Intentional Communities in the Intermountain West
Intentional communities have long been part of the American experience; perhaps inspired by the large expanses of unspoiled and inexpensive land, people wishing to live outside of mainstream culture and build what they saw as ideal communities have done so starting with the Shakers in the 18th century. This tour features five radically different intentional communities in the Intermountain West, representing a variety of ideas that brought people together, from religious motivation to racial hatred to a desire to live in harmony with the Earth. They all meet the criteria for intentional community postulated by Professor Timothy Miller of the University of Kansas, including a sense of common purpose and of separation from the dominant society, living in close proximity, economic sharing, and a size greater than a single family.
Back to the Land
New Buffalo
New Buffalo was a hippie commune founded in 1967 with the goal of getting back to the land and creating a self-sufficient community. It was emblematic of the Taos area commune scene, which encountered a number of environmental and cultural challenges.
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Polygamy on the State Line
Short Creek Settlement
Short Creek was an isolated fundamentalist Mormon intentional community where locals practiced polygamy and communalism. It drew public attention due to a government raid in the 1950s and the imprisonment of its leader in the 2000s.
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The Children of Aaron
EskDale
EskDale is a communal settlement in the west Utah desert that combines elements of Mormonism, Christianity and Judaism. Members see themselves as the successors of the biblical priests leading back to Aaron.
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Aryan Nations Compound
Aryan Nations was a community founded in 1973 by White nationalist, Richard Butler, to serve as the nucleus of an Aryan (White) homeland in northern Idaho. It closed in 2000 due to a court judgment after members assaulted two local Native American people.
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Serving My People and the Earth Mother
Bear Tribe Medicine Society
Bear Tribe Medicine Society was an interracial center founded in 1971 by Sun Bear, an Ojibwe man who had a vision of people of all ethnicities coming together to learn to live in harmony with the Earth. It was controversial among some Native American groups who felt that he was commercializing Native spirituality.
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