The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural & Educational Center is dedicated to honoring and providing education about Sacajawea (a member of the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes) and her role in the Corps of Discovery. Cradled in the Lemhi River Valley between the Salmon River and the Beaverhead Mountains, the Center lies in the heart of Sacajawea’s homeland. The 70-acre park is located just 2 miles east of downtown Salmon, Idaho where the Interpretive Center is open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. There is much to see and do at the Sacajawea Center for all ages and interests throughout the year!
The Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural and Educational Center was a project envisioned by Lemhi County residents, members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe and a diverse group of organizations including local, federal and state agency representatives.
In 2001, seventy-one acres of land was purchased by the City of Salmon for the creation of the Center and in 2003, the park was opened to the public. Creation of the Sacajawea Center coincided with celebrations leading up to the Lewis and Clark Expedition bicentennial. Funding was federally appropriated from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Governor’s Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Committee, now the Governor’s Lewis and Clark Trail Committee. In 2010 the Learning Center was completed, creating a space for community events and classes and giving the Center the ability to expand its season.
The mission of the Sacajawea Center is to foster the knowledge and appreciation of the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Western frontier life and the natural environment. The Center interprets the rich cultural and natural history of the Salmon and Lemhi River Country, deepening people’s connection to the unique place this area holds in our nation’s history, shaped in part by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Sacajawea, as well as her people, the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and whom without the aid of, the Lewis and Clark Expedition would have never succeeded.
The Center hopes to continue to honor the many contributions the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock have made and continue to make. The land the Sacajawea Center home sits on are the traditional homelands of the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes from which many were forcibly removed in 1907 by the United States government. Throughout past summer seasons, the Center has offered interpretive talks, youth programs, interactive interpretive exhibits, kids summer camps, and community events. The facility is also rented and used by other local organizations for meetings, memorials, fund raisers, weddings and classes. The site includes a large outdoor amphitheater, a dog park, a community garden, walking trails and public restrooms. The Learning Center holds offices, a large meeting space, a rustic 75 seat theater and access to the Lemhi River.
Each year, the Center celebrates the continued presence of the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at the annual Agaidika Gathering which often takes place the third week of August. The public is invited to join the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes as they honor their homeland and ancestors with a spiritual walk/run along Agency Creek in the morning followed by singing, drumming and dancing in the afternoon at the Sacajawea Center.
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