From Mental Health Advocacy to Basque Traditions: A Journey Through Idaho’s Heart

I thought my trip to Idaho last week was going to be just another rewarding visit with local partners and advocates looking for access to quality mental health care. It wasn’t. It was so much more.

My colleague, Beth Perez, and I visited our friends at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday. Its leadership continues to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the mental health of rural patients. On Friday, Beth and I attended NAMI Idaho’s annual conference in Boise. We met some passionate change agents who are working tirelessly to improve statewide mental health outcomes.

What about Thursday?

Well, on that evening we went to the 75 year old Basque Center in Boise where we were given an impromptu tour of the place.
On the main floor, there’s a room the size of a basketball court where children and adults learn and perform traditional Basque dance.
The walls are adorned with dozens of colored and black-and-white photographs of the Center’s lively community dancing in the many festivals held there since 1949.

The second floor has a much more intimate room that holds 6 felt-covered tables where the Center hosts weekly games of Mus, a traditional Basque card game. There are several plaques on the wall listing Mus champions dating back at least 30 years.

My last name, Arzubi, is Basque. I can’t remember the last time I was in a place that celebrates the traditions and culture of the Basque Country. There are about 16,000 people in Idaho of Basque origin. Many of their ancestors entered the US to join the gold rush of the 1840’s. Those that didn’t get rich settled throughout California, Nevada, and Idaho where they made a living as sheepherders.

During our tour of the Center, Julian told us that dozens of volunteers had spent the week making blood sausage for the community dinner on Saturday. He led us down to the basement kitchen to show us the hundreds of sausages that hung from racks after being cased.

That did it.

I decided to stay through Sunday so that I could take part in that community dinner. They host these dinners monthly, but the blood sausage is made only once a year. I wanted to share this experience with Ela, my wife, who flew in on Friday evening. The homemade Basque food was delicious. It was the best blood sausage I’ve ever tasted. I was most impressed with the warmth of the people we met at the dinner.

The tables were arranged in long rows like they were in your grade school cafeteria. So, we sat together and shared with one another stories of how we were connected to the Basque Country. The joyous noise from the tables also sounded like your grade school cafeteria’s.

I’ve been living in the Intermountain West for 11 years. I’m bummed it took me so long to discover this incredible community in Boise.
The experience and human connection were priceless. I’ll be back.