Duck Valley Indian Reservation
Tokkapatih | |
---|---|
Tribe | Shoshone-Paiute |
Country | United States |
State | Idaho and Nevada |
County | Owyhee County, Idaho and Elko County, Nevada |
Area | |
• Total | 1,166.5 km2 (450.4 sq mi) |
Website | Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute Tribes |
The Duck Valley Indian Reservation (Shoshoni: Tokkapatih)[1][2] was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, between Idaho and Nevada.
The reservation, in the shape of a square, is almost evenly divided in land area between the two states, with the northern 50.2 percent in southern Owyhee County, Idaho and the southern 49.8 percent in northwestern Elko County, Nevada. The total land area is 450.391 square miles (1,166.5 km2). A resident population of 1,265 persons was reported in the 2000 census, more than 80 percent of whom lived on the Nevada side.
In October 2016 the Nevada Native Nations Land Act was passed to put Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands into trust for six federally recognized tribes in the state. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribe will have 82 acres (33 ha) of Forest Service land added to their reservation. Some other tribes are receiving thousands of acres of trust lands. Gaming is prohibited on the new lands.[3]
The only significant community on the reservation is Owyhee, Nevada, at an elevation of 5,400 feet (1,650 m) above sea level. Owyhee is nearly equidistant from the two nearest major cities: 98 miles (158 km) north of Elko, Nevada, the county seat of the county by that name; and 97 miles (156 km) south of Mountain Home, Idaho.[4]