Eastern Shawnee Tribe leads multi-agency effort to restore Lost Creek

WYANDOTTE, Okla. — The Eastern Shawnee Tribe is celebrating a multi-agency effort to restore a creek that runs through their land.

The tribe held a blessing ceremony Wednesday to officially acknowledge the work that will soon be done to help with Lost Creek restoration efforts.

The area is downstream from the Tar Creek Superfund Site, and the EPA had visited several of the tribes downstream to find out how the years of mining waste in Tar Creek had impacted Lost Creek. The Eastern Shawnee Tribe expressed the desire to fix the flooding issues that happen when too much rain falls too fast.

The EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are providing the funds needed to reconstruct the bridge on South 705 Road — its span is too narrow, causing limbs and debris to pile up, which leads to flooding.

A separate new bridge will also be added over Lost Creek, closer to Indigo Sky Casino where there is currently no way for the tribe to access their land on the other side of the creek.

“Land has always been important to Native Americans. We’ve always felt like land is something that we didn’t own, that it was something that is similar to the sun, the stars, the moon, the rain. Land was not something we own, but something that was a gift to us and was something that we needed to take care of,” said Chief Glenna J. Wallace, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.

“The connection with their environment and restoring that environment and allowing them to continue their life ways, that’s a very important part. But, there’s also a safety aspect. Houses were actually flooded over and so there’s a safety problem. It’s not just the environment, it’s also the safety of the people that live here,” said Dr. Earthea Nance, EPA Region 6 Regional Administrator.

“This was kind of a community lead effort in terms of what was important and it was important for the Eastern Shawnee Tribe here in terms of this area, certainly with flooding and erosion, and varying impacts, and being able to address those. To have this really as a beautiful place for generations to come is really important,” said Amy Lueders, US Fish & Wildlife Service Southwest Regional Director.

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