Learning Euskara can be a daunting challenge as it is simply so different from English, Spanish, or French. During Franco’s time, the use of Basque was discouraged or even outright forbidden and this led to the decline of the language. However, this also motivated people to create new institutions, new avenues, new places for people to learn Basque. These euskaltegis became a key part in the effort to preserve and promote the language.
Euskaltegi literally means “Basque-place” – a place to learn Basque. Euskaltegis target adults that want to learn the language. There are two primary types, public and private. The private euskaltegis are usually associated with a federation, such as Alfabetatze Euskalduntze Koordinakundea (AEK). The public ones, usually associated and funded by individual towns, are called Udal Euskaltegiak (udal means town or city council). A list of Udal Euskaltegiak can be found here. HABE – Helduen Alfabetatze eta Berreuskalduntzerako Erakundea or the Institute for Adult Literacy and Re-Basqueization – also has a list of Euskaltegiak in Euskadi.
Euskaltegis where people board at the school and essentially immerse themselves in the Basque language 24/7 are called barnetegis – “barne” means boarder. Courses are often about a month, though they can be as short as 12 days, and students often live on site, with every interaction in Basque.
There are more than 100 Euskaltegiak around the globe. Of course, most are in the Basque Country, with most of those being in Hegoalde, but there are Euskaltegiak in other parts of the world.
Schools specializing in teaching adults the Basque language have existed for at least 100 years. In Nafarroa, they were called “Cátedras vascas” o “Academias de la lengua vasca.” The Spanish Civil War disrupted so many things, including these schools. In 1950, the Diputación Foral de Navarra created the first public euskaltegi in Pamplona, the Academia del Euskera. Ulibarri Euskaltegi of Bilbao, created in 1975, is the oldest professional euskaltegi in the Basque Country.
The first modern Euskaltegiak created in the 1960s specialized in night classes for adults. They hit their peak in the 1980s and 1990s where some 44,000 people learned Basque at an euskaltegi. However, enrollment has dropped since then, possibly as other avenues to learn Basque arose.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Dr. Begoña Echeverria has reached out to share news about her new project, CHILDREN OF GUERNICA a film by herself, Annika Speer, and Jacqueline Postajian. You may recall that I interviewed Begoña and Annika about their play, Picasso Presents Gernika. Please see her note below.
“Many of you were supportive of my play Picasso Presents Gernika, which my collaborators and I staged at the Chino Community Theatre, the Santa Monica Playhouse, and at the United Nations Headquarters in honor of World Refugee Day. We are grateful that numerous Basque clubs and organizations hosted screenings of the play as well.
We are now making a short film adaptation, CHILDREN OF GUERNICA, stemming from the play. The film is inspired by a true story of a Basque refugee who escaped the bombing of Gernika by emigrating to England.
Here’s the premise: In April 1937, Hitler bombed the sacred Basque town Gernika. 20,000 children were evacuated to foreign countries for protection, separated from their families. Our short historical fiction film tells the story of one of those children, Andrea. Weaving art created by children of survivors with documentary footage and narrative, CHILDREN OF GUERNICA follows Andrea as she confronts the traumas of her past in order to seek peace in the present. Our film considers how art contributes to our healing and humanity.
My goal is to represent the Basque community and tell our stories on screen, while also tying our stories to the broader world. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to my fundraiser to help us bring this important story to life! A generous anonymous donor will provide matching funds if $5000 is collected by March 15st, 2025.For more information about the film and ways to give, follow this link. Thank you! Mila esker!”
Why are the Basques called the Basques? Baskijski, Baskický, Baskisk, Vasco, Baskilainen, Baskisch, βασκικός, Vasco, Baskijski, Bass, баскский. All of the names for the Basques are similar and seemingly have nothing to do with what the Basques actually call themselves, Euskaldunak. Where does the word Basque even come from?
A Basque with his azpi gorri, one of the few native breeds of goats in the Basque Country. Image from El Correo.
The English word Basque comes from the French, which in turn comes from the Gascon word Basco. In fact, both Basque and Gascon come from the Latin word for one of the tribes that inhabited what is the modern day Basque Country, the Vascones. In Latin, the word was originally uasco.
There was a theory that the Latin word for the Basques evolved from the Latin word for forest – boscus o buscus – but that has been discarded as that word itself is of relatively modern origin (the Middle Ages) and maybe comes from German.
