mention ad for discount.

733-3912 160 N. Millward

Make your reservation online at bluelionrestaurant.com

5

$ 49 + tax

A Jackson Hole favorite for 38 years. Join us in the charming atmosphere of a historic home. Ask a local about our rack of lamb.

Serving fresh fish, elk, poultry, steaks, and vegetarian entrées. Live acoustic guitar music most nights. Early Bird Special: 20% off entire bill between 5:30-6:0pm, Open nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations recommended, walkins welcome. 160 N. Millward, (307) 733-3912, bluelionrestaurant.com.

CAFE GENEVIEVE

Serving inspired home cooked classics in a historic log cabin. Enjoy brunch daily at 8 a.m., Dinner Tues-Sat 5 p.m. and Happy Hour Tues-Sat 3-5:30 p.m. featuring $5 glasses of wine, $5 specialty drinks, $3 bottled beer. 135 E. Broadway, (307) 732-1910, genevievejh. com.

Enjoy all the perks of fine dining, minus the dress code at Eleanor’s, serving rich, saucy dishes in a warm and friendly setting. Its bar alone is an attraction, thanks to reasonably priced drinks and a loyal crowd. Come get a belly-full of our two-time gold medal wings.

Open at 11 a.m. daily. 832 W. Broadway, (307) 733-7901.

Get a Big Mac®, Medium Fries and a Medium Soft Drink for only $5.49 plus tax during the month of January.

Fast, Affordable and On Your Way! 1110 W. Broadway Jackson, Wyoming Open daily 5:00am to midnight Free Wi-Fi

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 25

20%OFF

ONLY

THE BLUE LION

ELEANOR’S EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

McDonald’s ® JANUARY Locals Special

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

307.733.3242

Home of Melvin Brewing Co. Freshly remodeled offering modern Thai cuisine in a relaxed setting. New tap system with 20 craft beers. New $8 wine list and extensive bottled beer menu. Open daily for dinner at 5pm.

Downtown at 75 East Pearl Street. View our tap list at thaijh.com/brews. 307-733-0005.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

26 | JANUARY 4, 2017

THE LOCALS

FAVORITE PIZZA 2012, 2013 & 2014 •••••••••

$7

$4 Well Drink Specials

LUNCH

SPECIAL Slice, salad & soda

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

TV Sports Packages and 7 Screens

Under the Pink Garter Theatre (307) 734-PINK • www.pinkygs.com

Napolitana-style Pizza, panini, pasta, salad, beer wine. Order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com

The deli that’ll rock your belly. Jackson’s newest sub shop serves steamed subs, reubens, gyros, delicious all beef hot dogs, soups and salads. We offer Chicago style hot dogs done just the way they do in the windy city. Open daily11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located just a short block north of the Town Square at 180 N. Center Street, (307) 733-3448.

LOCAL

Local, a modern American steakhouse and bar, is located on Jackson’s historic town square. Our menu features both classic and specialty cuts of locally-ranched meats and wild game alongside fresh seafood, shellfish, house-ground burgers, and seasonally-inspired food. We offer an extensive wine list and an abundance of locallysourced products. Offering a casual and vibrant bar atmosphere with 12 beers on tap as well as a relaxed dining room, Local is the perfect spot to grab a burger for lunch or to have drinks and dinner with friends. Lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am.

Dinner Nightly 5:30pm. 55 North Cache, (307) 201-1717, localjh.com.

LOTUS CAFE Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally FRESH FOOD at reasonable prices, is a always a FUN PLACE to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel RIGHT AT HOME and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit.

11am -9:30pm daily 20 W. Broadway 307.201.1472

FULL STEAM SUBS

Reservations at (307) 733-4913 3295 Village Drive • Teton Village, WY

www.mangymoose.com

Serving organic, freshly-made world cuisine while catering to all eating styles. Endless organic and natural meat, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices. Offering super smoothies, fresh extracted juices, espresso and tea. Full bar and house-infused botanical spirits. Open daily 8am for breakfast lunch and dinner. 140 N. Cache, (307) 734-0882, tetonlotuscafe.com.

