[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.We actually did it more or less for them, to correct the name. They made two. At the dedication we presented it to the chair-man of the Shoshone, and they were happy to get it. Preston citizens may be more knowledgeable about the eventnow, but as the massacre site project has progressed, she says, towns-people have been but vaguely interested. I m always asked, How sthe Bear River project going? But people in this area are apathetic.We call our meetings, we publicize it in the paper and on the radio, Isend out letters to individuals who absolutely need to be there.Wemay get a handful of people out of all the people we notify.Becauseit s been out there, it s been out there all their lives so what? Legislative representatives have also been slow to attend to theproject, perhaps because Preston has been divided over this issue, Hansen 187pitting a minority of the landowners against historical preservation-ists and merchants.After the site was designated a landmark, legisla-tors encouraged Hansen to cool her heels a bit.The next step wouldbe yet another resolution to request a study for an upgrade of the siteto a national historic site or reserve. They said, Now give yourselfa rest because it s going to take you at least five years to get on the listof a hundred for the study for any upgrade of any kind. I said, Thenwhy wait five years? Let me write my letters now. Hansen appealed to every national historian she had written tofor help in attaining landmark status, asking for their support again,this time for a study that could result in the massacre field being de-clared a National Historic Site.She got letters from renowned aca-demics and curators. Two years later we re in the top ten in theDenver regional office for a study.I kept letter-writing, and then I gota call from the Denver office saying they d narrowed the list and youare still in the top five. Six months later, after a little more writingand probing and pushing and carrying on very gently, because I mnot a hard pusher, but I m persistent we were given Number OnePriority in the western division.So here we are, from 1990 to 1998,and we are just now supposed to be getting on the top one hundredlist for consideration.Well, the study s done, the legislation s beingwritten up.The Park Service told me that from the beginning in1985, to now, we are fifteen to twenty years ahead of what it couldhave been. Hansen concedes that this acceleration is due to her ownpersistence, as she is one of the few members of the original commit-tee still alive, and has been working alone for the past four years,with a helper or two who aids with paperwork.But it was at this point that the project finally became controver-sial with white landowners. If it comes to the next stage, whichwould be National Historic Site, or Reserve, land will have to mutatefor the construction of the small museum, visitor center, Indian me-morial.Some landowners are willing to sell, some are not.Those whoare not are very adamantly against it.They think it s just going tobring in riffraff, that their privacy s going to be invaded. Hansenknows all these people personally, she says, and has spoken to themmany times in an effort to reassure them. I ve said to them, If youdon t want to sell your property, your property will not be bought.It s willing seller, willing buyer. Well, what if I don t sell? I said, There will probably be a walkway inside of a chain-link fence.Yourproperty will be here, the memorial will be inside the chain-linkfence.They will not be wandering your fields. 188 The Making of HistoryBut her assurances have not satisfied her neighbors. Either theydon t want to believe it, or they don t believe it, or they re using thatas an excuse for not wanting it. Hansen recalls that Kathy Griffinwas with the committee in its early years, but after it got to be alandmark, that was as much as she wanted.Then she was one of thevery loud and very rude persons at the public hearing, with her Cali-fornia brother. As Hansen understands it, David Hansen had afriend on the coast whose property was surrounded by the Park Ser-vice. He said that after the man died they more or less squeezed outwhoever else till they obtained the whole thing.So he had her upsetthinking that this was what they were going to do out here, eventhough the Park Service explained over and over, If you don t wantto sell you will not have to sell. Some Preston citizens think a national historic site could be prof-itable for the community, but Hansen says she has purposely avoidedany involvement with the potential economic boon for which some ofher neighbors hold out hope.Park Service employees have told her,she says, You people don t know what you have.You not only haveyour historic site, which you re working on, but you could make thisa place of destination, not a pass-through.You have the mountains,streams for fishing, all these lakes around here, all the horseback rid-ing, all the backpacking you do here, the Dutch oven cooking you dohere, motocross.You even have big game areas. Hansen nods. Wedo have big-game hunters who backpack through here
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]