Another theory is that uasco came from what the Basques and Aquitainians called themselves, from an early form of the modern Basque eusk-. The Romans called another tribe in the region the Auscii, which is theorized to have a similar origin.
Yet another theory links the word Basque to an inscription found on an old Roman-era coin that read barscunes. This has been interpreted as a Celtic word possibly meaning “the mountain people.”
Strabo, the Greek chronicler of the Roman Empire, called what was possibly (likely?) that same tribe as the Vascones the Ouaskonous or the Ouáskones. This is what the Greeks called them, the Οὐάσκωνες. Ouaskonous means the “goat people” as these people were known to sacrifice rams to their gods. Ouaskonous is typically rendered in English as Vasconians.
At least tworeferences link the Latin uasco with the Greek Ouaskonous, but the vast majority don’t – even the Oxford Dictionary doesn’t make this connection.
Just like the theory that uasco comes from eusk-, there is speculation that so does Ouaskonous.
It is surprisingly hard to find serious discussion of these relationships. For example, while multiple sources say that Ouaskonous means something like “the goat people,” I can’t find conclusive evidence of this.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Of the things often associated with the Basques – exploration and seafaring, pintxos, rural sports, an odd language – one of the most infamous is the Witch Trials. A mania, at least fueled by if not instigated by the Inquisition and other religious figures, swept parts of the Basque Country, leading to people accusing neighbors, friends, and families of cohorting with Satan. This happened more than once, and led to the trial and execution of many accused witches.
Engraving by Jan Ziarnko depicting a witches’ Sabbath, according to the description of Pierre de Lancre in Tableau de l’inconstance des mauvais anges et demons, from Wikimedia.
The first witch trials in the Basque Country immediately followed Castilla’s and the Inquisition’s conquering of the Kingdom of Nafarroa, in 1525. These trials essentially defined how the Inquisition would conduct such trials. The first trials were held by the Council of Nafarroa’s special commissioner. Two sisters, aged 9 and 11, were brought in to look for the Devil’s mark in peoples’ eyes. In at least five different places, people were detained and executed, but we don’t know how many. At the end, the Inquisition took over and actually tempered activities, urging skepticism of spell casting and banning confiscation of property. They insisted that witches be re-educated rather than executed.
In 1609, Pierre de Lancre led a witch-hunt in Iparralde, in the province of Lapurdi. His investigations led to the burning of 70 people, including a few priests, for witchcraft. However, he estimated that some 10% of the population – 3000 people – were witches. He was dismissed from office before he could persecute all of his suspects. However, his efforts directly inspired the trials in Logroño.
Perhaps the most well known witch trials were in 1609-1610. The Inquisition held trials in the town of Logroño, in La Rioja. In these trials, the Inquisition resumed executions. In 1610, some 10-12 people were burned at the stake, though about half had already died during torture to extract confessions and were burned symbolically.
After, the Inquisition appointed Alonso de Salazar Frías, the so-called Witches’ Advocate, to investigate witchcraft activities, with a particular focus on the region around Zugarramurdi. He collected confessions from nearly 2000 people, naming upwards of an additional 5000 people as witches. The majority of those 2000 people were children aged 7-14. In the end, 6 of the nearly 7000 people accused were executed for witchcraft. The nature of the accounts of witchcraft and how people created the stories they told the Inquisitors has been studied by Emma Wilby.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Despite their small country and the relatively small number of people, Basques have left their mark all across the globe. This is reflected in place names and one prime example is Durango. Durango is a relatively small village in the heart of Bizkaia, a larger city in Mexico, and a quaint town in Colorado.
The original Durango is in Bizkaia. We don’t know exactly when Durango was founded, but the name Durango was mentioned in documents by at least 1051, when it was part of the Kingdom of Nafarroa, though the town was probably founded 100 years later. Right around the turn of the century (about 1200), it became part of Castilla. In the 1400s, Durango was a part of the War of the Bands, during which time a number of tower houses were built in the town and the surrounding area. It was also during this time that the Heresy of Durango occurred.
The 1500s were a rough time for Durango. In 1517, it was hit by plague. 1544 brought flooding followed by fires in 1554. And, in 1597, plague ravaged the town yet again.
Today, the town has about 30,000 people. While the town is possibly the oldest in Bizkaia, it doesn’t look it as it was devastated by bombings during the Spanish Civil War and had to be rebuilt.