MANGY MOOSE

Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally fresh food at reasonable prices, is a always a fun place to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel right at home and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit. Teton Village, (307) 733-4913, mangymoose.com.

MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY STEAKHOUSE

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

Jackson’s first Speakeasy Steakhouse. The Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse is a hidden gem located below the world famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Our menu offers guests the best in American steakhouse cuisine. Top quality chops and steaks sourced from local farms, imported Japanese Wagyu beef, and house-cured meats and sausages. Accentuated with a variety of thoughtful side dishes, innovative appetizers, creative vegetarian items, and decadent desserts, a meal at this landmark location is sure to be a memorable one. Reservations are highly recommended.

PIZZAS, PASTAS & MORE HOUSEMADE BREAD & DESSERTS FRESH, LOCALLY SOURCED OFFERINGS TAKE OUT AVAILABLE Dining room and bar open nightly at 5:00pm (307) 733-2460 • 2560 Moose Wilson Road • Wilson, WY

A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965

SNAKE RIVER BREWERY & RESTAURANT

America’s most award-winning microbrewery is serving lunch and dinner. Take in the atmosphere while enjoying wood-fired pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. $9 lunch menu. Happy hour 4 to 6 p.m., including tasty hot wings. The freshest beer in the valley, right from the source! Free WiFi. Open 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 265 S. Millward. (307) 739-2337, snakeriverbrewing.com.

TRIO 1110 MAPLE WAY, SUITE B JACKSON, WY 307.264.2956 picnicjh.com

Owned and operated by Chefs with a passion for good food, Trio is located right off the Town square in downtown Jackson. Featuring a variety

of cuisines in a relaxed atmosphere, Trio is famous for its wood-oven pizzas, specialty cocktails and waffle fries with bleu cheese fondue. Dinner nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations. (307) 734-8038 or bistrotrio.com.

ITALIAN CALICO

A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965, the Calico continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the Valley. The Calico offers the right combination of really good food, (much of which is grown in our own gardens in the summer), friendly staff; a reasonably priced menu and a large selection of wine. Our bar scene is eclectic with a welcoming vibe. Open nightly at 5 p.m. 2560 Moose Wilson Rd., (307) 733-2460.

MEXICAN EL ABUELITO

Serving authentic Mexican cuisine and appetizers in a unique Mexican atmosphere. Home of the original Jumbo Margarita. Featuring a full bar with a large selection of authentic Mexican beers. Lunch served weekdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Nightly dinner specials. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 385 W. Broadway, (307) 733-1207.

PIZZA DOMINO’S PIZZA

Hot and delicious delivered to your door. Handtossed, deep dish, crunchy thin, Brooklyn style and artisan pizzas; bread bowl pastas, and oven baked sandwiches; chicken wings, cheesy breads and desserts. Delivery. 520 S. Hwy. 89 in Kmart Plaza, (307) 733-0330.

PINKY G’S

The locals favorite! Voted Best Pizza in Jackson Hole 2012, 2013 and 2014. Seek out this hidden gem under the Pink Garter Theatre for NY pizza by the slice, salads, stromboli’s, calzones and many appetizers to choose from. Try the $7 ‘Triple S’ lunch special.Happy hours 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. Sun.- Thu. Text PINK to 71441 for discounts.

Delivery and take-out. Open daily 11a.m. to 2 a.m. 50 W. Broadway, (307) 734-PINK.

