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From deities of destruction to entities of creation: shifting the narrative about volcanoes through interpretation
-Caroline Grass, Science Communications Assistant
Interpretation Ranger Finn Wilson continues his career in the National Park Service as a contribution to his family’s legacy. He spent his childhood traveling around the country with his parents who were National Park Service Rangers for several parks.
After graduating from high school, Wilson took his first position at Badlands National Park, eventually transitioning to doing his first interpretation work at Jewel Cave National Monument for two seasons. Wilson finally made his way to the desert Southwest where he obtained his first official interpretation position at Grand Canyon National Park.
“I knew I always wanted to wear the uniform and be in the Park Service, but I first felt purpose when I started working in Interpretation,” Wilson said. “Being able to [collaborate with] museum curators, archaeologists and divisions across the park and create programs to uplift stories that don’t get told very often is what I love to do.”
Last winter, Wilson came across Red Mountain, an unusual cinder cone volcano found in Coconino National Forest. Its last eruption, 740,000 years ago, left the volcano’s interior completely exposed, allowing Wilson to hike into the belly of the cinder cone. While exploring, Wilson said he felt a presence within the space that he could only describe as gentle and alive.
After feeling a special connection to the area, Wilson decided to deep dive into learning about Arizona’s volcanoes, eventually learning and becoming fascinated with the volcanoes that lie dormant on Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
“Primarily volcanoes are thought of just making lava and erupting,” Wilson said. “At Red Mountain I felt something different, that this was an entity of creation and not a deity of destruction. [Volcanoes] instead help lay a foundation for the world to renew itself with new plant and wildlife.”
Four months of research later — spending time in the Grand Canyon library and consulting museum staff, cultural resources, and colleagues across the park — Wilson created a special program, “Volcanoes: The Sleeping Giants of the Southwest.” He shared this program for the first time in October.
The program covers the complex history of volcanoes in the Southwest region including Sunset Crater Volcano, the San Francisco Volcanic Field, the Uinkaret Volcanic Field, and Vulcan’s Throne on the North Rim. Wilson incorporates Indigenous knowledge and history in the program and explores the idea of shifting the narrative about volcanoes being destructive to instead seeing them as creators that promote growth and life in ecosystems.
His presentation includes his very own hand-painted watercolor paintings of Sunset Crater and observations in the field. Wilson also takes his audience on a journey with him by including personally edited videos of his research findings and hikes at Red Mountain and Wupatki National Monument.
“I think putting my art into my work helps create more of a personal experience,” Wilson said. “It’s so much easier to contemplate [these places] when you can see what I’m talking about.”
To learn about volcanoes and this complex history, join Ranger Finn Wilson in his next presentation of “Volcanoes: The Sleeping Giants of the Southwest” on November 28 at 2:30 p.m. at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Theater. |
