AP gets invitation from tribe that fears the further contamination of its land

By Gabe Stern, Rick Bowmer, Anna Furman and Susan Montoya Bryan

Gabe Stern, using personal stories, public records and persistence, took readers to the Duck Valley Indian Reservation where people expressed deep concern and fear that their reservation on the Nevada-Idaho border might be more contaminated than they thought. The narrative was an Only-on-AP story with thoughtful editing by Anna Furman and Susan Montoya Bryan and illustrated with photos and video by Rick Bowmer. 

When the chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes announced on social media that his tribe’s land was further contaminated, it sent waves of fear across the community where the federal government already acknowledged leaking battery fluid and other chemicals into the soil and spoiling the water.

Stern got an exclusive invite to the reservation. Salt Lake City-based photographer Rick Bowmer joined him in a compelling story about Sho-Pai’s connection to the land, their suspicions that widespread illness and cancer are linked to U.S. government contamination and their fears that yet another chemical could be harming them. 

The story package that included video, audio and a locator map, was used widely by members and was the No. 4 most read story on the AP site the day it published. The video piece on AP’s YouTube page, produced by Ty ONeil, had an audience retention rate that was higher than average, with more than one-third of views watching the entire video.

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