PIZZERIA CALDERA

Jackson Hole’s only dedicated stone-hearth oven pizzeria, serving Napolitana-style pies using the

freshest ingredients in traditional and creative combinations. Five local micro-brews on tap, a great selection of red and white wines by the glass and bottle, and one of the best views of the Town Square from our upstairs deck. Daily lunch special includes slice, salad or soup, any two for $8. Happy hour: half off drinks by the glass from 4 - 6 daily. Dine in or carry out. Or order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com, or download our app for iOS or Android. Open from 11am - 9:30pm daily at 20 West Broadway. 307-201-1472.

SWEETS MEETEETSE CHOCOLATIER

Meeteetse Chocolatier brings their unique blend of European style chocolates paired with “Wyomingesque” flavors. Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit, Sage, Huckleberry and Sarsaparilla lead off a decadent collection of truffles, Belgian chocolates and hand made caramel. Sample Single Origin and Organic chocolates at our Tasting Station. Open Weekends, 265 W. Broadway. 307-413-8296. meeteetsechocolatier. com

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9.

No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and experience.

WELLNESS COMMUNITY 13 WEEK RUN STARTS JANUARY 11 TH ISSUE

ACTUAL AD SIZE

$18/WEEK FOR 1 SQUARE $34/WEEK FOR 2 SQUARES AD RESERVATIONS DUE FRIDAY, JAN. 6 TH BY 4PM

CONTACT SALES@PLANETJH.COM OR 732.0299

L.A.TIMES “DINE OUT” By Paul Coulter

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017

ACROSS 1 8 11

85 Bas-relief medium 87 Dashed 89 Cavaradossi’s “Recondita armonia,” for one 90 Cooper’s creations 92 Green need 94 Bring in 98 Where Java may be found 99 Before 100 Have a good day birding?

105 Pitcher’s pride 106 Meh 107 Breaks 108 Nursing a sprain, perhaps 110 “Good going!”

113 Stunned accusation 114 Come together 118 Fever with chills 119 Paragraph in a lemon law?

123 Needle holder 124 Espionage asset 125 More frothy 126 River to the Fulda 127 It’s used for some trips 128 WWII venue 129 __ step: deceptive hoops tactic

DOWN

Put on Invite for Honor society leader?

Reach a high Clan clash “Hey ... over here!” “__ good name is ne’er retriev’d”: John Gay 33 King of France 35 “His,” to Bierce 36 Gives off 37 Variety show 38 Soak 39 “Yea, verily” 40 Outlaw Kelly 41 Thug’s thousands 42 “The King and I” role 43 City on the Dnieper 48 Winning Super Bowl III coach Ewbank 49 Busybodies 51 Get-up-and-go 52 “Foucault’s Pendulum” author 53 Yellow __ 56 Start of a tribute 57 Pride and prejudice 59 Fools 60 Faulkner’s “__ Lay Dying” 61 Card collection 63 Car from Trollhättan 65 NBC show since 1975 69 After-dinner drink letters 70 Literary fold 71 Third of seven: Abbr.

72 “Fine” holder of fish?

73 Wharton deg.

74 Crew member 75 Kimono closer 79 Away from the office 80 In a tough spot

82 It’s a long story 83 South Dakota, to Pierre 4 Pizzazz 86 Eyeball-bending work 88 Drops the ball 91 Go (for) 93 1999 “A God in Ruins” novelist 95 Go around in circles?

96 It’s south of Eur. 97 Small change 99 Gushes 100 Standoffish 101 Protected, as from prosecution 102 Put up with 103 Art Deco artist 104 Scatterbrained 105 Slack-jawed 109 House of Lords member 111 Balancing pro 112 Agatha contemporary 113 Bounce back 114 Nicky of “Boston Public” 115 Jour’s opposite 116 “Got it” 117 Amer. Samoa, e.g.

119 ISP alternative 120 Polo Grounds legend 121 Be-bopper 122 The Tigers of the SEC

JANUARY 4, 2017 | 27

1 Attendee 2 Moonfish 3 Darned 4 Quaint stopovers 5 Italian counterpart of the BBC 6 Prince Valiant’s son 7 Shackle 8 Onetime California oil town 9 “__ the fields we go” 10 Kind of prof.

