Wildlife on the Wind: A Field Biologist's Journey and an Indian Reservation's Renewal

Chapter 9: Game Code

176 9 Game Code T he biggest challenge to restoring and sustaining wildlife on WRIR was gaining control of tribal hunting. The 1948 game code, the only previous comprehensive curb on hunting, lasted just five years. The accounts of elders painted a bleak picture of wildlife decline following its repeal in 1953. Fearing that further depletion of game was likely, the Shoshone General Council appointed a committee of men and women to draft a new game code in June 1978. This was presented by Chairman Frank Enos in February 1979 to the Tribal Fish and Game Committee, composed of three Shoshone and three Arapaho councilmen. The councilmen enlisted my help to review its contents. We redrafted the code several times, largely to mediate differences between the two tribes’ representatives. Provisions governing game birds and waterfowl were dropped. Protection of federally threatened and endangered species was avoided. The final document addressed the hunting of only nonpredatory big game species: mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and pronghorns. During the fall of 1980, the six-member Shoshone Tribal Council approved the game code and recommended its presentation at the Shoshone General Council meeting on November 8. Dissension persisted from some Arapaho councilmen. Tension between Game Code 177 certain members of the two tribal councils was palpable. One bluntly insisted, “Arapahos don’t need any white man’s laws.” Prior to the Shoshone General Council meeting, I wrote an article for the Wind River Journal about the decline of game on the reservation. I described how the tribes could reverse that trend. Next to my article, the “Tribal Viewpoint” asked, “Do you think there should be some sort of tribal game code to preserve our wildlife?” This is one of those “man on the street” weekly questions that many newspapers randomly pose to people encountered in the post office or cornered at local businesses. All four Indians who responded agreed that such regulations were needed. John Gavin, a former Shoshone game warden, answered, “All hunting should be shut down for at least five years so that the deer herd can be built up and also the moose.”1 The Shoshone councilmen felt confident the game code would pass. Frank Enos presented the proposal at the well-attended November 8 meeting. Dick told me later that Dr. Enos did a superb job. Limited discussion ensued. In a decisive declaration, the General Council approved the game code by a margin of two to one. The vote was a due victory for all who worked so diligently for its adoption, and represented a potential turning point for the WRIR’s beleaguered wildlife. I was ecstatic to hear the news the following day. Fieldwork is what we biologists are trained for and love to do. But less than half a biologist’s work hours are spent communing with nature. Advancing the cause of conservation is the payoff for long hours of data analyses, literature research, writing, citizen and media communications, and taxing public meetings. I couldn’t stop smiling for days. The game code established a hunting season from September 15 to December 31; a limit of one big game animal of each species per enrolled member; a free licensing Wildlife on the Wind 178 system; a tagging procedure requiring licensed hunters to obtain game tags before hunting and to tag animals immediately after harvest; the prohibition of snowmobiles, motorcycles , and aircraft for hunting; and a 10-day, preceremony hunting season of antlered deer and elk for participants in the Sun Dance (the Shoshones’ most important religious ceremony, observed near the summer solstice). Big game of either sex could be killed during the fall season. Game tags were transferable from one licensed hunter to another, so Tommy LeBeau and others could hunt for their relatives. No restrictions governed species other than big game. But wait—time out for a reality check. Both tribes had to pass any new proposal for it to become the law of the land. The likelihood of the Arapaho General Council adopting the game code was shaky. Arapaho councilmen were getting plenty of feedback, as a growing undercurrent of hostility suggested tribal members were less than enthusiastic about restrictions on hunting. Dick and I couldn’t gauge if this was a vocal minority or a more pervasive attitude. My fledgling outreach to schoolchildren might yield future benefits for reservation wildlife. But only tribal members 14 and older could...