Wind River Reservation - September 12, 2015

Today was a free day, so I chose to spend a good portion of it driving along some of the mainly empty highways that run through the vast Wind  River Indian Reservation, which covers as much territory as the state of Delaware. As I explained yesterday, it was created as an Eastern Shoshone reservation in 1868, but the Northern Arapahoe were also forced onto the  same reservation as a temporary measure that has endured. The two tribes were historic enemies. I was advised to stay on the main highways as I crossed the reservation, which I did.The landscape is often stark and beautiful, but there are also acres of  irrigated crops.The towns like Pavilion and Fort Washakie (named for the revered Shoshone chief who helped keep peace between Indians and settlers) are neat. A monument in  Fort Washakie says that Sacajawea is buried nearby. Housing looks very much like housing in other small Wyoming towns. However, tensions and poverty persist on the reservation. Competing casinos run by the  two tribes exist at the edge of the reservation.

One thing you can  say about Presbyterians is that they do not gamble. They know the odds! But, encouraged by the kind owner of my motel, I stopped for lunch at the Shoshone owned Shoshone Rose Casino. Nice meal, nicely served, reasonable price. It was not crowded.

My observations on  the Reservation were very limited. There have been articles that characterize the Wind River Reservation as particularly troubled. However, for most of the tourists speeding through to Yellowstone on Highway 26, the only impression is beauty.

There is a Presbyterian Church in Riverton, the largest  town adjacent to the reservation. Riverton  was once part of the reservation, but its territory was "ceded" to the  settlers years ago. I will meet the pastor there at the presbytery meeting in Powell next week.