In Mexico, Durango refers to both a state and a city. As a state within Mexico, Durango is the 8th largest, boasting a population of nearly 2 million people. Before the Spanish arrived, the area was settled by the Huichols, Coras, Tepehuanos and Tarahumaras native peoples. The first Spaniard arrived in 1532. However, it wasn’t until 1546 when silver was discovered that the region attracted attention. Francisco de Ibarra, a conquistador from Eibar, Gipuzkoa (though some sources say he was from Durango) came and conquered the area.
The city was founded in 1563 by Ibarra and is the capital of the state. It began as a mining town. It became an official city, receiving its coat of arms, in 1630. During the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s, a number of key players were executed in the city. In 1911, under the leadership of the Arrieta brothers, the city joined the Mexican Revolution. In the 1950s, the city started growing a film industry.
Durango, Colorado, is a town of about 20,000 in the southwest corner of Colorado. The town was created in 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad as a stop along the way to Silverton, Colorado and to service the local mining activity. The city was named after the Mexican Durango by an ex-Governor of Colorado.
It isn’t clear where the name Durango comes from. One theory says it comes from the Latin Turanicus, from the times the Romans were in the area. Or, it could come from a number of Basque names such as Duranco, Urazango or Padurango. Until the 1500s, the Basque town was known as Uribarri de Durango, meaning the “new town of Durango.” Some references say that Durango comes from Urango meaning “water town” or “well watered place,” but it isn’t clear if this is a true etymology or an invention.
All three Durangos are sister cities.
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
The most basic element of a written language is the alphabet. However, because Euskara wasn’t standardized until the 1970s, spelling of Basque names and words was all over the place, often borrowing from Spanish and French. With standardization, the chaos finally settled and now there is a common alphabet used in all parts of the Basque Country. Those who standardized the alphabet and orthography made some interesting choices – using the letter x to represent the ‘sh’ sound and tx to represent ‘ch’ – that I haven’t been able to find why. If anyone knows, please leave a comment!
Formally, the Basque alphabet has only 23 letters – a b d e f g h i j k l m n ñ o p r s t u x z. The letters c q v w y do exist, but are typically only used in foreign words and names.
h is a bit interesting as some dialects of Basque use it, particularly in Iparralde, while others don’t. When Euskara was being standardized in the 1970s, it was decided to use the h in some words and not in others. It is voiceless in Batua – the unified standard Basque – but is vocalized in some dialects. The choice to include it in some words and not in others caused consternation for everyone.
Another interesting letter is x, which is pronounced like ‘sh’ in English.
z is also interesting. It represents the ‘s’ sound, much like (but subtly different) from the Basque letter s. However, because of the influence of Spanish, I’ve heard it pronounced more like ‘th,’ so that, for example, my grandmother’s surname Zabala, which should be pronounced like Sabala, is sometimes pronounced like Thabala.
There are also digraphs – pairs of letters that represent unique sounds – just like ‘ch’ or ‘th’ in English. In Basque, these are:
dd: this is a bit softer sound than normal d but doesn’t really have an English equivalent (as far as I can tell). Some dialects don’t have this sound.
ll: much like in Spanish, this sounds like ‘y’ in English
rr: this is trilled much like in Spanish
ts: this is pronounced much like the ‘ts’ in ‘rats’
tt: softer than ts or tz, but similar in spirit (again, I don’t know of an English equivalent)
tx: this is the ‘ch’ sound in English, like in the word ‘chair’
tz: this is a bit harder than ts and is pronounced like ‘ts’ in ‘gets’
ñ is like the ‘ni’ in ‘onion.’ The combination ‘in’ in Basque has a similar sound.
Because Basque was only standardized within the last century, before that words were written with either Spanish or French orthography. So, modern Basque Etxebarria would be Echevarria or Etchevarria.
Finally, it is interesting to look at where some of the letter choices come from. As the last example demonstrates, Basque uses tx for the ‘ch’ sound while the neighboring languages do not. Catalan also uses tx for the ‘ch’ sound. Maybe Basque took inspiration from Catalan? I can’t find anything that says anything about the origin of using tx to represent the ‘ch’ sound…
A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.
