Did you know that the Mountain Shoshone (also known as Sheepeaters) lived and hunted in the Yellowstone region before the park was created in 1872?
They hunted bighorn sheep in the mountains, along with deer, elk and smaller mammals. Mountain Shoshone also manufactured bows from the horns of mountain sheep.
The Hayden Expedition of 1871 encountered a group of Sheepeaters while traveling around Yellowstone Lake.
Graham and his lover, the Crow guide Makawee, interact with these reclusive people in my novel Burning Ground.
(photo by Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández)