The Fort Hall Reservation is a Native American reservation of the federally recognized

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, e ...

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

Tribes ( Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs. University Press of Colorado. Pg. 20
doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nz00
/ref>) in the U.S. state of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

. This is one of five federally recognized tribes in the state. The reservation is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain about north and west of Pocatello. It comprises of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power,

, and Caribou. To the east is the Portneuf Range; both Mount Putnam and South Putnam Mountain are located on the Fort Hall Reservation. Founded under an 1868 treaty, the reservation is named for Fort Hall, a trading post in the Portneuf Valley that was established by European Americans. It was an important stop along the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

trails in the middle 19th century. A monument on the reservation marks the former site of the fort. Interstate 15 serves the community of Fort Hall, the largest population center on the reservation. The total population of the reservation was 5,762 at the 2000 census. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes has more than 5,300 enrolled members, and more than half reside on the Fort Hall Reservation. Others have moved to urban areas for work. The tribes are governed by a seven-member elected council and maintain their own governmental services, including law enforcement, courts, social and health services, and education. The four other federally recognized tribes in the state are the Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai, Nez Perce, and Shoshone-Paiute at

Duck Valley Indian Reservation The Duck Valley Indian Reservation () was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyom ...

. In July 2016, the Department of Interior made offers to 536 landowners with fractional interests at Fort Hall Reservation for buy-back of lands valued at $11 million in offers."Landowners on two reservations see $70M from Cobell program"
''Indianz.com,'' July 14, 2016; accessed November 26, 2016 This was under its Land Buy-Back Program as part of the government's settlement of the '' Cobell v. Salazar'' class action suit."Landowners with Fractional Interests at Fort Hall, Quinault Indian Reservations Receive $70 Million in Buy-Back Purchase Offers"
July 14, 2016, Press Release, Department of Interior; accessed November 26, 2016 The land purchased will be transferred into trust for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, to restore its traditional land. About 1.5 million acres of land has been put into trust for tribes under this program.

History

The Shoshone and Bannock had long occupied the territory of Idaho and nearby areas. They were not disrupted by settlers until the late 1840s and 1850s, when emigrant wagon trains increasingly crossed their territory which put strain on food and water resources, disrupting the way of life for the Shoshone and Bannock. In the 1850s the Shoshone, led by Chief Pocatello, attacked emigrant parties in an effort to drive them off, as the settlers encroached on their hunting grounds and game. After initial hostilities, the

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the mov ...

, led by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

, pursued a policy of reconciliation with the Shoshone. But other settlers complained, and the federal government ordered the U.S. Army into the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th sta ...

in 1858, resulting in full-scale conflict between the U.S. and the Shoshone. There had been escalating conflicts, with the Shoshone and Bannock tribes pitted against the increasing tide of European-American settlers. The latter encroached on the Native Americans' traditional territory, competing for resources and damaging the habitat of game they depended on. In January 1863 Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led his troops from Fort Douglas to "chastise" the Shoshone. In what is known as the Bear River massacre (1863), his US Army forces killed more than 400 Shoshone, including women and children, in present-day southeastern Idaho. Warned of Connor's advance, Pocatello had led his people out of harm's way. Another chief and his band were attacked and largely destroyed. Seeing the power of US forces, Pocatello subsequently sued for peace and agreed to relocate his people in 1868 to a newly established reservation along the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snak ...

. Four bands of Shoshone and the Bannock band of the Northern Paiute relocated to the reservation, then consisting of of land. As part of the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, the U.S. government agreed to supply the Shoshone-Bannock tribes annually with goods and supplies annuities worth 5,000 dollars. The U.S. government often failed to provide the annuity goods on time, and food supplies sometimes arrived spoiled. In addition, the lands of the reservation, located on the Snake River Plain, were not appropriate for the subsistence-type agriculture that the government wanted the Shoshone-Bannock to adopt. In the years following their removal to the reservation, the Shoshone-Bannock peoples suffered severely from hunger and disease, with high mortality. Hoping to relieve his people's suffering, Pocatello led a small group to a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

farm in the

to receive mass

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and conversion to

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to vari ...

. Although the Shoshone were baptized, the local settlers, primarily Mormon, agitated for removal of the Indians. The U.S. Army forced the Shoshone back onto the reservation. From 1868 to 1932, the federal government reduced the territory of the reservation by two-thirds, taking some for such projects as railroads and roads, and allowing non-Native settlers to encroach on the grounds. Most importantly, under the Dawes Act of 1887, the government attempted to impose the model of private property and subsistence farming, thinking to encourage assimilation of the tribes to the majority type farm. It registered all members of the tribes and allotted individual 160-acre plots of land to each household. Given the arid local conditions, these allotments were generally too small to support subsistence agriculture. The government declared the remainder of the formerly communal land to be "surplus" and sold much of it to European-American settlers. Some members of the tribes later sold their plots because they were too small to be successfully farmed, leading to the tribes' losing control of more lands.