11 Marching orders?

12 Radar or laser 13 Accountant’s initialism 14 European automaker that was originally a sewing machine company 15 Rwanda’s capital 16 Didn’t just criticize

17 19 21 24 29 30 31

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Get hot online Slithery squeezer San Francisco / Oakland separator 14 Signature Southern vegetable 18 Treeless tract 20 High esteem 22 Motley 23 Basis for evaluating an archaeology dig?

25 “Goodness gracious!”

26 “Wide Sargasso Sea” author Jean 27 Chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad 28 2016 A.L. Manager of the Year Francona, familiarly 29 Heartthrob 30 Medicare segment 32 As to 34 Called the shots 35 Warning to Bo Peep that her sheep are really hiding nearby?

44 “The Sage of Concord” 45 Romeo or Juliet 46 South of France 47 Holds firmly 48 Dilates 50 Times for vespers 54 Knock for a loop 55 Schleps 58 “When leaving the beach, hose off your feet before putting on your shoes”?

62 Jiffs 64 Slip cover 66 Yorkshire river 67 Bygone bird 68 Must choose among less volatile investment options?

73 Bossy remark?

76 Wine center NNE of Monaco 77 Flaw-spotting aid 78 Canterbury’s county 81 Infant dressed for rain?

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

28 | JANUARY 4, 2017

The Good News Acts of kindness to help inspire and guide your trajectory in 2017.

I

t is essential to know that human kindness and true planetary stewardship are alive and well. Here is a small sample of news stories from across the country and around the world that reflect the best of who we are. They exemplify people’s uplifting actions that are creating a positive tipping point in the world.

Indian businessman builds 90 homes for the homeless, December 19, 2016 A man in India, Ajay Munot, chose to celebrate his daughter’s wedding by using the money he had saved for the occasion to build 90 homes for homeless people, The Telegraph reported. The bride and groom were supportive of his decision. The 12 -by 20-square-foot homes have windows, electricity and fresh paint. The homes will also have access to filtered drinking water. The bride and groom handed the keys to the new owners after the wedding.

Man donates pizza for a year to food bank, December 26, 2016 Mario’s Pizza in Northampton, Pennsylvania, decided to reward their customers with something new this holiday season: free pizza for a year. The pizza shop folks did not expect what came next. The computer randomly chose a winner from the 1,200 people who signed up. The name that popped up, Josh Katrick, is someone who really deserved some good news. Katrick received the email from the pizza shop just as he was leaving a chemo treatment center, where he is a patient.

But then the man, whom the pizza shop staff considered a very deserving winner, said he wanted to give it away to the local food bank. Talking with a manager at the restaurant he said, “I’ve been getting so much from family, friends, people I don’t even know over the last few months, I just wanted to give back to people that could use it more than I could.”

The pizza shop is giving both the man and the food bank free pizza for a year.

CNN had the story.

Uber driver saves teen from sex trafficking, December 29, 2016 What began as a normal Uber driving shift for Keith Avila turned into a rescue of a 16-year-old girl from a child sex trafficking ring.

Avila was working on Monday night in Sacramento, California, when he picked up two women and a young girl, The Good News Network reported. While driving them to a Holiday Inn, he heard the adults instruct the teen on how to interact with “John” at the hotel. Their instructions reportedly included telling her to “pat him down for weapons while hugging him” and “get the donation from him” before anything happened.

Avila dropped the women off, drove around the corner and called the cops.

Police officers arrived at the scene, arresting the two pimps—Destiny Pettway and Maria Westley—and the man they were meeting. The teen was apparently a runaway who was taken into temporary housing while law enforcement located her family.

“The worst thing I thought would happen when driving Uber is that I would be getting drunk passengers and I would have to handle them,” Avila told NBC Latino. “All my life, I thought about people throwing up in the car as the worst scenario.”

