Slowly the bus climbed in elevation, taking us deeper into a mountainous area of the Nez Perce Reservation, home to the Nimiipu people. This Indian Reservation encompasses approximately 700,000 acres of varying terrain. We were in the heart of Indian Country and being introduced to a unique part of our nation by Levi Holt, a Nez Perce tribal member and influential figure. He is working with the preservation of species within the Nez Perce nation as well as educating a receptive audience on the interconnectedness of the animal and human world.

Levi was raised and educated by his grandparents. He was given his traditional name, Black Beaver, by his grandfather, who also helped Levi with his life-long path of advocating for all living beings.

As a Nez Perce tribal representative Levi works in close partnership with the Wolf Education and Research Center, an organization situated on the Nez Perce Reservation. The center has 300 acres on Nez Perce land with an enclosed area of 20 acres where eight members of the Sawtooth wolf pack reside.

The Wolf Education and Research Center is dedicated to providing public education and scientific research concerning the gray wolf and its habitat. It is one of the largest facilities of its kind in the nation, with rolling timberland, meadows and streams, a fitting home for the Sawtooth wolf pack.

From this vantage point, and with interpretation by Levi and the volunteers from the wolf education center we were able to walk within the compound, with a hope of closer looks at the Sawtooth pack. As the light moved in and out of the clouds we found Lakota curled up, two ears alert and moving. We heard the distant yips and barks of the rest of the pack in the nearby woods. Ravens circled overhead reminding us of the lesson Levi had left with us about the interconnectedness of species. Ravens circling in the sky above, squawking at each other, while wolves were circling below, in the forest.....low barks filling the cool afternoon air.