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Western Shoshone comprise several
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, easter ...
tribe 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 language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s that are
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
to the
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
and have lands identified in the
Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863 The Treaty of Ruby Valley was a treaty signed with the Western Shoshone in 1863, giving certain rights to the United States in the Nevada Territory. The Western Shoshone did not cede land under this treaty but agreed to allow the US the "right to t ...
. They resided in
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 Wyom ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the
Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...
,
Goshute The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today: * Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah * Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah ...
,
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 ...
,
Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
, and
Timbisha The Timbisha ("rock paint", Timbisha language: Nümü Tümpisattsi) are a Native American tribe federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. They are known as the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and are located in sout ...
tribes. They speak the Western dialect of the
Shoshone language Shoshoni, also written as Shoshoni-Gosiute and Shoshone (; Shoshoni: soni ta̲i̲kwappe'', ''newe ta̲i̲kwappe'' or ''neme ta̲i̲kwappeh'') is a Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in the Western United States by the Shoshone ...
. Other Shoshone-speaking groups include the
Goshute The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today: * Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah * Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah ...
(Utah-Nevada border),
Northern Shoshone Northern Shoshone are Shoshone of the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the northeast of the Great Basin where Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet. They are culturally affiliated with the Bannock people and are in the Great Basin classification ...
(southern Idaho), and
Eastern Shoshone Eastern Shoshone are Shoshone who primarily live in Wyoming and in the northeast corner of the Great Basin where Utah, Idaho and Wyoming meet and are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. They lived in the Rocky Mountains du ...
(western Wyoming).


Bands

Bands of Western Shoshone are named for their traditional geographical homelands and their primary food sources. :*Kuyatikka (Kuyudikka,
Bitterroot Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus ''Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 fro ...
Eaters), Halleck, Mary's River, Clover Valley, Smith Creek Valley, Nevada :*Mahaguadüka (
Mentzelia ''Mentzelia'' is a genus of about 60-70 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Loasaceae, native to the Americas. The genus comprises annual plant, annual, biennial plant, biennial, and perennial plant, perennial herbaceous ...
Seed Eaters),
Reese River The Reese River is a tributary of the Humboldt River, located in central Nevada in the western United States. The Reese rises in the southern section of the Toiyabe Range, on the flanks of Arc Dome. In its upper reaches, the Reese River is a ...
,
Ruby Valley {{coord, 40.400, -115.300, display=title Ruby Valley is a large basin located in south-central Elko and northern White Pine counties in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. From Secret Pass it runs south-s ...
, Nevada :*Painkwitikka (Penkwitikka, Fish Eaters),
Cache Valley Cache Valley is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley i ...
, Idaho and Utah :*Tipatikka (Tepattekka'a, Tetadeka,
Pinenut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trade ...
Eaters, Bia Tevateka), northernmost band, northern Utah :*Tosawiˑccɨh (Tosaˑwihi, Dosawii, White Knife Shoshone), Battle Mountain, Nevada (perhaps variant name for the Tsogwiyuyugi) :*Tsaiduka (
Tule ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' ( syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the pl ...
Eaters),
Railroad Valley Railroad Valley is one of the Central Nevada Desert Basins in the Tonopah Basin and is about long north-south and up to wide, with some southern areas running southwest to northeast. Description The southern end of the valley begins near Gra ...
, Nevada :*Tsogwiyuyugi,
Elko County, Nevada Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth ...
:*Waitikka (
Ricegrass ''Oryzopsis'' is a genus of Chinese and North American plants in the grass family. Species from this genus are commonly called ricegrass.Ryegrass ''Lolium'' is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily (Pooideae). It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera. They are characterized by bunch-like growth habits. ''Lolium'' is ...
Seed Eaters),
Ruby Valley {{coord, 40.400, -115.300, display=title Ruby Valley is a large basin located in south-central Elko and northern White Pine counties in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. From Secret Pass it runs south-s ...
, Nevada :*Wiyimpihtikka (
Buffalo Berry ''Shepherdia'', commonly called buffaloberry or bullberry, is a genus of small shrubs in the Elaeagnaceae family. The plants are native to northern and western North America. They are non-legume nitrogen fixers. ''Shepherdia'' is dioecious, wit ...
Eaters),
Big Smoky Valley The Big Smoky Valley is a landform of the Tonopah Basin between the Toiyabe and Toquima mountain ranges. It is about 100 miles (160 km) in length. Big Smoky Valley was so named on account of haze which frequently settles there. It is known ...
, Nevada:Thomas, Pendleton, and Cappannari 280–283


