Living History Volunteers

Costumed living historians stand in the plaza of Bent's Fort.

NPS/Stuart West

The goal of the Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site Living History Program is to convey and support the established interpretive themes of the park. Living history programs can be an effective tool to capture public interest and encourage understanding of the primary interpretive themes of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. Living history will not attempt literally to recreate the past but will provide interpretive and educational impressions in as authentic a manner as possible. Participants in living history programs at Bent's Old Fort are either staff or volunteers representing the National Park Service (NPS). All living history programs and demonstrations shall have themes, goals, and objectives defined by the National Park Service and the park staff. A park employee will be assigned as the supervisor of any living history activity.

Living history standards are all based in and in accordance with the following relevant authorities:

54 U.S.C. § 100801 et seq. – National Park Service and Related Programs: Interpretation and Education
Cook v. Babbitt, 819 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1993)
36 CFR Chapter I -- National Park Service, Department of the Interior
NPS Management Policies
Director's Order #6: Interpretation and Education
Director's Order #7: Volunteers-in-Parks
Policies Relating To Historic Weapons Demonstrations

 

Bent's Old Fort Living History Program

What is living history? The name is descriptive in and of itself. Living history is quite simply bringing the people of the past back to life. It is part theatre, part traditional interpretation. It is part showmanship and part raw humanity. Living history is offering visitors the tangible and real opportunity to interact with a past that is not dead and gone, but alive and present in the physical world.

Living history has interpretive aims. Fundamentally, it shares every core objective with any other interpretive opportunity in a meaningful place: to help a visitor connect to a landscape or resource physically and emotionally. Interpretation is about helping visitors feel the resonant past in their lives today, to have a gut connection to yesterday so it might affect how they live their life today.

Living history is purposeful. As with every other interpretive offering, the tools at hand should always be leveraged toward an interpretive outcome. Those tools may seem foreign and new to an interpreter first approaching the idea of living history, but they really are not. The interpretive process, helping visitors connect tangible objects to intangible concepts and universals of our shared human condition, remains unchanged. The objects, however, are often radically different.

Safety

The safety of both visitors and interpreters will always be prioritized over questions of authenticity and accuracy. Always. Be aware of hazards and report any new or continuing issues to park staff immediately.

Alcohol and Controlled Substances

Use of controlled substances is not permitted. Substance use legal within the state of Colorado, such as cannabis and psychedelics, are not permitted within the park. Volunteers may not use or possess alcohol during public events or while present on park property.

Tobacco Use

Smoking or the use of 19^th century style tobacco products in outdoor areas of the fort or park must be the 19^th century form as approved by the Lead Park Ranger and Interpretation Program Manager, subject to further restriction by burn bans or public health concerns. If directed to cease and desist, staff and volunteers will comply immediately.

Fabrics and Fire

If you will be working around an open fire, consider clothing carefully.

1. Wool is safest.
2. Cotton and linen burn like grass unless they have been treated.
3. Modern fabrics can be dangerous! Polyester will melt onto your skin.
4. Tight sleeves are safer than loose sleeves.
5. Women can partially protect themselves by wearing a long wool apron over their skirts.
6. If the worst happens, remember what you teach your children – stop – drop – roll.

Fireplaces, Firepits, and Firepans

All fires must be always monitored and extinguished when not in use or attended. Be careful with fire, use enclosed candle lanterns for all candles. Keep campfires small. Fires in the fort fireplaces must be kept moderate in size and allowed to burn out.

Use caution when cutting wood. Axes and knives are hazardous when used improperly. 

Further guidelines can be found in the SOP for interpretive hot work (use of fire and fireplaces at the fort).

Livestock

Two conditions are necessary for the successful interpretive use of livestock. First, animals must be as visible and accessible to park visitors as possible, within necessary constraints of public safety, proper land use, and animal welfare. Second, interpretive staff should be provided all necessary training and equipment in order to be involved in livestock feeding and care, consistent with competing work requirements. 

• Consider the risks inherent in the type of use of livestock and visitor interface; depending on the level of interaction between the public and animals, consider contacting Public Health for further guidance.  
• Evaluate existing facilities, or lack thereof for housing animals. What are the health and safety requirements that the park, or volunteers, would have to meet for short-term or long-term activities? 

All programs involving livestock must comply with Reference Manual 83A Public Health. Staff and volunteers should thoroughly review Chapter 8, “Sanctioned Public Contact with Animals” before considering the use of animals in living history programming (Reference Manual - 83A PUBLIC HEALTH: Protection and Prevention (nps.gov)).  

Historic firearms & Edged Weapons

Equipment designed for use in killing, trapping and hunting, including weapons, present unique hazards that must be mitigated by adhering to all applicable safety standards including a rigorous training regimen and constant awareness of hazardous situations during living history programs.

Possession of black powder and/or loaded firearms is strictly prohibited.

