Wind River Indian Reservation

Two tribes share this big land.

They are the Shoshone and the Arapaho. The land has many mountains. It also has rivers.

A leader named Washakie was Shoshone. He fought to keep the land. Many tribes used this area for hunting. They hunted big herds of bison.

Later, the land became a special home. It is a very important place today.

The Wind River Indian Reservation is a large area in Wyoming.

Two tribes live there: the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho. The Shoshone people have lived in this area for a very long time. They even used soapstone bowls here thousands of years ago.

Many different tribes once used this land for hunting. They hunted huge herds of bison. In the 1800s, many groups like the Crow and the Lakota moved through the area. A Shoshone leader named Washakie worked to hold the land. He even fought a Crow chief in a duel. In 1868, a treaty made this area a home for the Shoshone. Later, the Arapaho also became part of the reservation.

Today, the reservation is the seventh largest in the United States. It has mountains and rivers. The people at Fort Washakie lead the tribes. There are also casinos in the area. The land is a very important place for these two tribes.

The Wind River Indian Reservation is a huge area in Wyoming.

It sits in the Wind River Basin. This land includes parts of the Wind River Range and the Owl Creek Mountains. It is also near the Absaroka Range. This reservation is very large. It is the seventh-largest Indian reservation in the United States. It is also the fifth-largest by population. The total area is about 2,850,000 acres. The land is shared by two tribes. These are the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho.

Many different groups used this land for a long time. The Shoshone have been here the longest. Archaeologists found soapstone bowls from 1,000 to 3,000 years ago.

People also left rock carvings called petroglyphs here. Some carvings look like characters from Shoshone stories. After the year 1800, many tribes moved through the basin. These included the Crow, Cheyenne, and Lakota. They came to hunt huge herds of bison. These herds were so big they made clouds of dust. The Shoshone used horses to help them hunt and lead. Later, other tribes also got horses to use in the area.

Leaders made many big choices about this land. A Shoshone leader named Washakie wanted to protect his people. In the 1850s, he fought a Crow chief in a one-on-one fight. He won this fight at Crowheart Butte. This helped the Shoshone hold onto the Wind River Valley. In 1868, a group called the Fort Bridger Treaty Council met. They made a treaty that gave this land to the Shoshone. Later, the Arapaho also gained a legal claim to the reservation. This is why it is now called the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Life on the reservation changed as time went on. A military post called Fort Washakie was built there. It was named to honor Chief Washakie in 1878. Many people lived near the fort. A famous guide named Sacagawea is buried there. The tribes also built schools and hospitals. They built a flour mill and used irrigation for farming. Some land was sold to settlers in 1904. This helped the city of Riverton grow on that land.

Today, the reservation is still a very important place. The tribal headquarters are at Fort Washakie. Many people live in the town of Riverton. There are also several casinos in the area. These include the Shoshone Rose Casino. The Northern Arapaho have three casinos, like the Little Wind Casino. The tribes still keep their history alive here. They remember the mountains and the rivers. They also remember the many people who lived here long ago.

The Wind River Indian Reservation is a massive territory in west-central Wyoming. It sits within the Wind River Basin and covers parts of several mountain ranges. These include the Wind River Range, the Owl Creek Mountains, and the Absaroka Range. The reservation is the seventh-largest American Indian reservation in the United States by land area. It is also the fifth-largest in the country by population. The land area is approximately 2,850,000 acres. The total area, including water, is 2,853,310 acres.

This land makes up over one-third of Fremont County. It also covers more than one-fifth of Hot Springs County.

The reservation is shared by two distinct Native American tribes. These are the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho. The tribal headquarters are located at Fort Washakie. Today, the population includes both tribal members and non-Indians. In the 2010 census, the population on the reservation was 26,490 people. About 15,000 of these residents were non-Indians. Many of these people live in the town of Riverton or on ceded lands. Ceded lands are areas that were previously part of the reservation but were given to the United States.

Archaeological evidence shows the Shoshone have a very long history in this region. Researchers found soapstone bowls used by the Tukudika, or Mountain Shoshone. These items date back between 1,000 and 3,000 years. The Tukudika are descendants of the people who lived there long ago. There are also ancient rock carvings called petroglyphs in the area. Some of these carvings are found at the Torrey Lake Petroglyph District. Scholars believe these carvings represent the work of ancestral Shoshone people. Some figures in the carvings match characters from Shoshone folklore, such as Pa waip, a water spirit woman.

Before the reservation was created, the Wind River Basin was a place of many different cultures. It sits between the Great Basin and the Great Plains. After 1800, many tribes used the area for hunting or raiding. These included the Crow, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Blackfeet, and Lakota. They were drawn to the area by huge herds of bison. These herds were so large they created massive dust clouds on the horizon. The Shoshone gained power in the 1700s by being the first northern tribes to get horses. They traded with the Spanish and traders in the Southwest to acquire them. However, their dominance declined when other tribes, like the Blackfeet, also acquired horses.

Leadership and conflict shaped who controlled the Wind River Valley. In the mid-1800s, the Crow tribe was largely dominant in the area. They used the valley as winter range for their horses. A Shoshone leader named Washakie sought to change this. In the late 1850s or early 1860s, Washakie fought a Crow chief in a one-on-one battle. This fight took place at Crowheart Butte.

Washakie won the fight and secured the territory for the Shoshone. The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 later designated the valley as exclusive Shoshone territory. This treaty superseded previous claims made by the Crow in 1851.

The official reservation was established following the Fort Bridger Treaty Council of 1868. Originally, it was known only as the Shoshone Indian Reservation. The United States government made this agreement with the Eastern Shoshone Nation. This agreement restricted the tribe to a much smaller area than their original territory. Later, a legal claim by the Arapaho led to the name change. It became the Wind River Indian Reservation to reflect both tribes. A military post called Camp Augur was built in 1869 near the site of modern Lander. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Washakie to honor Chief Washakie.

Life on the reservation involved new systems of farming and community building. Irrigation was built to help people farm and ranch in the dry climate. The Arapaho people even built a flour mill near Fort Washakie. The reservation also saw the creation of schools and hospitals. A government school and hospital operated near the fort for many years. The village of Arapahoe was also established to distribute rations and run a trading post. However, the Dawes Act changed things by dividing communal tribal land into individual plots. These plots could then be sold to people who were not members of the tribes. This caused the tribal land base to shrink over time.

Today, the reservation remains a center of tribal life and economy. The Eastern Shoshone operate the Shoshone Rose Casino. The Northern Arapaho operate several casinos, including the Wind River Hotel and Casino. They also run the Little Wind Casino and the 789 Smoke Shop and Casino. These are the only casinos located in the state of Wyoming. The history of the land is still visible in its names. For example, the Middle Fork Popo Agie River uses a Crow name. The word Poppootcháashe is an onomatopoeia that means "plopping river." The reservation continues to be a place where history and modern life meet.