Tribes

Federally recognized Western Shoshone tribes include: *
Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation The Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone, based in central Nevada in the high desert Railroad Valley, in northern Nye County. Their autonym is ''Tsaidüka'' in their Shoshoni la ...
, Nevada *
Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada The Ely Shoshone Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada, Shoshone people, in and near the south side of the city of Ely in south-central White Pine County, Nevada. In 2005 it had a population of around 500 ...
* Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon *
Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation ( shh, So-so-goi) is a federally recognized tribe of Shoshone people, located in Box Elder County, Utah. They are also known as the Northwestern Band of Shoshoni Indians.Pritzker 239 Current land hold ...
, Utah *
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony The Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony is a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone Indians in Churchill County, Nevada.Pritzker, 226 Their autonym is Toi Ticutta meaning "Cattail Eaters." Reserv ...
, Nevada *
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony in Nevada was established in the early 1900s by members of related tribes who lived near Reno for work; they became a federally recognized tribe in 1934 after forming a government under the Indian Reorganization Ac ...
, Nevada *
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation The Duck Valley Indian Reservation () was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, between ...
, Nevada *
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone Indians in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditiona ...
:*
Battle Mountain Band The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone Indians in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditiona ...
:*
Elko Band The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone Indians in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditiona ...
:* South Fork Band :*
Wells Band The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone Indians in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditio ...
* Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada.


Legal battles

The Western Shoshone have been engaged in legal battles with the federal government over rights to their land since the erroneous filing of a claim in 1951 for land presumed to have been taken. Most western states comprising the Great Basin were created by federal statutes that referenced that "no part of Indian country will be included into the boundaries or jurisdiction of any state or territory ...without the consent of the Indians". During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
1861–1864, gold was needed from the west by the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
to prosecute the war against the south. The Doty treaties were entered into by the US with the Shoshone. In 1863 the Treaty of Ruby Valley was entered into with the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation (18 Statute 689–692) and identified the boundaries of their territory. The Western Shoshone did not consent to the inclusion of their property into the boundaries or jurisdiction of any state or territory. The Western Shoshone possess all the interests the United States sought to purchase by the treaty for $5,000 per year for 20 years. The treaty was also used by the Union to demonstrate to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an governments and banks backing the Union that it could do what it said and provide the gold needed for the war. "the treaty is in full force and effect" The United States failed to make any, but the first payment. In an effort to close a 1951 Indian Claims Commission 326-k case, the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004 established by the United States to give the perception that the Indians have been served justice, made payment of $160 million to the Great Basin tribe for the perceived acquisition of . The 326-k claim was $1.05 per acre for 26,000 million acres but did not in fact constitute a transfer of rights, title and interest since the Treaty of Ruby Valley is controlling. These facts are the basis for the failure of the United States Department of Energy to prove ownership to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and the withdrawal of the license application. In 1979 Congress appropriated $26 million to settle the land claims, but the tribes said they wanted the US to abide by the 1863 treaty and stop trespassing on their lands. In 1985 the US Supreme Court ruled in the US v. Dann that the appropriation of funds by Congress and the acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior constitutes "payment" and effects Section 70 U of the ICC Act and forever bars further claims and Western Shoshone title is 'presumed to be extinguished', but the tribes have left the money with the government. As recently as 2004, Congress has attempted to force the purchase of Western Shoshone land but this has been opposed by the majority of tribal leaders. Disputes over tribal land and the international recognition by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
of their struggle against the United States government is documented in the 2008 film ''
American Outrage American Outrage is a 2008 documentary directed by Beth Gage and George Gage. The film follows Shoshone tribe members Mary Dann and Carrie Dann in their dispute with the U.S. federal government over use of the Western Shoshone territory. The f ...
''. Western Shoshone have demonstrated related to a number of issues as they try to protect their property; they have called for an end to nuclear testing within their country as well as filing injunctions against
gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...
that would result in
dewatering Dewatering is the removal of water from a location. This may be done by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or similar solid-liquid separation processes, such as removal of residual liquid from a filter cake by a filter press as part ...
of
Mount Tenabo Mount Tenabo (Shoshoni: "Lookout Mountain") is the principal peak in the Cortez Mountains. The mountain is of cultural and religious significance to the Western Shoshone people. Etymology There are various theories as to the name's etymology. The ...
, Nevada.