Unloaded firearms appropriate to the period are allowed, as are empty powder horns, flasks, barrels, or any other typical “black powder” container.

All historic firearms procession, use, and demonstrations will follow the National Park Service’s guidelines for the use of historic weapons.  

Food

Demonstrations involving food or beverage preparation will meet all applicable State and Federal public health service standards. All parks must contact the regional public health office when considering experiences that will involve food or beverage preparation and delivery for the public.

Use of the fort kitchen for living history is solely to interpret the historic role and function of the kitchen in support of the fort’s operation: the kitchen is not to be relied upon for feeding volunteers. Living historians may prepare foods for personal consumption in camp and in the fort but must not allow visitors to sample or consume food.

Harassment

All volunteers have a right to a safe environment to serve in. Harassment will not be tolerated at Bent’s Old Fort, including use of historic terms, stereotypes, gestures, or gender treatment. All reports of harassment will be investigated, any volunteer who harasses any person at the park will have their volunteer agreement terminated and no longer be allowed to volunteer at the park. All reported harassment claims will be handled confidentially. If you are sexually harassed or witness sexual harassment, report the harassment to the Volunteer Coordinator, or any park staff member you feel comfortable reporting to.

1. All staff and volunteers must refrain from engaging in harassing conduct and fully cooperate in any inquiry or investigation.
2. All volunteers who are victims (past or present) of harassing conduct, are encouraged to report the harassing conduct.

Park Purposes and Interpretive Themes

The following are adapted from the 2017 Foundation Document and should be at the root of all interpretive programming:

Purpose

The purpose of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site is to preserve the location, resources, and stories associated with this commercial and cultural crossroads on the Santa Fe Trail and to provide opportunities for visitor understanding, appreciation, and stewardship.

Interpretive Themes

The following interpretive themes have been identified for Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site:

1. Questions of Security, Sovereignty, and Culture
   The history of Bent’s Old Fort, encompassing the interaction among diverse cultures, including Native American tribes, along the borderlands of Mexico and the United States, provides opportunities to explore ideas of security, sovereignty, and culture in the American West.

2. The Power of Place
   Through the tangible structure and replica furnishings, the reconstruction of Bent’s Old Fort enables a deeper understanding of the people, places, and events of the fur trade era of the American West and the Southwestern borderlands.

3. Natural Setting, Human Endeavor, and Environmental Consequences
   The planning, construction, and successful operation of Bent’s Old Fort was powerfully influenced by the geopolitical importance of its location along the Arkansas River within the shortgrass prairie ecosystem, illustrating the intimate connections between natural setting and consequences of human endeavor.

4. Transportation, (International and Intercultural) Trade, and Commerce
   Bent’s Old Fort, by virtue of its role in the fur trade and the Santa Fe trade, was involved with international industries and early examples of multinational commerce, which today continue to transform the lives of human beings around the world.

Interpretive Methodology

Volunteers may participate in the living history program under the following conditions:

• Costumed Living History interpretation must support the interpretive themes the National Park Service establishes for the event, program, or park. Historic costume and accoutrements are not sole justification for the use of the living history format.

• Effective interpretation relies on articulated themes, goals, objectives, and appropriate interpretive techniques.

• Living history interpretation at Bent's Old Fort will primarily utilize the third person or second person voice. 

• Use of first-person voice or portrayals of actual individuals or performances embodying real personages will not be permitted except in formal, outlined programs reviewed and approved by park staff. A detailed outline of dialogue is required, a script is encouraged. Adequate time (generally a minimum of four weeks) must be allowed for practice and preparation of any first-person voice program.

• Style of interpretation, outside of Historic Weapons Demonstrations and other formal presentations, will be informal with visitors into camp areas and furnished rooms.

• Volunteers may demonstrate lifeway activities that are documented by primary sources as being representative of activities at the fort, provided that they demonstrate a clear connection to one or more interpretive themes.

• Demonstrated activities must have a documented connection to interpreted events, and volunteers must be able to effectively use displays and demonstrations to help visitors understand the interpretive themes.

• Proposed living history programs will be reviewed and approved by the Lead Interpretive Park Ranger and the Program Manager for Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Experience before being scheduled. All living history programs must be audited regularly.

• Living history and other interpretive programs will generally fall into the following formats (in order of preference):

  • Formal programs:  Formal programs are often location neutral and can cover a wide variety of resource related subjects utilizing historic costume to portray a person, place, time, or subject.

  • Attended Stations: Attended stations utilize historic costume to convey the context of a specific room or function within the fort. Historic costume is used to further set the stage for exploration of the location and theme.

  • Demonstrations: Demonstrations focus on a specific activity within the context of the fort with clear ties to the operation of the fort and utilize historic costume to convey context, as well as time, place, and subject.

  • Roving Contacts: Interpreters in historic costume wander through a designated area and engage in informal visitor contact that meets interpretive themes and goals.

