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Indians 101: Shoshone and Bannock Indians and the Mormons 150 years ago, 1875 [1]
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Date: 2025-07-08
By 1875, the primary American Indian policies of the United States were focused on concentrating American Indians on reservations where they would be segregated from American society while they were either dying off or being “civilized.” In order for them to become “civilized,” the United States required them to be converted to Christianity. To facilitate the conversion process, President Ulysess S. Grant had instituted his Peace Policy in which the administration of reservations was given to Christian (primarily Protestant) churches. With no regard for aboriginal religious practices, it was assumed that all Indians should be forced to become Christian as a part of their assimilation into American culture.
Briefly described below are some of the Mormon missionary activities among the Shoshones and Bannocks in Idaho 150 years ago, in 1875. But first, some background information about the Shoshones and Bannocks, the Mormons, and the Fort Hall Reservation.
Shoshones and Bannocks
The designation Shoshone (also spelled Shoshoni) is from the Shoshone word sosoni’ which refers to a type of high-growing grass. Some of the Plains tribes called the Shoshones “Grass House People” because of their conically shaped houses made from the native grasses. The Shoshones were also called Snakes or Snake People by some Plains groups due to their misinterpretation of the sign which the Shoshone used for themselves in hand sign language. In their book An Introduction to the Shoshoni Language: Dammen Daigwape, Drusilla Gould and Christopher Loether write:
“The hand motion made for the sign represents a snake to most signers, but among the Shoshoni it referred to the salmon, an unknown fish on the Great Plains.”
The Shoshones often refer to themselves as newe.
The Bannocks, who call themselves Bana’kwut (“Water People”), were called Buffalo Eaters and Honey Eaters by other tribes. The Bannocks living in the Snake and Lemhi River valleys and the Bridger Basin were in close contact with the Shoshones. Culturally, the two groups shared a common heritage and a similar worldview. They spoke closely related languages. In his book The Shoshone-Bannocks: Culture and Commerce at Fort Hall, 1870-1940, historian John Heaton writes:
“Shoshones spoke Central Numic, whereas Bannocks, who began to intermarry with Shoshones in Idaho in the early eighteenth century, spoke Western Numic.”
With intermarriage, many became bilingual.
The Fort Hall Reservation
In 1867, President Andrew Johnson established the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho by executive order. While the new reservation was established for the Boise-Bruneau Shoshones, Chief Washakie was not informed about the creation of the reservation. The executive order also set aside 1.8 million acres as a separate reservation for the Bannocks.
In 1869, 1,150 Boise and Bruneau Shoshones, along with 150 Bannocks were moved to the Fort Hall Reservation under military escort. The Indians had been living in a refugee camp near Boise, Idaho. Historian John Heaton reports:
“Hunger, exposure, and a measles epidemic had ravaged the refugees over the winter and left them in a weakened condition to confront the severe weather they experienced on the journey.”
The soldiers expressed little sympathy or concern for the Indians they were herding, and some Indians were killed for slowing the procession down.
Drusilla Gould and Christopher Loether report:
“The opening of the reservation began a period of ethnic cleansing and hardship for the Shoshone-Bannock unlike anything they had ever experienced before. They were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to the reservation. On the reservation they found little food, no opportunities, and very little hope for the future.
In 1871, the Shoshones and Bannocks of the Fort Hall Reservation were assigned to the Methodist Episcopal Church (also known as the Methodist Church). The church, however, failed to send a missionary to the reservation. The Indian agent requested funds to build a mission and mission residence, but the federal government did not earmark any monies for this purpose. According to Brigham Madsen, in his book The Northern Shoshoni:
“When no funds were earmarked for these purposes, apparently the church again responded with dedicated apathy.”
In 1871, a Catholic priest visited the Shoshones and Bannocks on the Fort Hall Reservation and requested that the reservation be re-assigned to the Catholic Church. The Department of the Interior responded by transferring it from the Methodists to the Catholics. The Catholic missionary, however, was on the reservation for only a few months and then left because there were no facilities for him.
In 1873, the Shoshones and Bannocks of the Fort Hall Reservation were again assigned to the Methodist Church. The new Indian agent preached sermons to the Indians, but one army officer charged that the agent was not promoting material progress on the reservation.
In 1875, a teacher from the Methodist Church was appointed to the Shoshones and Bannocks of the Fort Hall Reservation. He organized a church society of six members, held church services every Sunday, and established a Sunday school.
Mormons
Since the beginning of the European invasion of the Americas, Christian missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, have worked diligently to convert American Indians. In the nineteenth century, a new American form of Christianity was developed: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) known as the Mormons. In his book Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960, Edward H. Spicer writes:
“It was part of Mormon belief that all American Indians were descendants of the Lamanites, one of the lost tribes of Israel.”
Edward H. Spicer also writes:
“It was therefore a duty of Mormons to convert Indians and bring them back to the right path.”
Although the government encouraged and financed missionary efforts by other Christian denominations, it actively discouraged the efforts of Mormon missionaries.
While the United States government actively encouraged and sometimes forced Indians to convert to Christianity, Protestant Christianity was preferred, Catholic Christianity was tolerated, and Mormon Christianity was discouraged.
Shoshones, Bannocks, and Mormons in 1875
In 1875, government officials attempted to keep the Shoshones and Bannocks from attending off-reservation Mormon services. Brigham Madsen reports that the Indian agent:
“…accused the Mormon missionaries of teaching that the Indians were chosen of the Lord to establish God’s kingdom on earth and that they should hate the government.”
The Indians, however, snuck off the reservation to hear what the Mormons had to say.
In 1875, a Mormon missionary gathered a number of Shoshones on a spot between Malad and the Bear River and put in 140 acres of corn, wheat, and potatoes. He then began a series of evangelical meetings which resulted in 574 baptisms.
The government, however, sent in troops to break up the missionary enterprise and to bring the Indians back to the reservation. When the military commander ordered the Indians to return to the reservation, they were on their second day of harvest. As a result, most of the crops which they had planted were lost. Following the incident, the Deseret News reported:
“These shameful Indians scares are actual robberies—they rob the Indians of their hard-earned crops and of the right to dwell in peace.”
In 1875, Shoshone chief Pocatello traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah where he demanded to be baptized by the Mormons. In addition to Pocatello, five other Shoshone men and four Shoshone women were baptized. Pocatello predicted that many more would follow seeking spiritual salvation.
The Mormon bishop baptized a large number of Northwestern Shoshones at Corinne, Utah. Non-Mormons assumed that the Mormons and the Indians were uniting against them. The Corinne Mail carried the headline: “Mormons Meddling with the Indians!”. Federal troops were called in and the Shoshone were dispersed. In her chapter in A History of Utah’s American Indians, Shoshone historian Mae Parry writes:
“The whole Corinne affair was just another cruel act by some greedy whites against the Shoshone. What a punishment for trying to learn the ways of so-called ‘civilized people.’”
More American Indian histories
Indians 101: Religion on the Fort Hall Reservation, 1869 to 1899
Indians 201: The Hopi Indians and Mormon missionaries
Indians 201: Shoshone Indians and Mormon Missionaries in the nineteenth century
Indians 101: Oklahoma Indians 150 years ago, 1875
Indians 101: American Indians and the federal government 150 years ago, 1875
Indians 101: A prison for American Indians 150 years ago, 1875
Indians 101: American Indians and the Black Hills 150 years ago, 1875
Indians 101: Indian reservations 150 years ago, 1875
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