The Middle Fork of the Salmon flows through the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. As you travel the 104 miles of the Middle Fork, you will see many cultural values present on the river banks of the Middle Fork. This is the home of the Tuka-Deka Sheep Eaters Native American Tribes. The Tuka-Deka were hunter-gatherer people who lived in the river corridor area until 1879. The Sheep Eater war of 1879 ended the permanent residence of the ancestors to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Tuka-Deka.
The Middle Fork of the Salmon has many irreplaceable cultural resources. Many of the sites have house depressions left behind by the Sheep Eater Indian Tribes. Please respect these sites by camping in designated areas. And leave artifacts where you find them. Help us preserve the stories of the past that are all over the river corridor in the form of pictographs by not touching them.
As river users, you can be active stewards in protecting the resources for future generations to enjoy as you visit the Middle Fork of the Salmon.
Video by Charity Parks.