The West's hidden corners offer a safe space for polygamists
On a Saturday in July, the sun shone on the red-rock cliffs of southeastern Utah. Heidi Foster sat on the banks of the Colorado River, handing out fruit snacks to kids from polygamous families.
Foster, a plural wife from the suburbs of Salt Lake City, was among about 130 people on a river trip. Foster, who brought five of her own children, saw it as part of an important weekend where her kids could drop their guard and be themselves. “If someone asks, ‘How many moms do you have?’ you can tell them,” Foster said.
The rafting was one of the highlights of the annual Rock Rally, a five-day polygamous jamboree at Rockland Ranch, a polygamous community about 40 minutes south of Moab. The rally included hiking, zip-lining, rafting and a dance with a country music band from a polygamous community on the Utah-Arizona line.
The Rock Rally is a private gathering; visitors need the hosts’ permission to attend. But every year, hundreds of polygamists visit Rockland Ranch, where they can carve out a place of their own in a remote corner of the West. Here, polygamy is accepted, even though the practice is illegal in the U.S.
Read more: https://www.hcn.org/articles/culture-the-wests-remote-corners-offer-a-safe-space-for-polygamists
(High Country News)
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