Primary sources: Basque by Larry Trask, Buber’s Basque Page; Euskera, Wikipedia
Bryce Ternet is an author known for his novels set in the Basque Country and in various parts of the American West. His novels are full of fascinating characters and detailed explorations of exotic locations, often inspired by his many travels. By one of those serendipitous coincidences in life, his wanderings have taken him Los Alamos, New Mexico, where I also work. Bryce recently gifted me a collection of his novels and I just finished the first in the stack, The Basque Dilemma, which explores the possibility of a resurgence of ETA. I virtually “sat down” with Bryce to talk about his passion for the Basque culture, the inspiration for his novels, and his writing process.
Buber’s Basque Page: Bryce, first, thank you for doing this interview with me. Let me begin with one of the obvious questions: Where did your interest in the Basque Country and the Basque people come from?
Bryce Ternet: It’s funny as I often get asked that question. And I completely understand why. Despite boasting some amazing facts – the oldest distinct group in Europe; having a language that predates all living European languages; undoubtedly having ‘discovered’ the North American continent long before Columbus; having endured what is considered to be Europe’s ‘longest war’; playing a key role in America’s westward expansion, amongst so many other amazing historical and cultural points – Basque culture somehow remains largely unknown.
Born in the American Midwest, from an early age Bryce couldn’t wait to get out into the world. He finished high school early and spent his senior year as an exchange student in the majestic French Basque Country, finding himself, learning French, devouring a food and wine appreciation, and becoming entranced with Basque culture.
Bryce started writing in his twenties after wanting to his entire life and tries to continue finding a way to continue in between family, career, and getting into the outdoors. He has eleven published books: A Basque Story, Diplomatic Weekends in Africa, Strohm Alley, The Yellow House on Maloney Grove, The American Middle Class Revolution, Rock Creek, The Stevenson Plan, A Novel of the Monterey Peninsula, The Basque Dilemma, The Cibola Treasure Hunt, Sun Valley Serenade, and Jarbidge. (Bio from Amazon; you can find Bryce’s book on his author page.)
Although I have a French last name/French heritage, I’m about as blue-eyed, fair-skinned, common blood type and light brownish-haired as one can get – no DNA test required to prove I have no Basque in me.
And my exposure to Basque culture was completely by fortunate chance and luck. I was an exchange student my last year of high school in the French Basque Country. (I realize that referring to ‘Iparralde’ this way can be provocative, something I cover fully in some of my books, but for the sake of keeping things simple for now, I’ll refer to this area of the three Basque northern provinces located in southwest France this way.)
While I was there to learn French and absorb French culture, I had the opportunity of being exposed to Basque culture as well. And I loved and absorbed as much as I could. I even wanted to learn some Basque, but there were few opportunities. This was a time when the Basque language was really threatened with survival. Despite so many other languages being taught in the schools, Basque was not an option. Thankfully, there has been a revival in the last couple of decades and this is no longer the case.
And, as a note: I focus on the French Basque Country in both of my Basque-themed novels set in Europe, The Basque Dilemma and A Basque Story. If people are aware of anything Basque, normally they will associate with the southern Basque provinces located within Spain. And, in many ways, rightly so as this is considered to be the more dominant within the greater Basque Country. But the northern side deserves its own attention and has a distinct flavor and history which is even less known and written about.
I always knew I wanted to be a writer. The calling to get out into the world took me to Europe. The exposure to Basque culture inspired my first book. I continued to find Basque culture surrounding me over the next couple of decades. Graduate school took me to California. There I learned more on how Basques had been such a large part of the immigrant community as can still be seen reflected today in Basque restaurants and Basque clubs throughout the state. There was even a fantastic Basque restaurant less than an hour drive from where we lived on the Monterey Peninsula.
Another life and career adventure took us to Idaho’s Sun Valley. Just as Ernest Hemingway once did, I quickly became enamored with historical and existing Basque influence in Idaho. Boise has the highest population of Basques outside Europe! Closer to where we lived, there are still remnants of former Basque boarding houses where Basque sheepherders stayed. And I also developed a hobby of searching for sites of Basque arborglyphs where Basque herders carved into the bark of aspen trees leaving names, dates, salutations, proclamations, even amazing artwork. I began collaborating with Boise State Professor and Head of Basque Studies John Bieter (co-author of An Enduring Legacy) and assisting with his on-going efforts in identifying Basque arborglyph sites throughout the American West. All that tromping around in central Idaho’s mountains and aspen forests led to inspiration for another novel of mine with strong Basque themes, Sun Valley Serenade. Basque arborglyphs have a starring role, but I also included a historical segment reflecting an experience of a Basque sheepherder in the nineteenth-century American West.
