This Is the Place dedicates Native American Village

The cultural traditions of Utah's first people are now being shared at This Is the Place Heritage Park.

As the morning sun started its climb Saturday, a space of land nestled in the foothills at the mouth of Emigration Canyon was blessed by Navajo medicine man Roy Bagey to invite the spirit to the area and pay homage to the indigenous ancestry of the West.

At the Native American Village are re-creations of traditional dwellings used by Navajo and Shoshone Indians so visitors can see how those tribes lived prior to the arrival of Utah's pioneers.

"The goal with this site was to give the tribes a place to tell their stories," said Matt Dahl, executive director of the park. "We want to represent all the natives of Utah and tell what this land was like prior to settlement."

To mark the dedication, a grand entry by participating tribes led to a flag ceremony with honor and victory songs. Representatives from the Native American community offered remarks about the site while sharing their tribes' history in the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding areas. At the event more than 50 people meandered through Navajo hogans and Shoshone tepees, learning the significance behind construction methods and the materials used to create the space.

"Our goal here is to give a hands-on experience, not other museums where you are behind a velvet rope," Dahl said. "We want you to experience what life was like."

The Native American Village is being constructed in cooperation with the Utah Division of Indian Affairs and various tribal leaders to ensure the different heritages and traditions being presented are true to their source. Lorin Cummings, the park finance director and member of the Navajo tribe who built the hogans at the park, said the culture of the tribes couldn't be represented otherwise.

"This is an opportunity to reconnect with heritage," Cummings said. "With the tribes of this state here to tell the stories in their history we can really share our traditions."

Dahl said the Native American Village will grow as installations for Ute, Piute and Goshute tribes are incorporated into the area. As the site grows, crafts and activities will be added to the site, including necklace making, a bow and arrow range and cooking. A specific timeline of development wasn't immediately available.