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Shoshone, ID. Last year was the first time Basques from Shoshone were honored for their contribution to the town. The homage was organized by their families, in particular the Oneida family, who is also in charge of this year’s festivity: “We decided to celebrate this because there are a lot of Basque families in this area and they want to remember their heritage,” explained Oneida.

The first edition was pretty successful, in the words of the organizer, and around 100 people gathered to enjoy the day – “We had a good turnout. We invited a lot of Basque families from different counties and it was fun.” For this second edition they have even printed fliers and “many people said they want to share their family histories with us,” stated Oneida. And in a town of around 1,300 inhabitants, surpassing 100 attendees is not a mere trifle.

There will be four main events on that day: A talk about the effect that the Spanish Civil War had on Gernika (Basque Country), by Dr. David Lachiondo (BSU); the projection of the documentary “Basques in the West,” by Amaya Oxarango-Ingram and Brent Barras; an exhibition of nine sheep camps thanks to the Faulkner, Uhrid, and Oneida families; and a visit to the cemetery, to remember those that are already gone. There will also be a lunch (txorizo, beans, and bread) cooked by the organizers themselves.

The festivity will start at 11:00 a.m. and will be over by 5:00 p.m., looking forward to celebrate a third edition next year because, as Kathy Oneida highlighted, “Shoshone has a long Basque history, with many boarding houses that may not be in use nowadays, but are still standing.”