20th century to present

In 1934 during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

passed the Indian Reorganization Act, created in part to end the allotment process and encourage tribes to re-establish self-government and to stabilize their land bases. In 1936 these two tribes reorganized, wrote a common constitution and established their own elected government. They have managed to retain most of their lands since that time. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, however, the US government assumed control of a 3,300-acre tract within the reservation, which it developed for use as an air base. Federal officials had told the tribe they would return the land to them after the war. Instead, the federal government sold the property for $1 to nearby Pocatello, a city about to the east, which developed it as a regional airport.Anne Minard, "Shoshone-Bannock’s Stinging Insult That Is the Pocatello Airport"
''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, June 6, 2016; accessed June 6, 2016 In the 21st century, there continue to be conflicts over development at the airport without consultation with the tribe. (See material below). FMC Corporation operated a

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

mine and plant under a lease at the Fort Hall Reservation. Between 1949 and 2001, it produced an estimated 250 million pounds of elemental phosphorus annually. It has had serious adverse environmental effects. In 1989, as part of what is termed the Eastern Michaud Flats Contamination, its 1500-acre plant site was designated by EPA under CERCLA as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agen ...

site because of extensive water and land pollution caused by these operations, including degradation of the Portneuf River. The J.R. Simplot Company also operated on and near the reservation for decades. Their sites have been designated by the EPA as Superfund sites. Although some mitigation has been accomplished, scientists estimate the pollution will be hazardous for a very long time. As a result of this case, EPA has worked with the Tribes to develop the Clean Air Act’s

Tribal Authority Rule The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to con ...

, to provide tribes with more control over enforcement of clean air quality. The company abandoned the plant and related mine, due in large part to increased costs of electricity and competition from cheaper Chinese phosphate. Seventeen mines in the region have been designated as Superfund sites because of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and telluriu ...

poisoning. Since 2001, FMC has been working on cleanup at the reservation. The tribe has developed its own expertise in air, water and land quality, but its resources are still seriously threatened by the extensive cleanup needed.Anne Minard, "The Wound That Won’t Heal: Idaho’s Phosphate Problem"
, ''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, September 25, 2013; accessed June 6, 2016 In the 21st century, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes chose to participate in the Department of Interior's Native Nations Land Buy-Back Program, established after 2009 as part of the government's settlement of the '' Cobell v. Salazar'' class action suit over mismanagement of fee/lease accounts. Under this program, the government is buying back fractional interests in lands within reservations to put the land into trust for the communal use of the tribes. It is an effort to restore some of the lands lost following the 19th century allotment process and reduce fractional holdings too small to use readily. In July 2016, the Department of Interior made offers to 536 landowners with fractional interests at Fort Hall Reservation for buy-back of lands valued at $11 million. In total by July 2016, the Department of Interior had put about 1.5 million acres of land into trust for tribes under this program.

Economy

Grain elevator on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeastern Idaho

In the 21st century, the tribes employ nearly 1,000 Native and non-Native people in various trades: 575 in tribal government, 85 by the enterprises, and more than 300 in gaming. Since the late 20th century, the Tribes have developed the Fort Hall Casino and two smaller satellite casinos on the reservation. They are all operated by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, who use the revenues for additional economic development and to support education and healthcare for the people. The combined payroll of the various activities is more than $32 million. The tribal government is building the economy and ensuring the protection and enhancement of the reservation landbase for generations to come. The main agricultural crops are wheat and potatoes, with the value of crops produced on the reservation exceeding $75 million annually. Relations with the city of Pocatello became strained in April 2016 after the tribes learned that the city had contracted with Pocatello Solar, based in Boise, to lease a new property at the airport. The tribe was consulted by FAA officials, who are handling the environmental assessment for the project, but they learned that the company was prohibited by the city from entering into any written agreement with the tribes. They are worried about getting stuck with an operation that could cause environmental damage.

District Communities

Bannock Creek Bannock Creek is a long tributary of the Snake River Power County, Idaho, Power and Oneida County, Idaho, Onieda counties in Idaho, United States, that is a tributary of the Snake River. Description Beginning at an elevation of north of Holbr ...

(Saigwi'ogwai') *

Fort Hall Townsite A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(Botoode) * Gibson (Bohogoi') * Lincoln Creek *

Ross Fork Ross Fork is a tributary stream of the Snake River in Bannock and Bingham counties in the U.S. state of Idaho. It flows into Clear Creek, which joins the Snake River at the American Falls Reservoir. The watershed of the creek drains almost ent ...

References

External links

Official Website
Fort Hall Casino
Fort Hall Casino Info Fort Hall Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Idaho
United States Census Bureau-->
The Fort Hall Indian reservation: history and establishment of the reservation, MSS SC 858
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections
Brigham Young University
“As It Happens; Indian Stereotyping,”
1980-07-14, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...