One of the challenges of being in the business of the humanities is actually describing what the humanities are.
There is an academic definition—literature, history, philosophy, language, cultural studies, etc. Defining the humanities this way resonates with some. However, for the public at large (including myself), this seems abstract and irrelevant to our everyday lives.
To address the challenge of defining the humanities, the board of directors of Wyoming Humanities recently changed our mission statement. The essence of the humanities are the ideas and stories that shape us, and we invite Wyoming to explore them. This is a worthy mission.
Last month I learned of another beautiful way to explain what the humanities are.
At the end of July, Wyoming Humanities was pleased to host the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Shelly Lowe (Navajo) and Deputy Chair Tony Mitchell on their first ever visit to Wyoming. Chair Lowe is the first Native American and the second woman to chair the NEH (the other being Wyoming’s Lynne Cheney).
During her trip, Chair Lowe participated in a panel discussion sponsored by Wyoming Humanities. The discussion coincided with the inauguration of the Mineta-Simpson Institute at the Heart Mountain Japanese American Confinement Site’s annual pilgrimage. Other panelists included the president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum, the director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the president-elect of the American Psychological Association.
In her remarks, Chair Lowe confessed that she too had been challenged by defining the humanities. Now she has an elegant response. For her, the humanities are creation stories.
“For Tribal people, creation stories are very important. They teach us who we are. They teach us who we are supposed to be. They teach us how we have relationships with one another. They teach us how we have relationships with the land and environment. They teach us what is important and what we need to teach our children and how we treat our elders. Creation stories are all humanities.”
We were pleased to invite Chair Lowe to explore several Wyoming creation stories.
At a hike to Medicine Wheel, we introduced her to Native student interpretive rangers for whom Wyoming Humanities has provided grant funding. The mysterious Medicine Wheel is a creation story of a sacred and spiritual type, and it connects people and cultures with something greater and divine.
At the Meeteetse Museum, we learned of its creation starting with the archetypal photographs of Charles Belden. The collection of cowboy and ranching images created the inspiration to preserve other aspects of Meeteetse’s history.
There are many creation stories at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. The Center’s collection of world-class museums show the interconnectedness of cultures and the contexts in which they were created.
At Heart Mountain, we heard the painful and important creation stories of democratic ideals. As creation stories often do, the first-hand accounts of those who were incarcerated at Heart Mountain contain moral and ethical lessons that must continue to be shared and passed down to future generations.
Chair Lowe’s explanation that the humanities are all creation stories was an aha moment for me. And we were pleased to invite her to experience many of Wyoming’s creation stories, all of which are threads woven together to create a tapestry of the Wyoming experience that should be preserved and celebrated.
We invite you to explore the stories and ideas that create and shape us. Your support is crucial in ensuring these stories—whether sacred, historical, or cultural—are passed down to future generations and enrich our understanding of who we are and what we value.
Please consider donating today to help us continue this important work.