Nevada Native American tribes proposing new national monument near Ely

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada tribal leaders and activists are proposing another national monument in the Silver State.

Representatives from the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, the Ely Shoshone Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute are asking federal lawmakers to consider creating the Bahsahwahbee National Monument in Eastern Nevada. The site is located near Ely and is considered a significant cultural site by the tribes.

Three separate massacres at the site in the late 1800s led to over 750 Native Americans being killed.

"My grandmother and her friend, they went to the social camp at Bahsahwahbee and everybody was in a fall mood. It was time to gather and catch fish and prepare for winter. The men decided they'd go out hunting. While they were away, it was terrible. The vigilantes came in and slaughtered everybody in camp. They were vicious. People were killed in some really nasty ways. It was just an ugly, ugly mess," said tribal elder Delaine Spilsbury. "When my grandmother and her friend heard a little noise, they hid in a ditch and saw the slaying happening. Lucky for them, they weren't found. When they finally got their sense back together, they decided to just walk somewhere so they walked south for many, many miles until they came to a ranch and fortunately for them, the rancher was happy to see them. They took care of them and they even went to the extent of raising my grandmother to maturity."

Bahsahwahbee Swamp Cedars National Monument

Since then, an ecologically-unique grove of juniper trees, also called Swamp Cedars, have grown and tribes still gather to honor their ancestors.

"This endemic growth of Rocky Mountain junipers, or swamp cedars, should be at 8,000 feet or above elevation. These are growing at 5,000 feet," Kyle Roerink, executive director of regional water conservation nonprofit Great Basin Water Network, told National Geographic in 2021. "Wrong elevation, wrong soil, complete wrong habitat. No one understands why they grew here nor how they continue to survive."

Tribal leaders said they believe the trees have a special connection to their forefathers.

"The trees nourished themselves on the lives of our ancestors," said tribal environmentalist Rick Spilsbury. "That's the only thing left in Spring Valley alive of the Western Shoshone. You can say well, you know there are other trees like this in the world but there isn't. When they're gone, they're gone."

Bahsahwahbee Swamp Cedars National Monument

Water that runs through the area also holds special significance to the tribes. The Southern Nevada Water Authority originally planned a 300-mile pipeline project that would have siphoned 7.8 billion gallons of water a year from desert groundwater basins, including the valley around Bahsahwahbee. However, in 2020, the SNWA decided they wouldn't be pursuing the project.

"Eastern Nevada's fragile ecosystems and rural communities have won a reprieve but the fight isn't over," Patrick Donnelly, Nevada state director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said at the time. "As long as pipeline permits are still alive, our struggle continues."

Bahsahwahbee has already received a Traditional Cultural Property designation, which placed the site on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. However, tribal leaders said further protections are needed to make sure the site can be preserved.

"It's important for us to protect these areas for the Native American people to not only educate our youth but also educate the general public about what truly happened here and why it is significant to the Native American people," said Warren Graham, the chairman of the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe.

Both of Nevada's senators have supported the proposed national monument and are asking the Interior Department to consider it. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the Biden Administration will give this monument "their close attention".

"As we learned with Avi Kwa Ame, the best conservation is community-led, so we're going to have all those conversations."

You can learn more about the proposed national monument at Bahsahwahbee here.