The Grantsville City Library will host a celebration of American Indian culture this Saturday featuring storytelling, dancing and singing.
Library Director John Ingersoll said the free event is made possible by a grant from the Utah State Library. Tapping into the resources and history of the region is one reason the library chose to honor Native American culture with its event, he said.
“It’s a shared U.S. heritage that we have,” Ingersoll said.
Stansbury Park resident Zuni Guthrie will perform with his daughter and son at the celebration, which will be held at the library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Ingersoll said he was excited the state grant and the support of the Tooele Pioneer Museum allowed him to bring Guthrie in for the event, a renowned powwow dancer who has performed for Pope John Paul II, the Kennedy family and around the world, including Japan and the Netherlands.
Mary Allen, a member of the Skull Valley Goshute tribe, will bring a wealth of crafts, art and culture to the library. The items on display will include cradleboards, moccasins, baskets and different types of beadwork from the Goshute and Navajo tribes.
Allen said the celebration is an opportunity to bring the tribe’s culture to people in Grantsville and Tooele County.
“People need to have knowledge of native people,” Allen said. “I’d like them to understand our culture, like any other culture.”
Members of the Goshute tribe will attend the event, artwork by Allen’s brother will be on display and a teepee from Skull Valley will be erected outside of the library. Allen said the process of setting up the teepee is unique and is preceded by a prayer, thanking the Creator and Mother Earth.
There will also be Native American books on display and some artifacts that are hundreds of years old, Ingersoll said.
If the event is a success, it’s possible that the American Indian celebration could become an annual occurrence, Ingersoll said.