New billboards highlight important seat belt message for Fremont County residents/visitors

A new Wind River Reservation billboard campaign uses a local Native American's photographs to highlight the importance of seat belt use in saving lives.

The creative work of Eastern Shoshone tribal member Michael Chingman of Fort Washakie is featured in the new seat belt billboards, which as part of the highway safety message, uses "thank you" in the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone languages.

The highway safety billboards, featuring tipis on the Wind River Reservation, are located south of Riverton on Wyoming 789, and north of Lander on U.S. 287.

"I love taking pictures of our Native American culture, and my photographs may include dancers, tipis, and our every-day lives," Chingman says. "I love that some of my pictures capture the colors and the clear blue sky for the world to see. My photography gives a glimpse into the true beauty of our world and our lives."

Chingman supports efforts by the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Injury Prevention Resources, law enforcement agencies and other groups in improving driver behavior in Fremont County.

"Buckling seat belts is so important, much like the beauty of the Wind River Reservation. Our world can be safe and beautiful," Chingman says. "Seat belts save lives."

The Wind River Reservation highway safety program is in its ninth year in Fremont County, and it has featured hundreds of youth and adults, all members of the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes. The program is a highway safety project of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes, the Wyoming Seatbelt Coalition and WYDOT. For more information, go to #buckleup4lifewy.

For information about WYDOT's work, contact WYDOT public relations specialist Cody Beers at (307) 431-1803.