In a white brick conference room in Fort Washakie, members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe gathered one evening to discuss their candidacies, hopes and qualms about the future of the tribal nation.
The Eastern Shoshone Tribe is governed by its General Council, which almost any adult tribal member can participate in by submitting agenda items for consideration.
It’s facilitated by elected members of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council. Three of the body’s six seats are up for grabs in the primary election on Sept. 17.
At the forum, many of the 17 candidates for the Business Council, or SBC, discussed their concerns, like the need for more grant writers for the tribe, more support for elders in the community, as well as treaty rights and economic sustainability.
“The white man is hunting on our land through fee land,” said Mike Garvin, one of the candidates at the forum. “That was the state [of Wyoming] and our Business Council allowing that. We need to stop it, and I will stop it.”
Bobbi Shongutsie said she’s been involved in the tribe’s government and General Council since 2017 and is running as a write-in candidate.
“So much of our land is just being taken right underneath us,” said Shongutsie. “The whole Pilot Butte [Power Plant] and Muddy Ridge area, that’s definitely a land grab.”
Recently, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming) have both advanced bills that would deliver the Pilot Butte Power Plant and the land underneath it, located on the reservation, to Midvale Irrigation District.
Clinton Glick, an emergency response coordinator for Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health, also introduced himself.
“One of my main deals that really upsets me with the way that our SBC handles things is: There’s no separation of powers,” said Glick. “Why would they even be screening our agenda items? We should be doing that on our own.”
Next up was candidate Latonna Snyder.
“Some of the key areas I want to focus on is to develop a [revision of the] water code … land conservation, economic feasibility and language revitalization,” said Snyder.
And then Wade LeBeau, another candidate, took the floor to speak.
“Our General Council is our top portion of our government,” said LeBeau, “and that needs to be learned. The SBC has not been following our resolutions, we all know that.”
Another candidate forum hosted by the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s public relations team will be held on Sept. 16, the day before the primary.
At the same time, members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe looking to run for open seats to its Business Council have until Sept. 16 to file.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