Planetary stewardship from around the world in 2016 British Columbia has protected 85 percent of one of the world’s largest temperate rainforests, home to the wonderfully named “Spirit Bear.” (Reuters) In February, Peru and Bolivia signed a $500 million deal to preserve Lake Titicaca. (HNGN) In 2016, more than 20 countries pledged more than $5.3 billion for ocean conservation and created 40 new marine sanctuaries covering an area of 3.4 million square kilometers.

(Reuters) This year Costa Rica ran solely on renewable energy for more than 100 days. Now it’s aiming for an entire year with no fossil fuels. (The Independent) Norway became the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation. (The Independent) In July, more than 800,000 volunteers in India planted 50 million trees in one day. (National Geographic) Israel now makes 55 percent of its freshwater through desalination. That means that one of the driest countries on Earth now has more water than it needs. (Ensia) The citizens of Mumbai conducted the largest beach cleanup in human history, removing more than 4,000 metric tons of rubbish. (The Washington Post)

More in 2017 Allow these stories to serve as an inspiration and an invitation to practice more random acts of kindness. To participate in actions and causes which upgrade humanity. To stand up for our Earth, and to know that human kindness uplifts the giver, the recipient and the entire world. PJH

Carol Mann is a longtime Jackson resident, radio personality, former Grand Targhee Resort owner, author, and clairvoyant.

Got a Cosmic Question? Email carol@yourcosmiccafe.com

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s I write this, Christmas is over, I hope. It comes once a year, and for something that has pretty much been the same for 2,000 years, you’d think that people would know it was coming and be prepared for once. This seldom happens, but sometimes out of disaster, fun things do occur.

When I was in high school back in my hometown of Corn Cob, Iowa, my friend LaWanda and I took a job wrapping Christmas gifts at the Highway 30 Mall. It wasn’t much of a job but we weren’t much either.

Mrs. Tizzie, our supervisor, showed us how to fold the paper just so and measure the ribbon. There was to be no crumpled paper, no wasted string and no taking boxes or paper. Of course we hauled both out of there by the armload.

It is actually very hard to wrap a gift because customers are idiots. They are also your natural enemy. They cannot decide on anything. One day, Mrs. Nutley, Norman’s mother, brought in a huge, oddly shaped gift for her darling son. Norman had adenoids, ears like windmill sails and didn’t like anything. It took us an hour to wrap the thing, as it was about the size and shape of New Jersey. Mrs. Nutley took one look and changed her mind—she wanted it wrapped up in some other paper. Mrs. Tizzie said we couldn’t kill her. We looked at each other, picked up our purses and departed on the endless lunch.

Having learned nothing, we took jobs as Easter Bunny helpers that spring. We were to hand out Fanny Farmer candy samples while little children sat on bunny’s lap and asked about their Easter baskets. Our friend Marvin was the bunny. He had a fuzzy bunny suit, a poofy tail and some kind of a bunny head with ears. One evening just at closing time, in came Grandma Merkel and her gang of grandchildren, none of whom were tried as adults. Grandma wanted her picture taken on the bunny’s lap. However, she weighed about 400 pounds and Marvin would have been smashed beyond repair.

He told her the mall was closed and he was going home.

“No it isn’t!” she said.

Inflamed, she kicked him in the shins, tore off his poofy tail, ripped off his bunny head by the ears and whacked him with it.

Grandma spent the night in jail, Marvin had a split lip and a bump on his head and we took all the candy samples and went home.

I have mentioned these incidents

GALLOPIN’ GRANDMA

GRANDMA HALF OFF GALLOPIN’ SATIRE BLAST OFF!

Nebraska’s version of Bonnie and Clyde, circa 1923. She’s already on her second husband, he’s on the right, and he’s as slippery as his hair. Nice trowser crease, though.

because there is an upside and a downside to all moments of joy and sometimes the downside isn’t all that bad. After all, Norman hated his gift and returned it and we got lots of free wrapping paper and boxes.

