A Little Bit of America at the World Nomad Games

The “Universe of Nomads” ethno-town at the 6th World Nomad Games contains roughly 500 yurts spread across the mountain pasture at Kyrchyn, beneath the forested slopes of the Kungey Ala-Too Mountains. Among them, visitors may be surprised to come across the Stars and Stripes flying beside the Kyrgyz flag at the entrance to one particular yurt. Nearby, a cardboard cowboy with a hole where the face should be invites them to poke their heads through for a photograph. Inside, a Kyrgyz host in a cowboy hat welcomes visitors and introduces them to the Founding Fathers and, indeed, Mothers of the United States before inviting them to pose on a bale of hay beside a cutout of George Washington and a covered-wagon backdrop. The U.S., it turns out, is represented by two adjacent yurts, and Katarina Lage Ramos, a diplomat and spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, is on hand to explain their purpose. The historical display marks 250 years since U.S. independence. Ramos is attending the World Nomad Games for the first time, although she said the embassy has taken part in previous editions held in the country. She explained that a Blackfeet drum in the yurt had been donated by the Montana National Guard and would later be presented to Kyrgyz military representatives following a joint disaster-preparedness exercise. The Montana National Guard and Kyrgyzstan have worked together since 1996 through the State Partnership Program, with joint training in disaster relief and border security. Next door, another yurt houses a small makerspace with a 3D printer brought from the American Center in Bishkek. Ramos said such spaces give young people practical experience with programming and digital design. Based at the Bayalinov Republican Youth and Children’s Library, the center “started out as a little corner,” Ramos said, and has since expanded onto the second floor. Its 160-square-meter Maker Space was upgraded in 2019 and offers free, hands-on technology programs. Alumni and exchange participants can also organize events there without charge. A U.S. State Department grant funded an elevator at the library in 2024, allowing people with disabilities to access the American Center and its programs independently. Outside the two yurts, Kyrgyz visitors, young and old, eagerly try cornhole and a mini, kid-sized lacrosse game. Cornhole is a simple DIY game in which players throw beanbags toward a hole cut into a wooden board. With roots in games played by Indigenous peoples of North America centuries before European contact, lacrosse is a convenient tie-in with the World Nomad Games. While interest in the Games grows among Western tourists, including those from the U.S., the embassy brings to Kyrchyn what Ramos called “a little bit of America.” For more from our World Nomad Games 2026 special coverage, click here.