Understanding and Communicating the Role of Elk on the Wind River Indian Reservation

FAIN: ZR-256748-19

University of Wyoming (Laramie, WY 82071-2000)
Judith Antell (Project Director: February 2017 to March 2019)
Aldora F. White Eagle (Project Director: March 2019 to December 2019)
Robert Timothy Rush (Project Director: December 2019 to July 2024)
Diana Grant Hulme (Co Project Director: August 2018 to July 2024)
Farrell Rapp (Co Project Director: September 2022 to July 2024)

Research and educational programs to discover, understand, and communicate the ways in which Shoshone and Arapaho peoples have known and celebrated the natural world through stories, songs, and traditions.

This project focuses on the WRIR in west central Wyoming. At over two million acres, the WRIR is one of the largest reservations in the country. Established in 1868 for the Eastern Shoshone people - Newe, as they call themselves, – the WRIR became home also to the Northern Arapaho people – Hiinono’ei, – in 1878. From that time, both tribes have shared the reservation equally. Currently, the Eastern Shoshone number approximately 4,000 people, and the Northern Arapaho number approximately 10,000 people. Even though the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes share a land base, they are different nations politically, economically, and culturally. While recognizing these cultural differences, this project will demonstrate that both tribes have long-standing relationships with elk, important tribal ancestors with spiritual, economic, political, social, linguistic, and artistic dimensions.