On top of that, one of our fondest memories of Grandma Merkel is her chasing the Easter Bunny through the mall, ripping off his tail and beating him with his bunny head.

Now this Christmas I learned that great joy can come from anything. Last week I was looking through some of my mother’s things and came upon some old yellowed newspaper clippings from 1924. Apparently, there had been a notorious murder trial out in the wilds of central Nebraska when it was really wild.

Let me set the scene for you: There is a dance at a sleazebag dance hall and all the usual characters are there—drunks, lowlifes, underage girls, etc. Since it was during Prohibition, they were probably drinking some combination of motor oil and Listerine. A lovely young newlywed couple is there, probably not Bonnie and Clyde, but close. There is a fight, guns are waved, everyone jumps into their cars, there is a car chase and shots are fired. Someone winds up dead, par for the event. The lovely couple is arrested, charged with murder, there is a notorious jury trial and they are acquitted and told to get out of the county and never come back, which they do.

As I read the clipping, the names became familiar. Holy crap, it was my Aunt Helen and her husband. They were the notorious criminals! How great is that? By the time I knew Aunt Helen, she was divorced, living with my grandmother and no longer armed and dangerous (as far as we knew). I really liked her and I can’t understand why no one ever mentioned her glamorous past.

I suppose the family was mortified, but I’m not. What a great Christmas gift to find out that we are certified lowlifes, something I always suspected.

Other families have relatives who are famous and socially acceptable. Not us, I treasure our scumitude. PJH

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY RABBIT ROW REPAIR

BY ROB BREZSNY

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) I thought of you when I read a tweet by a person who calls himself Vexing Voidsquid. “I feel imbued with a mysterious positive energy,” he wrote, “as if thousands of supplicants are worshipping golden statues of me somewhere.” Given the astrological omens, I think it’s quite possible you will have similar feelings on regular occasions in 2017. I’m not necessarily saying there will literally be golden statues of you in town squares and religious shrines, nor am I guaranteeing that thousands of supplicants will telepathically bathe you in adoration. But who cares how you’re imbued with mysterious positive energy as long as you are?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) When it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the birds known as arctic terns hang out in Greenland and Iceland.

Before the chill sets in, they embark on an epic migration to Antarctica, arriving in time for another summer. But when the weather begins to turn too cold there, they head to the far north again. This is their yearly routine.

In the course of a lifetime, a single bird may travel as far as 1.25 million miles—the equivalent of three roundtrips to the moon. I propose that you make this creature your spirit animal in 2017, Aquarius. May the arctic tern inspire you to journey as far as necessary to fulfill your personal equivalent of a quest for endless summer.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In June 1962, three prisoners sneaked out of the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, located on an island in San Francisco Bay. Did they succeed in escaping? Did they swim to safety through the frigid water and start new lives abroad? No one knows. Law enforcement officials never found them.

Even today, though, the U.S. Marshals Service keeps the case open, and still investigates new evidence when it comes in. Are there comparable enigmas in your own life, Pisces? Events in your past that raised questions you’ve never been able to solve? In 2017, I bet you will finally get to the bottom of them.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Light, electricity, and magnetism are different expressions of a single phenomenon. Scottish scientist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was the first to formulate a theory to explain that startling fact. One of the cornerstones of his work was a set of 20 equations with 20 unknowns. But a younger scientist named Oliver Heaviside decided this was much too complicated. He recast Maxwell’s cumbersome theory in the form of four equations with four unknowns. That became the new standard. In 2017, I believe you Aries will have a knack akin to Heaviside’s. You’ll see the concise essentials obscured by needless complexity.

