Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah (or Tabby, Tabiona, or Tabiuna; 1789 – 1898) was the leader of
Timpanogos
The Timpanogos (Timpanog, Utahs or Utah Indians) were a tribe of Native Americans who inhabited a large part of central Utah, in particular, the area from Utah Lake east to the Uinta Mountains and south into present-day Sanpete County.
Most Ti ...
when they were displaced to the
Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation (, ) is located in northeastern Utah, United States. It is the homeland of the Ute Indian Tribe (Ute dialect: Núuchi-u), and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Tribe ...
. He rose to power as a young man and was sub-chief under his cousin Chief
Walkara
Chief Walkara (c. 1808 – 1855; also known as Wakara, Wahkara, Chief Walker or Colorow) was a Shoshone leader of the Utah Indians known as the Timpanogo and Sanpete Band. It is not completely clear what cultural group the Utah or Timp ...
when the
Mormon pioneers
The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter Day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the Midwest to the S ...
first arrived in Timpanogos territory. He was one of the principal clan leaders over a
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
in southern Utah Valley, along with
Chief Peteetneet
Chief Peteetneet, or more precisely ''Pah-ti't-ni't'' (pronounced Paw-tee't-nee't), was a clan leader of a band of Timpanogos that lived near Peteetneet Creek, which was named for him (or perhaps for which he was named), in what is now known as ...
and Grospene.
He was a grandson of Turunianchi, who was the leader when the Timpanogos first contacted the Europeans during the
Dominguez–Escalante Expedition. Turunianchi's grandsons made up the royal line of "brothers" (even though they were cousins) referred to 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 ...
. Tabby-To-Kwanah means "Child of the Sun."
[
] Tabiona, Utah
Tabiona ( ) is a town in Duchesne County, Utah, United States. It is eighty-six miles southeast of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The population was 171 at the 2010 United States Census.
History
Tabiona was named for a Shoshone chief, Ch ...
is named after him.
After the Mormon pioneers established
Fort Utah
Fort Utah (also known as Fort Provo) was the original white settlement at Provo, Utah, United States, and was established March 12, 1849. The original settlers were President John S. Higbee and about 30 families or 150 persons that were sent fr ...
along the
Provo River
The Provo River is located in Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah, in the United States. It rises in the Uinta Mountains at Wall Lake and flows about southwest to Utah Lake at the city of Provo, Utah.
Course
The two main branches of Provo Rive ...
in the northern part of Utah Valley, there began to be significant conflict between the pioneers and the tribe that lived along the
Provo River
The Provo River is located in Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah, in the United States. It rises in the Uinta Mountains at Wall Lake and flows about southwest to Utah Lake at the city of Provo, Utah.
Course
The two main branches of Provo Rive ...
.
In February 1850,
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 ...
issued an extermination order of the Timpanogos in all of Utah Valley. When the
Mormon militia
The Nauvoo Legion was a state-authorized militia of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, United States. With growing antagonism from surrounding settlements it came to have as its main function the defense of Nauvoo, and surrounding Latter Day Saint ...
attacked the Timpanogos along the Provo River, the main party fled to southern Utah Valley, where Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah's band was situated. The Mormon militia then came to the Timpanogos villages along the
Spanish Fork River and the
Peteetneet Creek. The Mormons promised to be friendly to the Timpanogos, but then lined up the men to be executed in front of their families. Some attempted to flee across the frozen lake, but the Mormons ran after them on horseback and shot them. At least eleven Timpanogos were killed.
Altogether, 102 Timpanogos were killed in the
Battle at Fort Utah
The Battle at Fort Utah (also known as Fort Utah War or Provo War) was a battle between the Timpanogos Tribe and remnants of the Nauvoo Legion at Fort Utah in modern-day Provo, Utah. The Timpanogos people initially tolerated the presence of the ...
.
The Timpanogos who had died were decapitated and left unburied. When Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah returned with
Chief Peteetneet
Chief Peteetneet, or more precisely ''Pah-ti't-ni't'' (pronounced Paw-tee't-nee't), was a clan leader of a band of Timpanogos that lived near Peteetneet Creek, which was named for him (or perhaps for which he was named), in what is now known as ...
and Grospene, they found the decapitated bodies of their band members and angrily confronted the settlers at Fort Utah.
Chief Tabby-To-Kwanah was instrumental in trying to establish peace between the Mormon pioneers and the Timpanogos. He was one of the main chiefs that sat in peace negotiations and signed the Shoshone Goship treaty of peace in 1863 and the Spanish Fork Treaty in 1865.
Timpanogos Tribe: Our ancestors
/ref> When Antonga Black Hawk
Antonga, or Black Hawk (born c. 1830; died September 26, 1870), was a nineteenth-century war chief of the Timpanogos Tribe in what is the present-day state of Utah. He led the Timpanogos against Mormon settlers and gained alliances with Paiute ...
led the Black Hawk War in Utah, he led the Timpanogos who wanted peace on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation
The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation (, ) is located in northeastern Utah, United States. It is the homeland of the Ute Indian Tribe (Ute dialect: Núuchi-u), and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Tribe ...
. While he strove to have his people follow the terms of the Spanish Fork Treaty, the US government did not follow their side of the treaty, partially because Brigham Young did not have authority to speak for the US government. As a sign of protest, he led the Timpanogos into Thistle Valley in Sanpete County to hunt and dance in the spring of 1872. This made the Americans uneasy, and he was able to get the Americans to fulfill their obligations for that year.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
1789 births
1898 deaths
19th-century Native Americans
Mormonism and Native Americans
Native American leaders
People of Utah Territory
Timpanogos tribe