Unlike other reservations in the United States, the Wind River Indian Reservation was chosen by the Eastern Shoshone. Protected by the surrounding mountains and watered by alpine streams, "The Warm Valley of the Wind River" is known for its abundant wildlife, mild temperatures and moderate snowfall. The valley served as the tribe’s winter home and ancestral hunting grounds for years before it became a reservation. Later, when it became clear that the whites would require the Indians to live on a reservations, Washakie was able to negotiate that the Wind River Valley would remain the tribe’s permanent home.
The Eastern Shoshone were joined in the Wind River Valley by the Northern Arapaho in 1878. As traditional enemies, neither tribe was particularly happy with this arrangement, but the federal government assured both that the Arapaho were there temporarily. Fifty years later, the Arapaho were still living on the eastern side of the reservation. The two tribes made their peace and the Shoshone were compensated for the loss of land by the government. Today the Shoshone and the Arapaho share the land and govern the Wind River Reservation jointly.