During the shutdown, we did what millions of other Americans did – we snacked (alot!), binged on NetFlix and surfed the Web. Our surfing paid off as we found a couple of sites in Nevada that are home to prime examples of Nevada American stonework. We intend to make a trip to these locations; however, until we do, we are going to share the Web sites with you.
The first is the Thunder Mountain Monument. This beauty is in the middle of B.F.E. Nevada (Imlay, 130 miles to the north east of Reno).
It’s a five acre art show, complete with buildings and art work. The creative force behind the monument was Frank Van Zant, a Creek Indian. Mr. Van Zant (later known as Chief Rolling Thunder Mountain) created the entire project on his own, using found materials from the surrounding desert.
Chief Rolling Thunder Mountain was not a Stewart-trained. In fact, we can’t find where he received his training – was he self-taught or did he learn the art of stonemasonry while serving in the Civilian Conservation Corp?
Really, where the man learned his craft is not important. What’s important is the fact that the Monument was created and built in Nevada by a Native American Stonemason and, as such, deserves to be recognized and protected. Fortunately, the Chief’s family is working with the State of Nevada to ensure that the Monument receives the respect and protection it deserves.
Visit the Web site ((http://www.thundermountainmonument.com), to learn about Chief Rolling Thunder Mountain and check out the beautiful photos of his Monument and his art.
We plan on making a trip of our own to the Monument – it’s on our “Places to See” list. We will share our photographs and thoughts once we make the trek. If you make the trek before we do, please share your photos!
Then, bonus, we found another item for our “Places to See” List on the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation in Owyhee, Nevada, which is on the Idaho-Nevada border.
Look at these buildings! Aren’t they gorgeous? And, they remind us of the buildings on the Stewart Campus. It appears that the stone buildings at Owyhee were constructed in the 1930s, probably 1936 – 1937.
We believe that some of the stonemasons who created these beautiful buildings were trained at the Stewart Indian School (SIS). We feel this way as there is a remarkable similarity between the buildings created by the Stewart-trained stonemasons and (big AND), the fact that two of the tribe’s members, Charlie and Frank Paradise, attended SIS and we know that they built at least one stone house in Elko, Nevada (yep, we’re going there too!)
There are records of the SIS students and the trades they learned at the school. Having access to those records would make it easier to determine the buildings in Nevada and California that were created by the SIS alumni.
However, those records are either in national archives/federal records centers in California or the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office (BIA) in Carson City. (Note to BIA, we’re available to help sort, organize and file those records. Just saying!)
Until we make our trip to Owyhee and have our own photographs to share, please visit these Web sites:
https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NV-01-NO68 https://www.nvexpeditions.com/elko/owyhee.php)
If you make the trip and would like to share your photographs and thoughts about the stone buildings in Owyhee, we’d be honored to post them on this site.