Standard For Authenticity

Historic landscapes and the interpretive offerings we present in them exist to help visitors make relevant connections to their own personal lives by experiencing moments from the past. Authenticity, therefore, in Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site Living History programs can be defined as:
Using acceptably accurate clothing, tools, and settings to help visitors find their own personal, modern meanings within the events of the past.

This definition has two components:

• Acceptable accuracy to the time portrayed – Reasonable attempts should be made towards historical accuracy of the material culture. Consider the activity proposed and how replica objects are to be used. Ultimately, we can never fully recreate the time portrayed, and reasonable exceptions must be made. Government funds particularly should be used effectively and wisely.

• An engaging experience for the visitor – The visitor should be able to make a connection to the story portrayed in the program. How do they relate to this experience? Can they apply lessons learned in the program to their daily life? Programming should offer visitors the chance to experience the shared humanity of the past and the present, not simply teach or instruct.

Of the two components, the second is more important for any interpretive program, even those not using historic clothing. An average visitor will likely forgive a living historian whose clothes aren’t perfect or who isn’t carrying the exact musket a particular regiment might have carried. However, they’ll be more likely to remember and value an historic landscape if they find an engaging personal connection with its stories. Consider too that modern eyeglasses could be a reasonable accommodation for safety.

Representation

Historical issues such as unequal treatment of women, combat against Native Nations, racism and enslavement, and differential treatment of Hispanics, African Americans, enslaved persons, and Native Americans may be best interpreted using techniques other than Living History. Representation of these groups should be allowed only under the following conditions:

Race

An employee or volunteer who is an enrolled tribal member may wear traditional attire for demonstrations and programs, provided safety precautions are taken. Under no circumstances should a non-tribal member wear such clothing or attempt a character portrayal of the same. This policy will be subject to change pending further consultation with associated Tribes.   Any employee or volunteer wishing to portray a Mexican or Mexican American character must be at least conversationally fluent speaker of the Spanish language.

Gender

The selection of personnel for living history presentations of any kind must not abridge employee or volunteer rights or opportunities for job experience in which they have a career interest and qualifications. We must be primarily concerned with the accuracy of the information the interpreter presents and how effectively it is presented, not with the individual's sex.

Historic Weapons Demonstrations

• All historic weapons demonstrations will conform to NPS Historic Weapons regulations and the appropriate NPS manual(s) and must be tied to park interpretive themes.

• Demonstrators must exhibit safe drill and handling of weapon and ensure that their weapon passes inspection prior to take part in program.

• All participants in historic weapons demonstrations must be at least 18 years old.

• Failure to follow the direction of the NPS Historic Weapons supervisor will result in the termination of the program along with additional actions taken that can include being asked to leave the park and termination of the volunteer agreement.

Other Demonstrations

• Demonstrations utilizing other reproduction tools and equipment of the time will follow written park guidelines and be supported by primary source documentation.

• Careful attention will be paid to safety hazards. Remember weapons are not the only things that can cause injuries.

• An employee or volunteer will supervise any displays or demonstrations using sharp tools.

• Visual or physical barriers may be necessary to keep visitors at a safe distance when demonstrating the use of tools and equipment.

Volunteers in Parks Program

All participants will be registered as NPS volunteers through either an individual or group agreement.

• Any volunteers under the age of 18 must have a signed parental permission statement.
• Volunteers represent the National Park Service to the public and must follow all park policies and procedures.

• Our primary mission is to share the unique resources and stories of Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site with the public. Volunteers are expected to always provide the highest level of service to visitors when they are in the park.

Youth Volunteers

The presence of children in period costume in an interpretive area can be both a distraction and a safety hazard unless they are directly contributing to the programs.

• All volunteers ages sixteen and under must always be supervised by a parent or guardian.

• Volunteers under the age of eighteen may not participate in interpretive activities in areas that present high safety risks, including the use or demonstration of historic weapons.

• All volunteers under the age of eighteen may participate in programs provided they meet the requirements above.

Volunteer Identification

Reproduction period clothing that complies with historic dress standards of the park may be worn by volunteers. If an identification tag or name bar is not worn, some other method should be employed to let the public know that volunteers are involved in that activity. Volunteers must verbally identify themselves during informal interpretive contacts or formal interpretive programs.

Non-participants and Living History Programming

Persons not directly involved in a scheduled program or event or not a registered volunteer will not be allowed to act in living history events or programs. This includes any visitor dressed in what could be reasonably assumed as historic costume by other visitors.

For any program or event, all interpretive volunteers and other participants must have had training and/or experience deemed sufficient by the Program Manager for Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Experience, and a previously signed Volunteers in Parks agreement on file at the park prior to the day of a living history program.

Non-participants are entitled to all the privileges accorded to visitors but may not carry or possess historic weapons including firearms or knives, and are not allowed to interpret, conduct demonstrations, or otherwise interfere with visitor services or park interpretive programming.