by Mary E. Trimble
Photos by Roni McFadden
Photos by Roni McFadden
One
of our WWW Conference Friday morning tours was to the High Desert Museum in
Bend, an excellent all-encompassing museum with many outstanding exhibits.
A
temporary exhibit while we were there was “Tough by Nature: Portraits of
Cowgirls and Ranch Women of the American West” which showcased Artist Lynda
Lanker. Lanker’s heart-felt exhibit features charcoal and graphite drawings as
well as stone and plate lithographs, acrylics, oil pastels, and egg tempera.
These pictures honor the spirit and stories of ranch women and cowgirls who
earn their sustenance and livelihood from the land.
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From
the Tough by Nature: Portraits of Cowgirls and Ranch Women of the American West
Artist:
Lynda Lanker, Portrait
of Jan Youren
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Another
temporary exhibit features the work of Edward S. Curtis who spent 30 years
beginning in the late 1800s creating a photo-ethnographic study of the North
American Indian. Curtis’ collection is widely considered the finest limited
edition books ever made in the U.S. The High Desert Museum holds the complete
set of the 20 bound volumes of The North American Indian.
The
museum has several permanent exhibits. “Spirit of the West” is ever popular and
starts with a stroll past a Northern Paiute shelter and a French trapper’s
camp. The details depicted are in incredible detail with the sights and sounds
of an Indian camp, a settler’s cabin, a hard rock mine, and into Idaho’s old
Silver City.
“By
Hand Through Memory,” another permanent exhibit, takes visitors through the
Plateau Indian Nations’ journey as they traveled from reservation confinement
to the 21st Century. Their struggle to retain cultural identity is
both poignant and moving.
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From
High Desert Museum
Indian
Head Dresses
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The
High Desert Museum gives visitors a chance to see close-up in both indoor and
outdoor displays of live owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, a Canadian lynx and
bobcat. None of the animals cared for at the Museum can be released to the
wild, either because of injuries or because, separated from their mothers, they
never learned to hunt or avoid predators.
Another
enlightening permanent exhibit is the Miller Family Ranch where visitors can
meet the characters and watch as they do chores (be careful, or you’ll get
roped into lending a hand).
As
visitors walk around inside the different sections of the building, the outside
is brought in by spacious windows looking out on meandering streams in woodsy
settings.
The
famous Henry James Monk stagecoach, a sawmill, ranger station, a nature walk–it’s
all there. If you’re in the Bend, Oregon area, don’t miss this very special
museum.
What
an interesting and fun tour! Thanks to the planning committee for this
excellent choice.
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Mary E. Trimble writes memoir, mainstream and coming-of-age novels with contemporary western settings. Her recent books include Tubob:Two Years in West Africa with the Peace Corps, and Sailing With Impunity.
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