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As long as 11,000 years ago, American Indians created trails across the Yellowstone landscape. What is now called the "Bannock Trail" was probably a system of trail-ways that made up a complex route leading to and from the Yellowstone country. American Indians used these trails for easier access to the wealth of animals, plants, and minerals found here. Evidence of the "Bannock Trail" can still be seen today. The existence of such trails, as well as the arrival of the horse in the late 1600s, and eventually guns, gave other benefits to the American Indians. For example, game animals could be hunted more easily. Oral traditions of the American Indian tribes tell us that Yellowstone's geyser basins were also important destinations for ceremonial, medicinal, and practical reasons. American Indians tell us that their ancestors did not fear the geysers, but rather respected the possible danger they represented. |
