Between 1820 and 1840, more than 35 million American Bison were taken from the West. For the Native Americans, this was a disaster. Starvation became a possibility. In the fall of 1858, a battle between the Shoshone and Crow Tribes was fought for control of the rich hunting grounds of the Yellowstone ecosystem and the Wind River Valley, which were rich in animal resources that the Lakota and Cheyenne also coveted. After a staggering loss of lives, both tribes realized that continuing the war would mean that neither tribe would have enough young and fit warriors left to hunt. If the losses continued, both Shoshone and Crow would not survive the rapidly approaching winter. It was agreed to let a duel between Chief Washakie and Chief Big Robber decide the matter. One tribe would take control of the treasured valley and make it through until spring. The other would lose a significant portion of their population through starvation. It was a duel that still has consequences today.
Returning home for a funeral, John Hoon-nah Hetaw Becker is confronted with an evil that stalks the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.