Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous Peoples of Idaho

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

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Shoshone

Population
1990 abt 9,215   1900 abt 7,000   ??? ???
Regions with significant populations
Ancestral Homelands: west of Rocky Mountains and east of the Sierra Nevada. The Eastern Shoshone lived near Grand Teton and Wind River Mountains. The Northern Shoshone ranged through southern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The Southern Shoshone lived in Nevada, Wyoming and Utah. Later a Western Shoshone group was recognized in 1982. Descendants: Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho and numerous reservations and colonies in Nevada and Oregon.
Status
Federally recognized
Linguistic Group
Shoshonian; Shoshoni-Comanche
Cultural Group
not yet researched
Other Related Ethnic Groups
Bannock, Arapaho, Paiute, Monache, Washo, and Hopi

Tribal Headquarters

Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation
P.O. Box 306
Fort Hall, ID 83203-0306
Phone: 208-478-3700
Toll Free: 888-297-1378
Website

Introduction

Divisions: Hohandika, Shobarboobeer, Shohoaigadika, Slohosegadika (Hodge page 557)

Washaki's Band

They were often referred to as the Snakes. Some of the tribes, bands, or groups of Shoshone, with their colonies or reservations, include:

• Death Valley Shoshone -- see Timbisha Shoshone
  
• Duckwater Shoshone -- Duckwater Reservation (Nevada)
• Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada -- Ely Colony (Nevada)
  
• Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes -- Fort McDermitt Reservation (Nevada and Oregon)
• Mountain Shoshone or Sheepeaters -- Fort Lemhi and Fort Hall Reservation(Idaho and Montana)
• Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Nation of Utah (Washakie)
• Paiute-Shoshone Indians -- Bishop Colony (California)
• Paiute-Shoshone Indians -- Fallon Reservation and Colony (Nevada)
• Paiute-Shoshone Indians -- Lone Pine Reservation (California)
• Ruby Valley Shoshone
  
• Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation -- Wind River Reservation (Wyoming)
• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes -- Fort Hall Reservation (Idaho)
• Shoshone-Paiute Tribes -- Duck Valley Reservation (Idaho and Nevada)
• Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone

Battle Mountain Band -- Battle Mountain Colony (Nevada)

Elko Band -- Elko Colony (Nevada)

South Fork Band -- South Fork Reservation (Nevada)

Wells Band -- Wells Colony (Nevada)

• Timbisha Shoshone Tribe
• Weiser (Eagle Eye's) Band
• Western Shoshone Reservation in Duck Valley on the Nevada-Idaho border.
• Yomba Western Shoshone Tribe -- Yomba Reservation (Nevada)

History

The ancestral homeland of the Shoshone was in the Mountain West. At an early point in history, the tribe subdivided int the Eastern Shoshone, Northern Shoshone and the Southern Shoshone. The Eastern Shoshone lived near Grand Teton and Wind River Mountains. The Northern Shoshone ranged through southern Idaho, eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The Southern Shoshone lived in Nevada, Wyoming and Utah.

The tribes' early contact with non-indigenous people included the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Jedediah Smith and fur traders and trappers at the Rocky Mountain rendezvous. The first rendezvous was promoted by Jedediah Smith in 1825. A prominent Shoshone: Sacajawea joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition-1803-06

In 1841 immigrants began moving to the west and northwest by way of the Oregon and California trails. Both of these trails cut through the homeland of the Shoshoni and Bannock tribes. Problems occurred as the resources of the area were drained by many immigrants going west. These trails provided a "highway" for over twenty years serving the forty-niners and silver seekers headed to California, Nevada and the northwest.

A military campaign of 300 soldiers led by Colonel Patrick Conner in January of 1863, killed 224 Native Americans this became known as the Bear river Massacre.

In 1863 four treaties were ratified, with the Eastern Shoshone, Shoshone-Northwestern Bands, Western Shoshoni and the the Shoshoni-Goship.

The Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad completed their lines and came together at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869.

1860-70 assigned to reservations

Brief Timeline

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• 1782: Smallpox epidemic
• 1803-06: Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1825: Jedediah Smith
• 1825: First Rocky Mountain rendezvous at Green River in Wyoming
• 1830: Population 2,000 (Swanton.... pg. 410)
• 1841-1869: The Oregon and California Trails both go right through the homeland of the Shoshoni and Bannock.
• 1847: Mormon Pioneers settled in the Great Salt Lake valley
• 1849: Gold was discovered in California
• 1855: Treaty
• 1857: Comstock Lode - Silver in Nevada
• 1862: Colonel Patrick Conner founded Fort Douglas Salt Lake City
• 1863: January 29, Bear River Massacre, Campaign lead by Colonel Patrick Conner, 300 soldiers, 224 Natives Americans killed; only 22 soldiers killed
• 1863: July, Treaty
• 1868: Treaty
• 1869: Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad met at Promontory Point, Utah
• 1860-1870: all Shoshone bands assigned to reservations
• 1870s lack of sufficient rations continuing problem at Fort Hall
• 1878: Bannock War
• 1878: a band - Sheepeaters, including Bannock and Shoshone, were part of an uprising in the Salmon River Mountains of Idaho.
• 1880s: Railroad Rights-of-Way
• 1896: April 21, the Shoshone and Arapaho tribes signed an agreement for the sale of the Owl Creek or Big Horn Hot Spring. (Senate Doc. no. 247. 54th Congress 1st Session, pages 3-6)
• 1900: Population 1,766 Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online. page 557
• 1917: population 1,500 (Swanton pg 410)
• 1938: population 4,500 Northern ans Western Shoshoni (Swanton pg 410)
• 1982: Western Shoshone federally recognized

Agencies

The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Shoshone for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individuals under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.

