Mukuntuweap Transmissions

Mukuntuweep Transmissions is a series of immersive sound works developed from field recordings and interviews at Zion National Park. The project not only captures a sonic portrait of the natural splendor of Zion, but also the people that are connected to it and the impacts that humans have on the landscape and soundscape. Central to the project are the voices of the Southern Paiute, people who have called the region home for longer than anyone can remember. The ambisonic audio is designed to surround the listener with sound and the current installation utilizes eight custom designed speakers and a subwoofer.

Source of Water

Duration: 15 Minutes


Zion’s story is all about water. Not only did water carve the deep winding canyons, but it also became a contested resource that led to the expulsion or death of countless indigenous people in the region (like the Pa’Rus who lived along the Virgin river) as their springs and other water sources were forcibly stolen. This sound collage brings together the intensity of the natural landscape of the park including falling ice, wind and rushing water, with the voice of Daniel Bulletts from the Kaibab band of Southern Paiutes.

Some sounds to listen for:

  • Ice crashing from the cliffs surrounding Upper Emerald Pool
  • Wind along Taylor Creek in Kolob Canyon
  • The sound of wind playing a barbed wire fence
  • Zion Park water infrastructure at The Court of the Patriarchs.
  • The slow drip of run-off in a slot canyon on the east side of the park.

Daniel Bulletts, Cultural Resource Director for the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians and Director of the Southern Paiute Consortium

Capturing the sounds of Zion's water infrastructure at the Court of the Patriarchs

Image from Pipe Spring National Monument, Kaibab Arizona, site of a contested water source on the ancestral lands of the Kaibab Band of Southern Paiutes.

Recording falling ice at Upper Emerald Pool

Night recording at Big Bend on the Virgin River in Zion Park.

Rockfall

Duration: 15 Minutes


The shape of Zion Canyon is always changing. The river continues to carve its path, and roads and trails are always threatened with closure due to rockfalls. This piece is about geological and human time and the relationships humans have to the land. Perspectives include the extremely long history of the Southern Paiute people in the region; the scientific technique of using sensitive equipment to measure the stress on landforms like natural bridges and converting that data to sound; the nearby community of Rockville impacted by seismic activity and rockfall, and the emotional relationship we have to nature.

The voices in Rockfall in order of appearance.

  • Daniel Bulletts – Kaibab tribe of Southern Paiutes
  • Shanandoah Martineau Anderson – Shivwits Band of Southern Paiutes
  • Jeffrey Moore – Associate Professor, Geology & Geophysics at The University of Utah
  • Greer Chesher – Author, former park ranger and resident of Rockville just outside of Zion Park

Some sounds to listen for:

  • An imagined lava flow moving past the listener
  • Ravens and other birds recorded around Zion and in Virgin, Utah
  • The infrasonic sounds of the earth collected from sensors off Kolob Terrace Road
  • The “song” of infrasonic recordings of natural stone arches
  • Rocks and ice falling

Shanandoah Martineau Anderson, a member of the Shivwitz Band of the Southern Paiutes,

Jeffrey Moore. Professor, Geology & Geophysics at the University of Utah. Image via: https://sciencemoab.org/arch-vibrations/

Greer Cheshire, author and former park ranger, and resident of Rockville Utah

Recording the echoes above Pine Creek on the east side of Zion Park

A Deeper Understanding of
Where We’ve Been

Duration 7:53

Humans have an impact on the things we see in the landscape of the park, but also the things we hear in the soundscape. Kyla Topham, a resident of Springdale just outside Zion park, talks about her relationship to nature and to experiencing the park without sight. This piece focuses on the sounds of infrastructure and the sounds that humans add to the park. 

Some sounds to listen for:

  • The sound of tiny water insects scuttling through the sand
  • The Zion Canyon shuttles idling and in motion
  • Electricity from the Grotto pump house
  • The vocal-like whine of a helicopter captured by the seismic sensors off Kolob Terrace Road
  • The sounds of hikers going to Angels Landing
  • A car alarm at the Grotto

Kyla Topham, a blind resident of Springdale Utah a town on the edge of Zion Park who spoke to me about her experiences

The gas shuttles heard in this piece. These shuttles are being phased out in favor of quieter electric shuttles.

Recording tiny skittering underwater insects in a pool along Pine Creek

Songs of Birds and Sheep

Duration: 5:29


Shanandoah Martineau Anderson and Daniel Bulletts were each kind enough to share a song with me. Songs have many functions for the Southern Paiute people – some might be festive, but others communicate history, or are reserved for ritual, like the Salt Song Cycle, and are meant only for Southern Paiute ears. The two songs shared here are related to the Southern Paiute’s deep connection to animals.

Some sounds to listen for:

  • Bird Song played by Shanandoah Martineau Anderson on the flute
  • Raven at the Moapa Reservation in Nevada
  • Snow melt in the Birthing Cave in Cave Valley
  • Mountain Sheep Song sung by Daniel Bulletts
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