Gary Collins

Northern Arapaho Tribe

Gary Collins is currently the Arapaho Tribal Liaison to the State of Wyoming, appointed by Governor Dave Freudenthal. His responsibilities include policy development and enhancement of State of Wyoming and Tribal relations.

Gary is a Wyoming native and an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. He has extensive management experience in both public and private sectors, including multi-jurisdictional organizations consisting of federal, state, tribal, and local governments. Gary has a solid background in water and natural resources with over 18 years experience in tribal cultural and political systems, specializing in areas of tribal sovereignty and government-to-government trust and treaty obligations. Mr. Collins was recently recommended by former Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan and was appointed to serve as a board member on the William D. Ruckelshaus Institute, School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming.

Gary has served for eight years Tribal Water Engineer for the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes. He was personally responsible for establishing dialogue among the Wyoming Water Development Commission, the Wyoming State Engineers Office, the Joint Business Council, and the Wind River Water Resources Control Board concerning the development of the Tribe's water resources. He has served as president of the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition since 1999, representing 26 tribes in the Missouri River Basin encompassing eight states. In this role, he interacts routinely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Environmental Protection Agency, Congress, and other regional intertribal organizations with membership exceeding 100. Gary is regularly invited to speak to the public about the success of the Coalition in recognizing tribal sovereignty for the tribes. During his presidency, the Coalition received the prestigious Conservation Service Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Gary was involved with the execution of the April 2004 Programmatic Agreement for Tribal Cultural Resource Protection associated with the Missouri River Master Manual. This Agreement forged a mutually agreeable solution between the 26 tribes of the Missouri River Basin and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Gary attended the University of Wyoming where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Geology. He also attended the University of Texas where he completed coursework in Hydrology.

For comments or questions about this website, please contact: usiecr@ecr.gov. This page was last updated 7/17/2019.