• Carson Agency
• Fort Hall Agency

• Shoshoni Agency

• Walker River Agency
• Western Shoshone Agency
• Wind River Agency

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

Records Available through the FamilySearch Library

Census

1894 Census of the Bannock and Shoshone Indians of Fort Hall, Idaho. by Thomas Benton Teter. FS Library Book Q970.1 Al#1 or FS Library Film: 928110-928115

1885, 1890-1893, 1895-1899 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581873 (M595 roll 498)

1900-1911 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581874 (M595 roll 499)

1912-1918 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581875 (M595 roll 500)

1919-1925 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581876 (M595 roll 501)

1926-1929 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581877 (M595 roll 502

1930-1932 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho, Wind River Reservation. Births and Deaths - 1922, 1924-1931. FS Library film 581878 (M595 roll 503)

1933-1937 Shoshoni Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. FS Library film 581879 (M595 roll 504)

1930-1931 Walker River Agency, Carson Nevada. Paiute, Monache, Shoshoni, and Washo Indians. FS Library film 583090 (M595 roll 631)

1931-1932 Carson Agency, Nevada. Paiute, Shoshone. Death roll, 1925-1931 and Birth roll, 1925-1931. FS Library film 573865 (M595 roll 19)

1933-1936 Carson Agency, Nevada. Paiute, Shoshone, Washo, Carson School. FS Library film 573866 (M595 roll 20)

1937-1939 Carson Agency, Nevada. Piaute, Shoshone, Washo Indians, Carson School. FS Library film 573867 (M595 roll 21)

1885-1887;1890-1891;1894-1901 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock Indians. FS Library film 576493 (M595 roll 138)

1902-1909 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock. FS Library film 576494 (M595 roll 139)

1910-1914 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock. FS Library film 576495 (M595 roll 140)

1919-1926 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock. FS Library film 576496 (M595 roll 141)

1927-1931 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock. FS Library film 576497 (M595 roll 142)

1932-1934 Fort Hall, Idaho. Shoshoni and Bannock, Indians as Washakie, sub-agency, Utah - 1932. page 195 Live Births 1 July 1924- 31 Mar 1932, page 221 Death Rolls July 1924-April 1932,page 405-587 Washakie Sub-Agency rolls, 1934-1935

1917-1923 Goshute AgencyGoshute, Shoshoni, Paiute, Kanosh and Pahvant FS Library film 576856 (M595 roll 167)

1885,1887-1906 Lemhi Agency, Idaho. Shoshoni, Bannock and Sheepeater FS Library film 576937 (M595 roll 248)

1938-1939 Wind River Agency, Wyoming. Shoshoni and Arapaho Indians. Births and deaths 1938-1939. (For earlier rolls see Shoshone Winnebago Agency, Nebraska Omaha and Winnebago Indians - E. Kay Kirkham)

Treaties

During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Treaties to which the Shoshone were a part are:

• 1855 June 9, referred to in Wallawalla Treaty
• 1863 July 2, at Fort Bridger, with Eastern Shoshone
• 1863 July 30, at Box Elder Shoshone-Northwestern Bands
• 1863 October 1, at Ruby Valley with Western Shoshoni
• 1863 October 12, at Tuilla Valley with Shoshoni-Goship
• 1868:at Fort Bridger Eastern Band Shoshoni and Bannock

Vital Records

Prior to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through their agencies, may have recorded some vital events. Some were recorded on health forms, such as the "Sanitary Record of Sick, Injured, Births, Deaths, etc." Others were recorded as supplements to the "Indian Census Rolls." Some were included in the unindexed reports and other correspondence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Some vital records for the Shoshone include:

• Wind River Agency, M595,

Births and deaths 1938-39, FS Library Film: 583122 Births and deaths 1924-1932, FS Library Film: 581878

• Fort Hall Agency, M595,

Birth and deaths, FS Library Film: 576497 Births and deaths 1924-1934, FS Library Film: 576498 and 576499

Important Websites

• Constitution and By-Laws for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation Idaho. Approved April 30, 1936.
• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Official Website
• Bannock Tribe Wikipedia

For Further Reading

Shoshone

• Carlson, Paul H. The Plains Indians. College Station, Texas: Texas A M University Press, c1998. FS Catalog book 970.1 C197p

• Trenholm, Virginia Cole - The Shoshonis; Sentinels of the Rockies. Norman University of Oklahoma Press, 1964. 367 pg. FS Library book 970.3n Sh82t

References

• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• 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; FS Catalog book 970.1 W146e 2006

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; FS Catalog 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; FS Catalog 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– .
• 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; FS Catalog book 970.1 W146e 2006.