What You See in Clear Water: Indians, Whites, and a Battle Over Water in the American West

by Geoffrey O'Gara

For nearly a century, the Indians on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming have been battling their white farmer neighbors over the rights to the Wind River. What You See in Clear Water tells the story of this epic struggle, shedding light on the ongoing conflict over water rights in the American West, one of the most divisive and essential issues in America today.

While lawyers argued this landmark case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Geoffrey O’Gara walked the banks of the river with the farmers, ranchers, biologists, and tribal elders who knew it intimately. Reading his account, we come to know the impoverished Shoshone and Arapaho tribes living on the Wind River Reservation, who believe that by treaty they control the water within the reservation. We also meet the farmers who have struggled for decades to scratch a living from the arid soil, and who want to divert the river water to irrigate their lands. O’Gara’s empathetic portrayal of life in the West today, the historical texture he brings to the land and its inhabitants, and the common humanity he finds between hostile neighbors on opposite sides of the river make What You See in Clear Water an unusually rich and rewarding book.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Native American

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2000

Reviews

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really want to give this four as it should be read by everyone but I understand why this tends to be a textbook not a book necessarily read for pleasure.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author manages to guide the reader though a conflicting set of water resource issues on the most legally confusing of all landscapes... the Wind River Reservation. Lined up across the court-room aisle sit the anglo farmers who tap the river for irrigation and the native residents wanting to restore the "in-stream flows" to support the trout fishery.

Its a conflict the author uses to drive the story forward, but is only a single thread of a much richer story. The author interleaves the battle over water rights with the history of both the Shoshone and Arapaho and the opening of land within the reservation for white settlers. The author's love of the Wind River Reservation is evident in his first hand accounts describing the area's geography and natural history. This book succeeds by tying together the story's long and interconnected threads into a comprehensive picture of water politics.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am kind of heartbroken after reading this book, which leaves off sometime around the year 2000. Since then, there has been extensive oil and gas development on the Wind River reservation, which has contaminated aquifers near Pavilion. The book seems to accept a framework of debate which pits the rights of the tribes against the interests of white farmers, but even the farmers will get steamrolled by the resources of energy companies in the decade that follows. All this heartache over water resources, and we're all still losing the water which makes any life possible.

[Aida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoffrey O’Gara writes with the same style as a river— a somewhat humorous similarity considering the content of his book. At points the writing is intense, fast paced and gripping and at others a slow stream of relevant fact. He meanders and wanders through subjects all while conveying the history of Wyoming water rights, almost as though through his captivating prose he has tricked you into learning. O’Gara does his best to remain neutral, yet manages to force the reader into such a direct emotional connection with every person he mentions, that by the time you reach the last few pages, you really don’t want the story to be over.

[Edward Champion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for research for my Riverton, Wyoming story. O'Gara does fill in some important details about the Arapaho and the Shoshone in the Wyoming area, particularly in relation to the long historical battle for water. But he is too much of a self-congratulatory braggart on the page, almost as if he wants a cookie for doing the bare minimum. A sharp contrast from, oh say, the great work of Katherine Boo, who completely removes herself from the story. And that narcissism on O'Gara's part really makes this book a huge turn-off, even though there are very few books on this important subject.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mixes personal profiles of the people effected by the water conflicts in the region of the Wind Rivers Indian Reservation with the political narrative as well as scenery descriptions of the area. A little hard to follow, but well worth reading.

[Skyler Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s incredible to learn about tribal history especially when it comes to water and water rights in the west. The Wind River story is no stranger to the difficulties.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

O'Gara writes about the clash for control of water in the Western United States. This book was about Wyoming farmers wanting to keep a hold of their livelihoods. About the Shoshone and the Arapaho people on the Wind River Reservation, many who did not farm, wanting to use the water resource on their land to better their lives, and better their land along with it. Perhaps because of global warming or because demand for the water resource had increased, the water in rivers on the reservation no longer sustained the habitat to produce the trout and other game fish the reservation had before. The Shoshone and Arapaho wanted to save their rivers; they saw an opportunity to make a living by providing recreational opportunities for sportsmen to come to the reservation. The problem was the water on the reservation, according to the interpretation of the treaty establishing the Wind River Reservation, was to be used for farming; established for the Indians who were going to be taught to farm but ended up being used mostly for farming the white land outside of the reservation. The farmers feared if the Indians controlled the resource, their livelihood would suffer. They fought to maintain their control. O'Gara is a journalist and environmentalist, who worked for a local newspaper. He got to know the people. He writes from the view point of all involved (but perhaps I see him having a biased for the Indians.) He gives the history of the Arapaho and Shoshone people, and the establishment of the reservation. He sympathizes with the people, he sees the humor in circumstances, the ironies. His environmentalist love of the land shows through in his descriptions and stories. My frustration was that although the courts would seem to side with the Native Americans, Wyoming politics would intercede. The case actually went to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the decision was ignored. When the book ended in 2000, the Indians had lost their struggle. The white farmers were in control of the water. I researched on the internet to see the current status. In 2014, the headline said the 27-year-old case had finally been decided. The Native Americans on the the Wind River Reservation would be able to control their water for agriculture. How ambiguous was that? What about its use for recreation and habitat restoration? I would give this book a 4 1/2 rating.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wind River runs from the Alpine Lakes of the Continental Divide through the valleys of the Rocky Mtns. and out onto the plains of the Wind River Indian Reservation. This is the story of the battle of control over the river running through this land and the complex legal struggle over water rights. For generations it has been monopolized by white farmers for irrigation, while the Shoshone and Arapahoe contend with the depredations of reservation life and indifference of those who first took their land and gradually assumed control of their water. It's a powerful story of great relevance and guarded promise

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book answered many of the millions of questions I jabbered at Wesley during our trip to Wyoming last June about the Wind River Reservation and the intricacies of having two tribes as well as non-Indian farmers all trying to eke out a living in the same tough place.

I was sort of surprised that I didn't recognize more of the places mentioned in the book, but having only been there twice I guess it makes sense. It reminded me how huge everything is in Wyoming and made me miss it terribly.

[g0rd0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting that we fight over who owns the water. Falls right into the "How can you buy the sky" quote attributed to Chief Seattle. This book illuminates the legal fight while explaining the real life logistics of gravity's pull on water to the sea. Water rights theory, water usage practicality two different things.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my review at my blog.