Eastern Shoshone Tribe

History

In 1868 the war being fought in northeastern Wyoming, southeastern Montana, southern Idaho, southwestern Montana, and western Wyoming was negotiated to a peaceful end. In southern Idaho, southwestern Montana, and western Wyoming, the war is known as the Snake River War. In northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana, it is known as Red Clouds War. Both conflicts were the same war. On July 3, 1868 a treaty was signed which ended the Snake River War and established the Wind River Reservation. The Shoshone settled down to live on the large Reservation but the Arapaho continued to resist ceding land. They continued to fight the invading whites up to 1878, when they were forced to relocate to the Wind River Reservation.

Originally, the Reservation was considerably larger but the United States refused to honor treaty agreements. Through srupulous dealings the United States used Reservation leaders to reduce the size of the large Reservation. Arapaho leaders strongly opposed ceding Reservation land, while Shoshone leaders fell easy to the land acts.The land cession agreement of 1904 led to the Arapaho murdering the Shoshone leader, George Terry, who signed the land cession agreement. 

The once large Reservation was significantly reduced in size and white settlers eventually settled down on the Reservations best farm land. The white city of Riverton is located within the Reservation. And a large area in the east central part of the Reservation is disputed land. The Arapaho never agreed to cede that land.

Brief Timeline

A.D. 1851

The Fort Laramie Treaty established the territories of the various tribes under Algonquin subjugation. The area where the Wind River Reservation is located is within the territory of the Gros Ventre (the Crow who are an admixture of Algonquin and Lakota) who are a sub-tribe of the Algonquin's and are the northern most Arapahoes. In North Dakota, the Crow are known as the Hidatsa, The Hidatsa Tribe are also known as the Gros Ventre. And the Gros Ventre are Algonquin.

A.D. 1868

On July 3, 1868 the Fort Bridger Treaty ended the Snake River War and set aside the Wind RIver Reservation for the Arapaho and other Indians who agreed to live there.

A.D. 1872

Through a probable shady deal the Brunot Cession further corrupted the tribes living on the Wind River Reservation. Arapaho leaders did not agree to cede the land.

A.D. 1897

An agreement is reached with the Arapaho in which Arapaho leaders agreed to set aside a 10 sq. mi. area for a tribal park. It is known as the Big Horn Hot Springs State Park. The United States did not honor the agreement with the Arapaho. The park is managed by the State of Wyoming. The corrupted actions of the United States angered Arapaho leaders.

A.D. 1904

An agreement was reached with non Arapaho leaders in which the Reservation was significantly reduced in size. The non Arapaho leader who signed the agreement was murdered by the Arapaho. The 1904 Wind RIver Reservation Land Act coincides with the United States ratifying the infamous Chippewa 10 cent an acre treaty, or the 1892 McCumber Agreement.

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

www.windriverhistory.org/archives/treaty_docs/docs/1904-agreement.pdf

Tribal Headquarters

Northern Arapaho Tribe

533 Ethete Road

Ethete, Wyoming, 82520

Shoshone Tribe

P.O. Box 158

Fort Washakie, Wyoming 82514

Bands, Groups and Subdivisions of Shoshone Indians and Their Reservations

The Eastern Shoshone or Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation -- Wind River Reservation (Wyoming)

Records

Agency Records

Correspondence and Census

Tribe	Agency	Location of Original Records	Pre-1880 Correspondence M234 RG 75 Rolls 962 Roll Number	FHL Film Niumber	Post 1885-Census M595 RG 75 Rolls 693	FHL Film Number
Shoshone	Wind River Agency, 1873-1952	Denver	-		167, 498-504, 631, 663	581873-581879

Vital Records

• Wind River Agency, M595 births and deaths, 1938-39, FHL Film: 583122 and births and deaths 1924-1932 FHL Film: 581878

Important Web Sites

• The Shoshone Indians -- History and description of the Shoshone Indian, especially the Eastern Shoshone of the Wind River Reservation.
• Shoshone Tribe Wikipedia
• www.northernarapaho.com/

References

Bibliography

• Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
• Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.

Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean

Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America

Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau

Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands

• Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– .
  

Volume 1 -- Not yet published

Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751

Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371

Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.

Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.

Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.

Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311

Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.

Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.

Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.

Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.

Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.

Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643

Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176

Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.

Volume 16 -- Not yet published

Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746

Volume 18 -- Not yet published

Volume 19 -- Not yet published

Volume 20 -- Not yet published

• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
• Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)