Walt Longmire grew up in Absaroka County, specifically the town of Durant, and like many Wyoming natives, he lived close to home just about his entire life. As the son of a rancher, he quickly learned how to handle both cattle and horses, making him a born and bred cowboy. At 12 years old, Walt and Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne native, became quick friends, and remained close long after they graduated from the sixth grade. As a young man, Walt met the love of his life, Martha; after their youthful courtship, the two would later be happily married for years. A force in her own right, Martha was a staple of the Durant community, and often fought for environmental and ecological causes.
Years later, their daughter Cady was born, with Henry named her godfather, and Walt ran for sheriff and won by a landslide after his mentor and predecessor, Lucian Connally, retired. Around the same time, Henry opened the Red Pony bar, where he worked throughout the series. In 2010, Walt would discover that the Cheyenne Reservation Tribal Police Chief, Malachi Strand, was using his position to support a money-laundering operation; with Henry's help, he arrested Malachi for extortion. Even though this promoted Walt's occasional ally Mathias to Tribal Police Chief, it also strained Walt's relationship with the CRTP, as well as select members of the Cheyenne Reservation.
