History of the Land

Wind Walker Learning Center lies in in the heart of Utah, in the Sanpete Valley. This is the largest valley in the world surrounded by mountains on all four sides. Numerous eras of history have graced this area from ancient times to Native Americans that worked and traded the vast resources, the Spanish in search of hidden treasure, Mormon pioneers that settled this area, wild west "Robin Hoods", and the present day farmers and ranchers. Many have come to the Sanpete Valley looking for something more than just riches and solitude. Some have come because of a deep, internal draw.

Of those that have come, those that left and those that still inhabit it, something always beckons for their return. Could this be because of the 360 degrees of mountains that surround this valley? The unparalleled diversity of wildlife? The life-force that calms the soul? Or is it that this valley holds a sacredness to each individual that visits, that only the eye of the beholder may know?

The earliest settlers that were thought to inhabit Sanpete were Fremont-Sevier agriculturalists, Native Americans who disappeared around A.D. 1300. Mounds have yielded small stones, and mud-walled structures, as well as pottery, points, and metates. A man by the name of John Brewer, found several caves, one containing mummies that were 7 and 9 feet tall. With these mummies were several gold, lead, and brass plates and artifacts that were engraved with strange characters. There is also a large natural clearing near historic relic caves that resembles an eagle in flight, giving the valley the name "the valley of the eagle."

Due to the lack of water, the San Pitch and Fremont natives that used to travel this area carried a rich knowledge of how to create very elaborate irrigation systems to water their crops. Ute Chief Wakara enslaved local San Pitch Indians, who gathered and hunted in the local marshes and canyons. The Utes had adopted the horse and other trappings of Plains Indian Culture and ranged widely from an apparent winter base in Sanpete County.

The first Mormon settlers arrived in the area in the fall of 1849. They chose the Manti site because of a nearby natural hot spring, the extensive limestone quarries (later exploited commercially), and the fine farming and grazing lands nearby. Wakara at first invited the Mormons, perhaps for the expansion in resources, and then opposed it in a war of 1853-54, which caused a period of "forting up" and the abandonment of area towns. The Black Hawk War of 1865-72, a more serious and prolonged series of guerilla raids, also disrupted county settlement. It culminated in 1872 with the massacre of over 6,000 Native Americans.

The county's larger towns were established in the first decade of settlement. Scandinavian immigrants soon made up a sizable minority, and elements of their culture and humor remain today. The towns peaked in population from about 1900 to 1910, and then declined until the 1970s. The county was created in 1850, enlarged, and then later reduced in size.

There has been many stories of the early wild west "Robin Hoods" that passed through this area. They were mainly know as the Wild Bunch or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This gang was known for stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

Ancient indigenous cultures aligned sacred centers around the globe by using levy lines and intent. These sites also aligned with different star systems in the universe. These advanced techniques for awakening have been forgotten, but are now re-emerging. The prophesied revolution of consciousness is upon us now. This is why so many are drawn to visit sacred sites, such as the Sanpete Valley and Wind Walker Learning Center as these profound links between earth and the heavens assist with activate us into a higher form of consciousness.