Lake Roosevelt Administrative History

Interpretive Programs

LARO's first Statement for Interpretation, prepared in 1957, declared that "the interpretive program must be taken to the visitor." [46] LARO personnel of the 1950s recommended several types of naturalist programs to serve visitors to the recreation area. These included conducted boat trips, auto caravans to pictographs and geological formations, and evening campfire programs. The first interpretive services were provided in 1962. The 1964 Interpretive Prospectus for LARO emphasized campfire programs as the basic tool for interpretation, supplemented by conducted walks and boat trips. Daytime programs such as naturalist walks, however, had low attendance. Evening programs were more popular, but the Park Naturalist emphasized that visitors were tired by evening and the programs needed to be entertaining, relaxing, enthusiastic, and no longer than forty-five minutes. The 1964 plans called for campfire circles at Fort Spokane, Porcupine Bay, and Evans campgrounds to supplement the amphitheater already in use at Kettle Falls. [47]

When a formal interpretation program began at LARO in 1962, it emphasized personal contact. This worked relatively well when funding allowed and when the visitation was not too high. Personal contact programs in the 1970s included evening campfire programs, nature and history walks (some specifically for children), historic building tours, living history, guided canoe trips at Kettle Falls, and visitor center and informal contacts by LARO staff, VIPs, and tribal members. Interpretation was a hard sell to many recreationists, and LARO staff had to be inventive in encouraging people to come to programs. Topics of programs during the 1970s included wildlife, plants, geology, fire safety, astronomy, insects, history, energy conservation, and recreation. The ever-popular living history program at Fort Spokane began in 1973. According to a 1981 report, about 15 percent of LARO's summer visitors attended interpretive programs. Because most visitors were repeat visitors who came on weekends, most programs were given on weekend evenings, and films provided variety. [48]

Program being given at Fort Spokane amphitheater, 1968. Photo courtesy of National Park Service, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO.FS).

The interpretive program of the 1980s was much the same, with continued emphasis on water recreation and safety and on living history. Guest interpreters presented a number of special programs, including popular clinics on fishing for walleye. The annual Old Fashioned Community Christmas at Coulee Dam, sponsored by LARO, was instituted in 1985. Another new and popular program was weekly guided canoe trips on Crescent Bay Lake. LARO personnel found that roving through campgrounds and day-use areas an hour before an interpretive program greatly increased attendance. The assumption that more diverse programs were needed to serve repeat visitors was called into question by a 1990 survey that found that only 12.8 percent of visitors had decided not to attend a program because they had seen it before. [49]

A survey of LARO visitors was done in 1990 to document the existing situation and make recommendations to management to improve attendance at interpretive programs. The consultant noted that interpretive desires of visitors to recreation areas differed from those visiting traditional national parks, noting that many have said that a national recreation area is "just a place to get wet." The survey found that although visitor preferences tended to vary with location, wildlife was the favorite topic. Recommendations included emphasizing different subjects at different locations, offering evening programs between 8 and 9 p.m., and making more effort to let people know about programs through improved bulletin boards, newsletters, and program flyers. Program attendance did increase in 1991, even though programs decreased by one-third, probably because LARO implemented the recommendations of the 1990 study. A popular new children's program was initiated in 1991 to teach children how to fish. Because almost one-quarter of LARO visitors were children, children's programming was expanded to include the new Junior Ranger program. Recreational skills demonstrations were greatly de-emphasized in 1993 and were replaced with additional environmental education activities. [51]

Members of Spokane Tribe of Indians dancing at Fort Spokane for a cultural demonstration program, ca. 1971. Photo courtesy of National Park Service, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO 3165).

LARO reports from the 1940s through the 1960s sometimes mentioned the importance of interpreting American Indian use of the Columbia River, often focusing on the pre-contact era. LARO's first Statement for Interpretation suggested that local tribal members could set up displays and give talks on Indian villages in the area, fishing at Kettle Falls, and other topics. In 1971, LARO received funding from the Regional Office to promote cultural demonstrations, and members of the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) and Spokane Tribe of Indians (STI) put on programs at several campgrounds that were well received. LARO's operating budget financed a number of cultural programs, but soon the Mount Rainier Natural History Association (LARO's cooperating association was an affiliate of this group) began to fund the programs. Art Hathaway, LARO's Assistant Chief, Interpretation and Resource Management, set up the cultural demonstrations with the tribes. He stated that the purpose of these programs was to inform visitors about local and other tribes and their cultures. CCT tribal member and LARO seasonal ranger Howard "Doodle" Stewart made contacts with many tribal members and arranged for these programs. One program featured a CCT woman beading the Park Service arrowhead symbol. Other programs, however, consisted of dancing, drumming, chanting, stories and legends, leather crafts, art, and tepee raising. The tribal participants also sold food and craft items. These special programs were presented only 1971-1973; they were discontinued after Hathaway transferred to the Spokane field office in 1974. [52]

In keeping with a 1973 Park Service directive to show greater sensitivity to cultural diversity in interpretation, LARO's 1980 General Management Plan stated that the park would support programs concerning American Indians whose lives were closely associated with the recreation area and its general vicinity. Besides the 1970s cultural demonstrations mentioned above, another such program, starting in 1980, invited Indian artists to interpret the park. A 1981 LARO document, however, reported only limited interest in joint tribal/Park Service program development. In 1987, the Park Service made an official commitment to respect and actively promote tribal cultures as a component of the parks themselves. Under this policy, Park Service personnel were urged to actively consult with American Indians on interpretive programs relating to particular tribes, develop cooperative programs with tribes, and provide for presentation of tribal perspectives of their lifeways and resources. [53]

In 1990, LARO began bringing in guest speakers from the CCT to present campfire programs on local Indian culture. LARO's 1993 Statement for Interpretation specifically mentioned that the park would pursue hiring a tribal member through the Job Training Partnership Act to present craft demonstrations, staff the Visitor Arrival Center information desk, and provide information on tribal culture and the Reservation Zone of Lake Roosevelt. The 1998 Draft General Management Plan also stated that the park would try to improve the blend of all themes, including stories of the aboriginal inhabitants of the area. Two examples of these efforts are American Indian cultural programs at Spring Canyon and the 1999 exhibit at Fort Spokane on the Indian Boarding School era. Experts in subjects such as Indian history and culture currently provide specialized training for park interpretive staff. [54]

Meanwhile, since the 1970s the CCT and the STI have worked to establish tribal museums of their own. The Colville Tribal Museum and Gift Shop opened by 1991 in the town of Coulee Dam, and the Spokanes opened a museum in Wellpinit in approximately 1975 (this is no longer operating). [56]