This Sunday, WyoFile and WyoToday Media will host the first in a series of listening sessions aimed at uplifting the voices of the Wind River Reservation. 

Come share your stories and perspectives about justice and injustice in Indian Country. As our reporting team begins to dig into a year-long project focused on the Wind River Reservation, we need the help of people who live in this community to understand what stories need telling and what questions need asking. 

This will be the first in a series of listening sessions for this project.

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Stop by Central Wyoming College’s Intertribal Education and Community Center, room 116, between noon and 3 p.m., Sunday, July 19, to share your thoughts, concerns and ideas — or simply to join us for lunch, which will be provided for free. 

The project

WyoFile has partnered with WyoToday Media, including The Ranger, Lander Journal and Wind River News as well as Columbia University on a year-long project aimed at Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives and criminal justice reform on the Wind River Reservation and in Wyoming. It is an effort to uncover untold stories of loved ones lost to the epidemic and to highlight structural changes that can be made to improve criminal justice for Native cases.

Your voices are important for this work. At Sunday’s listening session, you’ll have the opportunity to share your stories and concerns, guide this project and learn more about the work ahead. 

This story is part of a WyoFile and WyoToday Media collaboration focused on criminal justice reform on and around the Wind River Indian Reservation, with support from Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights in conjunction with Arnold Ventures. If you have a story to share, please email sarah@wyotoday.com and rebecca@wyofile.com. WyoToday Media is a multimedia news outlet serving Riverton, Lander and the Wind River Indian Reservation. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

Rebecca Huntington is the collaborations editor, working with news outlets across Wyoming to expand the depth, breadth and quality of public service journalism for all. Before joining WyoFile, she was...

Sarah Elmquist Squires is the managing editor of The Ranger, the Lander Journal and the Wind River News.

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1 Comment

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  1. I applaud this initiative by all involved! I have lived on private property surrounded by the reservation for 5 years. My work includes Native American Veterans and their families. I pray a better environment and future can be built for all involved by focusing on the victims, upholding laws , looking at the causes and not just pointing fingers. God bless you all!