Passports

The Western Shoshone have issued their own passports since 1992. In 2010, when Timbisha Shoshone Chairman Joe Kennedy and Western Shoshone elder Carrie Dann went to the World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in
Cochabamba, Bolivia Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...
, Chairman Kennedy traveled on his Western Shoshone passport. For further information on passport issues, see the
Iroquois passport The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee passport is a form of identification and an " expression of sovereignty" used by the nationals of the Six Nations (Iroquois: ''Haudenosaunee''). History The Haudenosaunee government has issued passports since at le ...
.


Notable Western Shoshone

*
Ned Blackhawk Ned Blackhawk (b. ca. 1970) is a Te-Moak tribe, Western Shoshone American historian currently on the faculty of Yale University. In 2007 he received the Frederick Jackson Turner Award for his first major book, ''Violence Over the Land: Indians a ...
(Te-Moak), historian and professor at Yale *
Carrie Dann The Dann Sisters, Mary Dann (1923–2005) and Carrie Dann (1932–2021), were Western Shoshone elders who were spiritual leaders, ranchers, and cultural, spiritual rights and land rights activists. They challenged the federal government over uses ...
, elder and lands right activist *
Mary Dann The Dann Sisters, Mary Dann (1923–2005) and Carrie Dann (1932–2021), were Western Shoshone elders who were spiritual leaders, ranchers, and cultural, spiritual rights and land rights activists. They challenged the federal government over uses ...
, elder and land rights activist *
Corbin Harney Corbin Harney (March 24, 1920 – July 10, 2007) was an elder and spiritual leader of the Newe (Western Shoshone) people. Harney reportedly inspired the creation in 1994 of the Shundahai Network, which works for environmental justice and nuclear ...
, elder and anti-nuclear activist * Darlene Cheryl Murphy (maiden name: Darrough) elder that speaks Shoshone fluently, and she is a retired NDOT Engineer. Commended by many for her beadwork, basket weaving, and for all of the years she spent pushing for the Western Shoshone people to receive their rightful portion of millions of dollars accumulating interest sitting in an account from the U.S. Government (activists who were members of the Western Shoshone slowed distribution down by demanding money and land) but Darlene spoke for herself, her daughter, and her grandchildren stating she was not demanding anything. But that she wanted to be able to see this money before her life is over. Sadly her father died before the money was distributed. She has made good choices in life with the thought of her dad always watching over her, so she only wanted to make him proud. After many years of Darlene relentlessly contacting political officials personally and traveling to Washington D.C. to speak to them face to face, she was respectfully heard, which lead to the Western Shoshone money finally being distributed. Approximately $22,500.00 was given to each qualifying Western Shoshone, compensation from the U.S. Government for the inhumane sufferings their ancestors and relatives unforgettably endured.


See also

*
Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004 The Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004 established the legal framework for the distribution of the "Western Shoshone Judgement Funds" stemming from docket 326-K before the Indian Claims Commission. It further establishes an educationa ...


Notes


References

* Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C. * Thomas, David H., Lorann S.A. Pendleton, and Stephen C. Cappannari. "Western Shoshone." Warren L. d'Azevedo, volume editor. ''
Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...
: Great Basin, Volume 11.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986: 262–283. .
"Western Shoshone Struggle Earns World Recognition"


External links

*http://www.nativecommunityactioncouncil.org *http://www.poohabah.org
Great Basin Indian ArchivesTe-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indians of NevadaTimbisha Tribe of the Western Shoshone NationWestern Shoshone Defense Project Records
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. {{authority control Native American tribes in California Native American tribes in Nevada Native American tribes in Utah Native American tribes in Idaho