Industry News
New summer offering created by the new partnership between the Washoe Tribe and the Tahoe ski resort
S**** Valley | Alpine Meadows, CA, is excited to announce a new on-mountain summer experience: the Washoe Cultural Tour, beginning Monday, July 12. Not only is this a new offering for resort guests, but it is the first collaborative project born out of the new partnership between the ski resort and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.
With this tour, guests will experience the mountains through the eyes of the Washoe people. The Washoe Tribe has deep roots in Olympic Valley, Lake Tahoe, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Darrel Cruz, Director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office and Cultural Resources Office of the Washoe Tribe, will share stories of Washoe history and culture from the Valley and surrounding mountains, against the backdrop of the Sierra peaks where those stories were born.
The tour group will meet in the Village, board the Aerial Tram and head up to High Camp. Once up at High Camp, Darrel will share stories about the Washoe Tribe, from its creation to the present day, of surrounding natural landmarks, of the local animals and plants and how the Washoe use them, and why changing the name of the resort that sits on their ancestral land is important to the Washoe Tribe. Guests can also view artifacts that show the Washoe way of life that Tribe members seek to preserve today. A Washoe exhibit is also being created at High Camp, for guests to learn more about the Tribe and view artifacts every day, not just during tour dates.
In deciding to change the resort name, SVAM leadership sought to build a new partnership with the Washoe Tribe, and this event is a result of that burgeoning relationship. SVAM seeks to use its resources to support the Washoe Tribe in its educational goals in the region and is also working to provide recreational opportunities for Tribe members.
“We are glad to be forming this partnership between the Washoe Tribe and the ski resort. Partnerships are how to get things done. We look forward to this opportunity to educate people about the culture and history of the land they are recreating on.”
– Darrel Cruz, Director of the Tribal Historic Preservation Office and Cultural Resources Office of the Washoe Tribe
“We first started talking with the Washoe Tribe just about a year ago, and in that past year, we have begun to form a new relationship, one that will continue to grow as we find new ways to work together in the years to come. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Darrel on this and other projects, especially as we near the finalization of our new resort name. All of our lives will be enriched by Darrel’s reintroduction of Washoe history and knowledge to this Valley.”
– Ron Cohen, president, and COO of SVAM
The Washoe Cultural Tour will be hosted once a month during summer operations (July 12, Aug. 9, Sept. date TBD). The event is free, but guests will need to purchase an Aerial Tram ticket to join or use their 2021-22 Ikon Pass. Attendees who register in advance can purchase an Aerial Tram ticket at a special discounted rate, $19/person. All ticket sales collected from the event will be donated to the Washoe Cultural Fund. We encourage people to register in advance for the event online. For more information and to register, please visit their website.
For more information on the Washoe Tribe, visit their website.
For more information on SVAM’s decision to rename the resort, visit their Name Change page.
Alpine Meadows offends me. Alpine references above tree line which the resort has very little off. Meadows references pristine grasslands which is impossible because of all the Bay Area trash that settles in the area. Time to ramp up your social media everyone. Let’s cancel.
that yes or WASP valley for sure
I had had the distinct pleasure to know original owner and founder Mr. Wayne Poulsen and I guarantee that the name Squaw, thats right Squaw, was not a racial slur in no way shape or form, in his mind nor others who started the ski resort there.
When Mr. Poulsen was a boy growing up in Reno, he had travelled to Squaw meadow as a boy scout and actually saw native washoe women in the meadow with children before and had a deep appreciation for the native americans that were staying there as well.
Darrel Cruz, Ron Cohen and the rest of them will never see the tribute in naming that gorgeous mountanous and valley meadow in actual honor of the Women who were there long before Darrel and Ron ever arrived.
Its just all PC to them, positively crap.
keep Squaw true
you can change a name but not history.
And sorry, but you’re just wrong. You don’t get to define what the term means to people it affects and is directed at.