Over 150 years after suffering the worst massacre in U.S. history, the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has purchased their ancestral homeland — called Wuda Ogwa, or Bear River — with a vision to return it back to nature.
The Bear River was once a lush area with wetlands, hot springs, and abundant wildlife, but years of agriculture and irrigation have degraded the landscape. Brad Parry, the Tribe’s Vice Chairman, has recruited a dedicated team of tribal members, experts, and volunteers to return the site to its former glory.
With the help of modern technology and native knowledge, the team will break the water free from colonial canals, remove hundreds of thousands of invasive trees, and replant the native species necessary to stabilize the riverbank and attract local wildlife. As the ecosystem of the Bear River rebounds, it provides the threatened Tribe a place to finally practice their traditions and teach their language to the next generation.
