Old Camp Historic Park: The Burns Paiute Tribe's Concept Plan

A plan for Old Camp

The Burns Paiute Tribe wants to deepen its connection to Old Camp, near Burns, Oregon, and to grow its existing RV park there into a destination where visitors learn about the Tribe. The Old Camp Historic Park Concept Plan sets out that vision: a site that joins the Tribe's history with living cultural education and outdoor recreation.

Who made it

• The Tribe asked the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program (RTCA) — which helps communities turn spaces into places of learning, celebration and community — to manage and coordinate the project, keeping every phase true to the community's needs and the site's history.
• RTCA brought in the Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, which turned to the University of Oregon's landscape architecture program. A faculty member set up a small two-quarter class for the project, and the chapter paid for students to travel to Burns and work directly with RTCA, the Planning Committee, the Tribal community and the Tribal Council.
• The students drew the conceptual site design from the Tribe's own research and guidance, RTCA's help and their own study — a design meant to respect the area's natural and cultural integrity while opening it up for access, education and recreation.

How it came together

From resources the Tribe shared and the students' research came a research report, and a community workshop was held in April 2023. A few months later, the students returned to Burns with RTCA to present the final draft plan to the Burns Paiute Tribal Council.

What it proposes

The plan would improve the RV park and add new facilities meant to preserve the Tribe's history and support its economic self-sufficiency. The hope is a place where powwows, Tribal artisan fairs and farmers markets bring people together — where the Tribe can share a deep part of its identity and life, and teach its young people and visitors alike.

RTCA has supported conservation and outdoor recreation in communities across the country for more than 30 years.

Sources

Based on "Old Camp Historic Park Concept Plan," Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The plan's cover, with partners' logos, is not reproduced.