You’ll extract the shining truths trapped inside messy confusions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) The creature known as the short-eared elephant shrew is typically four inches long and weighs a little more than one ounce. And yet it’s more genetically similar to elephants than to true shrews. In its home habitat of southern Africa, it’s known as the sengi. I propose we regard it as one of your spirit animals in 2017. Its playful place in your life will symbolize the fact that you, too, will have secret connections to big, strong influences; you, too, will have natural links with powerhouses that outwardly don’t resemble you.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) “When I look back, I see my former selves, numerous as the trees,” writes Leo poet Chase Twichell. I’m sure that’s an experience you’ve had yourself. Do you find it comforting? Does it feel like being surrounded by old friends who cushion you with nurturing familiarity? Or is it oppressive and claustrophobic? Does it muffle your spontaneity and keep you tethered to the past? I think these are important questions for you to meditate on in 2017. It’s time to be very conscious and creative about shaping your relationships with all the people you used to be.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “‘Life experience’ does not amount to very much and could be learned from novels alone … without any help from life.” So said Nobel Prize-winning author Elias Canetti, who was born in Bulgaria, had British citizenship, and wrote in German. Although his idea contradicts conventional wisdom, I am presenting it for your consideration in 2017. You’re ready for a massive upgrade in your understanding about the nature of reality—and firsthand “life experience” alone won’t be enough to ensure that.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) I am rooting for you to be flagrantly unique in 2017. I vehemently want you to be uninhibited about expressing your deepest, rawest, hottest inclinations. In this spirit, I offer the following four rallying cries: 1. “Don’t be addicted to looking cool, baby!”-my friend Luther. 2. Creative power arises when you conquer your tendency to stay detached.-paraphrased from poet Marianne Moore. 3.

If you want to be original, have the courage to be an amateur.-paraphrased from poet Wallace Stevens. 4. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.”-Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) “There is a desperation for unknown things,” wrote poet Charles Wright, “a thirst for endlessness that snakes through our bones.” Every one of us has that desperation and thirst from time to time, but no one feels the pull toward perplexing enchantments and eternal riddles more often and more intensely than you Scorpios. And according to my astrological meditations on your life in 2017, you will experience this pull even more often and with greater intensity than ever before. Is that a problem?

I don’t see why it should be. In fact, it could make you sexier and smarter than ever—especially if you regard it as a golden opportunity to become sexier and smarter than ever.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) I hope you will seek out a wide range of intoxicating experiences in 2017. The omens predict it. Fate sanctifies it. I hope you will gracefully barrel your way through the daily whirl with a constant expectation of sly epiphanies, amusing ecstasies, and practical miracles. There has rarely been a time in your life when you’ve had so much potential to heal old wounds through immersions in uncanny bliss. But please note: The best of these highs will NOT be induced by drugs or alcohol, but rather by natural means like sex, art, dancing, meditation, dreamwork, singing, yoga, lucid perceptions, and vivid conversations.

Go to RealAstrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes. Audio horoscopes also available by phone at 877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20) The fictional character Scott Pilgrim is the hero of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s series of graphic novels. He becomes infatuated with a “ninja delivery girl” named Ramona Flowers, but there’s a complication. Before he can win her heart, he must defeat all seven of her evil ex-lovers. I’m sure your romantic history has compelled you to deal with equally challenging dilemmas, Gemini. But I suspect you’ll get a

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20) “The thornbush is the old obstacle in the road,” wrote Franz Kafka. “It must catch fire if you want to go further.”

Let’s analyze this thought, Taurus. If it’s to be of maximum use for you in 2017, we will have to develop it further.

So here are my questions. Did Kafka mean that you’re supposed to wait around passively, hoping the thornbush will somehow catch fire, either through a lucky lightning strike or an act of random vandalism? Or should you, instead, take matters into your own hands—douse the thornbush with gasoline and throw a match into it? Here’s another pertinent query: Is the thornbush really so broad and hardy that it blocks the whole road? If not, maybe you could just go around it.

reprieve from that kind of dark melodrama in 2017. The coming months should be a bright and expansive chapter in your Book of Love.

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