BBP: You’ve now written more than a few books with a Basque theme. How did you settle on the general setting and plot of these novels?
Bryce Ternet: I base the settings of all my books on either places I’ve lived or traveled to. I hope the personal experience shines through as I try to incorporate setting as a character itself. Even though I write fictional stories, I strive to incorporate history and culture into my books. I love a great story as much as anyone; but I tend to prefer books where I walk away having learned some new things in addition to being engaged and entertained.
Plots are a different story. I’m sure any storyteller has their own development process. I normally get an idea, run with it, see how far I can get. Sometimes works. Sometimes doesn’t.
My latest novel, Jarbridge, is set in the Jarbidge area of northern Nevada. I was inspired to write this story after taking a solo camping trip to this crazy remote area of the continental United States. I was drawn to visit there as I had researched the historical presence of Basque sheepherders and all the arborglyphs they had left behind. And there are a lot!
While this one is a horror story, I was still able to incorporate Basque themes into the book. This time around I focused on how Basque immigrants came to this country and fully displayed their renowned dexterity to carve out lives for themselves, sustaining prejudices along the way.
BBP: Your stories take your characters, which span the ideological spectrum, all over the Basque Country and beyond. How do you give voice to such disparate characters? And what is your process for visiting these different places? Have you visited every place you write about?
Bryce Ternet: I’ll take the easy one first here: I try my best to only include places I’ve actually visited myself in my books. I think this adds something special to my writing. For example, my wife is Lithuanian so I’ve traveled to Lithuania quite a few times. Including a Lithuanian segment in The Basque Dilemma was something only my own personal experience could truly capture and resulted in a unique element in the story as the destination fit perfectly into a character arc. There are lot of stories set in the amazing city of Prague and lots of people have traveled there. But when was the last time you read a story set in the equally amazing yet under-the-radar eastern European city of Vilnius?
I focused my books A Basque Story and The Basque Dilemma primarily in the French Basque Country, as I know this side of the Basque Country better than the south. And because there’s simply also not as much out there written on the French Basque Country. I’ve read quite a few books, both nonfiction and fiction, related to the Basque Country. I promise: the overwhelming majority are focused on the south.
Ideological spectrum of character development is always a bit tricky. I think it’s probably something writers and actors share in common as far as our craft. As an artist, you’re trying your best to get into the head of a character and portray that character, even if you are morally opposed to the character.
BBP: In The Basque Dilemma, the plot revolves around a potential revival of Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA). What drew you to ETA and exploring that dynamic, that part of Basque history?
Bryce Ternet: More than a few times I have been accused of glamorizing ETA and the violent Basque independence/separatist/nationalist movement in my books. ‘Glamorizing’ seems pretty harsh judgement. My goal as a writer was to capture these historical periods and elements into a story to better highlight this movement which is not very well known outside of western Europe. I completely understand that some would say I include the ideologies of violent terrorists and do not present as much perspective from their victims. But you can only put so much in a book. And other authors, such as Fernando Aramburu, do an excellent job of thoroughly delving into the emotional toil that the Basque separatist movement had on people.
Furthermore, in my first novel, A Basque Story, I wanted to focus on the even lesser known elements of the Basque separatist movement which I had been directly exposed to. When I was living in the French Basque Country in the 90s, the Basque separatist movement was still very alive and well. In fact, ETA claimed responsibility for bombing a British bank in the town of Bayonne one morning when I was walking from a bus stop to school. For a seventeen-year-old from middle America, this was an eye-opening life event and one I’ve never forgotten. Even though no one was hurt in the blast as the attack had been called-in beforehand, the chaos of the explosion, smoke, and French security forces running around with machine guns was memorable.
About the same time, I had begun noticing how Basque youth groups were infiltrated into the high school setting. Some of these youth groups were later proven to being orchestrated by ETA and set up as sort of training grounds for future ETA units. Many of these groups pursued a low level street war tactic, such as de-facing storefronts of real estate offices known to cater to foreigners, igniting dumpster fires, and sketching separatist slogans and pictures on walls. In all the fiction and nonfiction books out there about the Basque separatist movement, there is little inclusion of these ETA-sponsored youth groups.
