IMNH hosts film followed by renowned storyteller

The Idaho Museum of Natural History will host the premier showing of the film, “Storytelling and How Wild Plants Were Used by the Bannock People.” Following the 30 minute film, Bannock Elder Ramona B. Walema, Ethno Botanist, will conduct a public discussion focusing on Native American stories and traditional and medicinal uses of wild plants.

The presentation is free and open to the public and will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Museum Classroom.

Ramona B. Walema refers to herself as a “Storyteller” and is an enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, Idaho. Her ancestry is Bannock, and she is the youngest daughter of a Bannock Medicine man. She has lived on the Fort Hall Reservation all her life and as a child listened as her father told stories. Today, she has become an expert at telling the stories of the past as a way to teach young people the values of life.

Walema has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Idaho State University with a focus on Native American Studies and is working towards a Masters. She gives presentations to audiences of all ages and has taught classes on the Bannock language; traditional Indian art, basketry, and beadwork; Indian design; using plants for medicinal and edible uses; and working with porcupine quills.

For more information, contact Walema at (208) 237-6345 or contact Rebecca Thorne-Ferrel, IMNH Education Resources Manager, at (208) 282-2195 or thorrebe@isu.edu. IMNH is located on the campus of Idaho State University at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Dillon Street in Building #12. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.