Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café
The Smithsonian magazine recently detailed a piece of history I had heard nothing about in my years in Montana.* In 1935, when the United States was composed of 48 states, there was a movement to create a 49th state carved from northern Wyoming, southeastern Montana and western South Dakota. People in the area were discouraged by factors such as dry soil, crashed banks and a dearth of available jobs. In Sheridan, WY., the discontent flared, led by frustrated farmers and ranchers and other Sheridan residents who were feeling sorely neglected by their state government. They fueled the idea of secession, forming a new state they would call Absaroka. Sheridan would be its capital.
The plan for this 49th state encompassed 27 counties across Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. Northern Wyoming folks felt disenfranchised because the transcontinental railroad was routed through southern Wyoming and state resources were directed there. Folks in eastern Montana had similar feelings about the focus on western Montana. The dust bowl had dried out the agricultural portion of South Dakota. Folks there were likewise disgusted that their legislature ignored their pleas for a decent highway system. The people in the agricultural area hoped by that means to increase income by bringing in tourists to enjoy the mountains, fishing and hunting.
Doomed from the beginning, this plan would have taken the approval of all three state legislatures as well as the United States Congress. In 1820 Maine had separated from Massachusetts and inad 1702 and 1863 respectively, Virginia had lost Kentucky and West Virginia. But making one state carved from three others had never been considered. However, the state of Absaroka became news nationwide, which eventually led to those areas getting some of the changes they desired from their states.
Just as people who have been abused are at risk of becoming abusers themselves, disregarded people are capable of disregarding others. The plan for Absaroka encompassed what had been ancestral lands of the Crow (also known as Absaroka, “children of the long beaked bird,” as described in the Smithsonian article) before they were forced onto reservations after the Plains War of 1870. This new state would have involved both Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations, but no indigenous tribes were part of the discussions for this unusual effort.
The people promoting Absaroka as a state were understandably frustrated. And while this lack of thought toward the tribes was typical of the time (and not unusual in our own time), there is a noteworthy saying that “Until you treat everyone as equal, don’t complain about the treatment you receive from anyone.” (graciousquotes.com) We are at our best when we consider the impacts on all involved in our decisions and actions.
The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate
*“How the Great Depression Fueled a Grassroots Movement to Create a New State Called Absaroka,” August 14, 2024
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