Additionally, I wanted to convey how much ETA activities spilled over the border into France, another little known element of the broader Basque separatist movement. I carried this over again in back stories within The Basque Dilemma to highlight the ‘Dirty War’ carried out by the group Spanish government supported group, GAL, which carried out harassment, kidnappings, torture, and assassinations of suspected ETA members and sympathizers who had crossed into the French Basque Country in exile.
An even lesser known element is that there was a violent separatist Basque group in the French Basque Country known as IK. This group’s activities never escalated to the level of violence or publicity as ETA, but the fact that they did exist and were involved in some remarkable exploits is fascinating and rarely mentioned.
As far as a resurgence of ETA or any other form of violent terrorist activities in the name of Basque nationalism, I do hope it never happens. But it could. Or it could have, as The Basque Dilemma explores. With any independence movement, there are going to be extreme elements within, perhaps on a fringe. And just as with the IRA’s ceasefire in Northern Ireland, not all factions of a movement are going to be in agreement with the actions of a group’s leadership.
So ‘glamourize’ seems a bit extreme to label my books as I see them in the same vein as Margaret Shedd’s A Silence in Bilbao. Not glamouring or idealizing, just capturing a period of history and sentiment. Outright glamorization of terrorism activities seems a bit more appropriate for books like Julen Agirre’s Operation Ogro.
BBP: I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous that, in addition to holding a regular full time job, you find the opportunity to write so prolifically. How does a typical writing day look for you? Do you write a little every day or do you seclude yourself and write intensely in dedicated sessions?
Bryce Ternet: And I have to equally admit that life has gotten in the way a bit in the last couple of years since I finished my most recent novel, Jarbidge. But normally, yes, to dedicate oneself to writing you do have to find some sort of discipline and stick to it. Early mornings before work and before kids are up when I can dedicate my thoughts to a book are the most opportune times. That said, the writing process for me normally involves a lot of initial research and notebooks filled with notes on characters, arcs, potential plot developments, historical facts, maps, etc. Actual writing is usually the easiest part.
BBP: If you were to continue the pattern of writing based on what you know and including Basque elements in many of your books, are you thinking of something regarding Basques in New Mexico?
Bryce Ternet: As a matter of fact, I wrote a fun little book (The Cibola Treasure Hunt) highlighting New Mexico before my wife and I moved down here from Idaho. We visited New Mexico years ago and I was fascinated with this place. Still am. New Mexico is unlike anywhere else I’ve lived in America. The history, culture, desert, mountains, canyons, geography, geology, landscape, sky, architecture, cuisine. All truly remarkable.
While I’ve continued learning more about New Mexico while living here, there was never a huge historical Basque presence in the state to base a story around. Certainly possible, but not one I see easily developing.
Where I really need to focus my efforts, and this interview is actually giving me jump start kick in the pants inspiration, is on my newest book effort which has been in some form of development for the last couple of years. The idea is for a story with elements of magical realism reflecting Basque mythology, a bit similar to how Dolores Redondo does in her marvelous Batzan Triology books. Also want to highlight elements of witchcraft, as there is quite the history associated with Basques. I’ve done the research and mapped out the journey, now just need to get the story out of my head and onto a page.
BBP: Finding new arborglyphs sounds like an amazing adventure. What is the most amazing or interesting arborglyph you have found so far?
Arborglyph hunting is a fun hobby for sure. But it’s even more important to me these days as it has a definite purpose beyond myself. I assist ‘The Arborglyph Collective,’ a group established through Basque affairs specialists at Boise State University and the University of Nevada, amongst others. This group has been pulled together to find and document as many historical Basque arborglyphs in the American West as possible while there is still time. And time is running out. The height of Basque herders in the west was from the 1930s to 1970s. Aspen trees don’t have the lifespan of some trees and are very susceptible to wildfire. So time is literally running out to locate and photo document.
I’ve conducted some research and received assistance from Professor Troy Lovata at the University of New Mexico. I’ve journeyed into quite a few areas on the search. Unfortunately, while there have been some possibilities, I’ve not found anything yet that immediately indicated a Basque angle to a carving. But I need to spend more time in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness, as Troy has previously recorded some arborglyphs through his own broader efforts which undoubtedly had a Basque touch. The challenge is that the San Pedro Park Wilderness is exactly that – wilderness. Not the most easily accessible, compounded with a microclimate that is surprisingly swampy most of the year. But I’m planning another trip as soon as late spring arrives. Also plan to head a little further north in southern central Colorado at Troy’s suggestion.
