Great Basin tribes are advocating for the recognition of the Bahsahwahbee massacre site in Nevada as a national monument. The site, located in eastern Nevada, was the site of several massacres of Native people in the 1800s. The Ely Shoshone, Duckwater Shoshone, and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation are working together to lobby the federal government to designate nearly 40 square miles as Bahsahwahbee National Monument.
The Bahsahwahbee area, known as Sacred Water Valley in the Shoshoni language, holds immense historical and cultural significance to the tribes. It served as a sacred site for healing and celebration for Shoshone and Goshute people for centuries. However, the valley’s historical importance was at risk when authorities considered diverting significant amounts of groundwater that sustains the area.
Tribal members felt compelled to defend the valley’s significance during state hearings in the 2000s. They shared the painful history of the massacres and emphasized that the valley is the final resting place of their ancestors who were slain there. Warren Graham, the Duckwater Shoshone chairman, expressed that the goal of obtaining national monument status is to protect the memory of the atrocities that occurred at Bahsahwahbee.
The Bahsahwahbee site was subject to multiple desecrations, including two massacres carried out by federal soldiers in the mid-1800s as retaliation for alleged attacks on settlers. The final massacre took place in 1897, during which vigilantes killed the family and friends of two young girls who had been away on a walk. The spirits of those who perished are believed to reside in the trees that grow among the open graves.
For more than a century, the history of the massacres was kept hidden, only shared on a need-to-know basis. The unveiling of this painful past occurred when Las Vegas planned to build a pipeline to divert groundwater from Bahsahwahbee. Tribal members and various groups, including ranchers and environmental organizations, opposed the project, highlighting the protection of the cultural resource as a primary concern. Ultimately, the Nevada Division of Water Resources denied the application based on the need to safeguard the site’s historical and cultural importance.
Designating Bahsahwahbee as a national monument would transfer the management of the land and its heritage to the National Park Service. Neal Desai of the National Parks Conservation Association explained that the park service’s mission is to preserve the land and its history, ensuring that it is protected and respected. The monument’s status would elevate the story of Bahsahwahbee alongside other painful chapters in American history, such as Japanese internment camps, sites associated with the lynching of African Americans, and locations of other Native American massacres.
The proposal for the Bahsahwahbee National Monument has gained broad support from the three tribes involved, the Nevada Legislature, and the state’s U.S. senators. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, both Democrats, have lobbied Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on behalf of the tribes. Senator Cortez Masto’s office has indicated that she plans to introduce a bill in Congress to officially designate the monument.
Delaine Spilsbury, an Ely Shoshone elder whose grandmother witnessed the vigilante killing at Bahsahwahbee, expressed her hope that the monument would promote healing for all people, regardless of their background. She acknowledged that some locals in nearby Ely, whose ancestors were involved in the vigilante actions, might find solace in acknowledging and reconciling with the past.
The tribes remain dedicated to protecting the sacred site and preserving the memory of those who were killed there. They seek the designation of Bahsahwahbee National Monument to ensure that their story is told on their own terms and to guarantee the preservation of their historical and cultural heritage.
