For 100 years, the Star Hotel has been an anchor of Elko’s rich and colorful Basque history. Continue Reading

Lured by opportunities in a new land, Basques arrived in the American West during the 1800s and 1900s. The vast majority worked as sheepherders, living a lonely lifestyle with their flocks in the mountain meadows and harsh desert plains of the Great Basin.

A 1902 Basque sheepherder's wagon at the Nevada State Museum. Photo: Cheryl Mathwig, courtesy of AroundCarson.com

Forty years ago, 90 percent of the sheepherders in the Great Basin were of Basque heritage. But within a period of six years, the number of Basque sheepherders in the region had dropped to 14 percent, according to Kent McAdoo, a natural resource specialist in Nevada.
McAdoo will be telling the story of Basques in the Great Basin on Thursday March 18 at 7 p.m. at the California Trail Interpretive Center.

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The popular Basque rock band Amuma Says No, from Boise, is the featured band at the annual Elko Basque Festival this weekend. Boise’s Oinkari and Utah’s Basque dancers will also make the trip for the Fourth of July weekend festivities.

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