As for my favorite arborglyph finds, I’d say I have three. One is the area around Jarbidge, NV. I took a solo-camping trip up there some years ago with the explicit goal to search for arborglyphs after having read how Basque herders based out of Elko ranches would take their herds up into those Nevada remote highlands during summer months. I was not not disappointed. There are aspen groves outside of the ‘town’ of Jarbidge which are covered in amazing arborglyphs. Some of the best I’ve ever seen and clearly left by Basque herders.
The second would be a particular aspen tree I found on a mountainside just above a meadow on the edge of the Idaho’s Boulder Mountains near a Forest Service complex. The general area had a multitude of arborglyphs, clearly Basque. I found one tree off from the others which a herder had made all his own. He had carved his name, hometown in the Spanish Basque Country, and then three successive years that he had visited that very spot. I sat there a bit and reflected on how this herder had done the same decades earlier, gazing out at his herd in this beautiful mountain meadow.
Last, and probably my favorite, was a grove I found near the headwaters of the Salmon River at the edge of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains. What was so special about this one is that, unlike arborglyph areas north of Ketchum, Idaho and outside Jarbidge, Nevada, which others have recorded, I could find no record at all of anyone having recorded finding this particular grove. So I proudly consider it my own find/recording.
BBP: I’m excited to hear about your new project on Basque magic realism, I look forward to it! Will this be your first foray into more fantastical elements in your stories?
A first foray into fantasy and mythology for sure. But I have delved into supernatural elements in a few of my non-Basque themed books. Fairly sure spending a couple of years living in Pacific Northwest winter gloom brought that side of out of me. Amazing region in summer, all those couple of months. But most of rest of the year…whew (at least it was that way over ten years ago). Made me appreciate why so may serial killers and suicides occur up there.
BBP: Continuing on your life as an author, was there a specific moment or trigger where you realized you wanted to be a writer? Was there a specific inspiration that led you to put pen to paper?
Bryce Ternet: Seventh Grade. Miss Watt’s class. We had been learning about India and the final assignment was to write an in-class essay on what we’d learned in any format. I wrote a few paragraphs trying to imagine what life must be like for a farmer living in rural India. Miss Watt’s was so impressed, she read my writing in front of the whole class and I received not only looks of awe from a teacher, but from a lot of bored teenagers.
BBP: In The Basque Dilemma, you have one character that is particularly central to the story who has her feet, so to say, in both sides of the Basque conflict. Was there a specific inspiration or inspirations for this character? Or did you create her out of whole cloth?
Bryce Ternet: Ah, yes, my Lady in Black. Such a fascinating character to explore. Fiction, even when based on historical facts, offers a lot of opportunities for a writer. This particular character was inspired by a couple of actual figures in ETA’s history. One was Maria Dolores Katarain – also known as Yoyes. She was a senior ETA member who later abandoned the group and was murdered as a traitor by her former comrades. I wanted to go deeper into what may motivate someone to turn to extremism in the name of a cause, delve into why they would do so, and how they would face the consequences, one way or another. And there actually was a black clothing-clad lethal female assassin operating at the height of the GAL’s activities in the French Basque Country. And then she vanished. Poof. Gone. She’s definitely part of character inspiration as well. Sometimes reality is so incredible that there’s no need for fiction to embellish. But what happened to her? Did she cross ETA? Was she caught by the French authorities and silently dealt with? Or did she decide to walk away from the cause and start a new clandestine life somewhere? Mysteries like this are fascinating and I love that we don’t know the answers.
BBP: I was aware of your work, but it wasn’t until I saw an article in the local paper highlighting how you now lived in Los Alamos that I thought to reach out.
Bryce Ternet: I’m so glad you did!
BBP:What brought you to New Mexico? And how did you first discover my website?
Bryce Ternet: Pretty crazy how we both ended up in northern New Mexico. My wife and I had always considered moving to this general area and a job opportunity brought us here.
And so funny as I found your website over twenty years ago when I was researching my first book. Your website is amazing and such a resource. Thanks for all the work you put into it to keep Basque culture and history alive!
