Paiute Nations

Chairwoman Amber Torres, Walker River Paiute Tribe

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“As contemporary tribal leaders, we are stepping into the unknown with the Trump Administration. Tribal unity is imperative. What detrimentally impacts one tribe will ultimately impact all tribes due to consequence and precedent. Our people had a historic relationship with the grizzly; many of our traditional foods were those our ancestors observed the sacred bear being nourished by. Our people have always walked the earth in a sacred manner and cohabited in harmony with the two-legged, four-legged and winged, our sacred relatives who aid and guide us through ceremony and prayer. Most know our Paiute people through Wovoka, a holy man of peace. Today, in our lands, we face an environmental catastrophe that the world continues to ignore. For decades, alongside the Yerington Paiute Tribe and our other neighboring tribes, we have struggled to protect our water from the abandoned Anaconda Copper Mine which has contaminated ground and surface waters, and poisoned wells with uranium, arsenic, lead and other toxic chemicals. With Scott Pruitt now leading the EPA and Ryan Zinke heading Interior, our concerns have increased. Both have said negative things about honoring Superfund responsibilities. In both a historic and contemporary context, this treaty and its importance have taken on even greater urgency since the election. Our worries and fears are real.”

Chairwoman Amber Torres, Walker River Paiute Tribe.

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