Honor National Native American Heritage Month at 8 Wyoming Native American Sites

November marks National Native American Heritage Month, and there’s no better place to venture through time and culture than Wyoming. This state is rich in Native American heritage, from ancient rock art sites to buffalo jumps.

Where should you go to honor Wyoming’s indigenous peoples?

© Wyoming Office of Tourism

Petroglyph Sites

You’ll find ancient rock at sites like Legend Rock, White Mountain, Castle Gardens and Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site. Legend Rock, located in Thermopolis, features 92 prehistoric petroglyph figures; the site has been a sacred place for Native Americans in this region for thousands of years. The Castle Gardens Petroglyph Site, meanwhile, features images of water turtles and circular shields, carved by Athabaskans between 1000 and 1250 A.D.

Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative

Learn and celebrate the sacred buffalo at this conservation site. Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative focuses on land repatriation, community revitalization and youth education. The organization welcomes visitors to connect with buffalo and learn about these great creatures and the efforts made to protect them and the land.

© Wyoming Office of Tourism

Sacajawea’s Gravesite

Pay respects to Sacajawea, the Shoshone woman who played a pivotal role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Her grave sits in a cemetery on South Fork Road, where you’ll find a wooden sign. Her burial lies in the center of the cemetery, with a bronze memorial located at the back.

Wind River Indian Reservation

The seventh-largest reservation in the country, Wind River Indian Reservation is home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. The reservation offers authentic cultural experiences, including powwows between June and September.

© Wyoming Office of Tourism

Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark

This ancient stone circle in the Bighorn Mountains points to the indigenous peoples’ spiritual and astronomical practices. It’s the best-known and largest preserved wheel in the Northwestern plains.

Devil’s Tower National Monument

Perhaps one of the most iconic sites in the state, this sacred site is revered by multiple Plains Indian tribes.

© Wyoming Office of Tourism

Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary

Wild horses, Native American culture and a working ranch come together in one place at this horse sanctuary. The sanctuary is one of four public, off-range pastures in the country and the one on a reservation.

© Wind River Country

Chief Washakie’s Gravesite

Honor the memory of Chief Washakie, the last chief of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe at Fort Washakie Cemetery. Fort Washakie lies in the Wind River Indian Reservation and also features a memorial to Sacajawea’s son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.