Protecting Sacred Waters
The rivers of Greater Yellowstone are perhaps the ecosystem’s most valuable and vital resource. They shape and define landscapes, carry drinking and irrigation water to communities, support local economies, and provide opportunities for recreation and solitude. Equally important is the spiritual aspect of rivers. The Indigenous People of Greater Yellowstone view water as sacred. It is a life-giving force that is central to many traditions and ceremonies; a resource all people should honor, protect, and respect.
In 1919, the Bureau of Reclamation built Diversion Dam on the Big Wind River. This was done in violation of the 1868 Treaty that created what is now called the Wind River Indian Reservation. The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes knew the dam would impact their way of life; it was built anyway. Today, more than 100 years later, the main stem of the river has been gravely deteriorated, resulting in a 90 percent decline of the once robust populations of rainbow and brown trout. The diversion of water away from the Tribes to non-Indian irrigators downstream has created persistent hardships for the people of the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Today, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is working with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes to address the environmental and socio-economic impacts of Diversion Dam and bring the river back to the people and animals who depend on it.
Our Tribal Work News
How the Greater Yellowstone Coalition Protects Sacred Waters
We are working with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes and federal and state government agencies to find long-term solutions to the function and management of Diversion Dam, including restoring the cultural and ecological health of the Big Wind River and its tributaries. We are also working to identify priority areas for river and riverside plant restoration as well as climate adaptation projects along a 53-mile stretch of the river to support the cultural, medicinal, nutritional, and ceremonial needs of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho.
Our shared goal is to improve water quality and quantity, habitat health, and native fish and beaver populations.
Evaluating Diversion Dam
Working in lockstep with Tribal leadership from the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is petitioning the Bureau of Reclamation to initiate an audit of Diversion Dam’s management and impacts. Disappointingly, our requests to the agency are often met with the suggestion that the Tribes themselves fund the necessary studies to determine the dam’s condition and its harmful impacts to fish, wildlife, and people. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition believes it is the responsibility of the federal government, not the Tribes, to bear the costs of studying and ultimately rectifying the environmental and cultural harm caused by this federally owned dam and its dewatering of the Big Wind River.
In addition to engaging with the Bureau of Reclamation, GYC Tribal Program staff are conducting outreach to the Wind River communities, contributing advocacy capacity to Tribal leadership, and more.
Restoring the Big Wind River
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition is working to restore the ecological and cultural integrity of the Big Wind River. Our vision is of a clean, free-flowing river that supports and sustains the well-being of the people, communities, and wildlife of the Wind River Indian Reservation. Our Tribal Program, which includes staff based in our Indigenous-led Wind River Indian Reservation office in Fort Washakie, is working alongside Tribal leadership and our partners in the Wind River Water and Buffalo Alliance to develop and implement programs to help restore segments of the Big Wind River and its ecologically, economically, and culturally vital river habitats.
By working to restore the Big Wind River and doing so in a way that prioritizes Tribal rights and interests, we can honor Tribal sovereignty, improve climate resilience, protect iconic wildlife and fisheries, and bring back healthy river, wetland, and creek habitats.