Northwestern Band reclaims Bear River Massacre site

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is restoring the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre with the goal of reviving the land’s natural ecosystem, according to Utah News Dispatch. Tribal leaders say the effort could also benefit the Great Salt Lake by sending more water downstream through habitat restoration.

Vice Chairman Brad Parry told more than 140 people at an Aug. 27 forum in Ogden, Utah, that the project aims to return the land to a state their ancestors would recognize. Since purchasing 350 acres around the site in 2018, the tribe has secured about $13 million in funding for the Wuda Ogwa restoration project. Volunteers and partners have planted about 69,000 native plants, with another 130,000 planned. Parry said the project is also a way to heal from the massacre, calling the site “our Arlington Cemetery.”