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Washakie (1804/1810 – February 20, 1900) was a prominent leader of the
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 ...
people during the mid-19th century. He was first mentioned in 1840 in the written record of the American fur trapper,
Osborne Russell Osborne Russell (19 June 1814 – 1 May 1884) was a mountain man and politician who helped form the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. He was born in Maine. Early life Osborne Russell was born 19 June 1814, in the village of Bowdoinha ...
. In 1851, at the urging of trapper Jim Bridger, Washakie led a band of Shoshones to the council meetings of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). Essentially from that time until his death, he was considered the head of the
Eastern Shoshones 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 dur ...
by the representatives of the United States government. In 1979, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...
.


Early life

Much about Washakie's early life remains unknown, but some information is revealed. Washakie was born between 1798 and 1810. His mother Lost Woman, was a
Tussawehee Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related cultura ...
(White Knife) Shoshoni by birth. His father,
Crooked Leg (Paseego) Crooked may refer to: * Crooked Creek (disambiguation) * Crooked Island (disambiguation) * Crooked Lake (disambiguation) * Crooked River (disambiguation) * Crooked Harbour, Hong Kong * Crooked Forest, West Pomerania, Poland * Crooked Bridge, a ra ...
, was an Umatilla rescued as a boy from slave traders at Wakemap and Celilo in 1786 by
Weasel Lungs Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slende ...
, a
Tussawehee Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related cultura ...
dog soldier (White Knife) Shoshoni medicine man. Crooked Leg was adopted into Weasel Lungs' clan. He became a
Tussawehee Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related cultura ...
dog soldier (White Knife) Shoshoni and married Weasel Lungs' eldest daughter Lost Girl, later
Lost Woman Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
. His maternal grandmother, Chosro (Bluebird)), was also Tussawehee by birth. Lost Woman's younger sister, Washakie's aunt, was Nanawu (Little Striped Squirrel). She was the mother of Chochoco (Has No Horse), a first cousin to Washakie. On September 9, 1860, settlers under Elijah Utter were killed on the Oregon Trail by Shoshoni and Bannack. Zachias Van Ornum, a relative of those killed, believed a white boy among the Shoshoni was his nephew Reuben Van Ornum and took him away; the Shoshoni protested that the boy was the son of a sister of Washakie and a french trapper. Washakie's birth name was Pinaquanah ("Smells of Sugar"). He had other names before being called Washakie. When he was a teenager, he changed his name to Shoots the Buffalo Running. He was a high-stakes gambler, playing a game involving shaking small stones inside of a gourd rattle, rather like dice, so his friends renamed him Gourd Rattler.Ontko, Gale. ''Thunder Over the Ochoco, Volume I: The Gathering Storm''. Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, Inc., 1997. Smells of Sugar met his first "white men" in 1811. Wilson Hunt's main party of
Astorians The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades between the United Kingdom of ...
, with the Pacific Fur brigade, were travelling down the
Boise River The Boise River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. , accessed May 3, 2011 tributary of the Snake River in the Northwestern United States. It drains a rugged portion of the Sawtooth Range in sou ...
from the mouth of the Bruneau River. Seven months late for their scheduled arrival at Fort Astoria, they happened into Crooked Leg's camp on the Boise. They needed horses, which Crooked Leg refused to sell to them; instead reluctantly selling them a few camas roots, dried fish, and four dogs.Ontko, Gale. ''Thunder Over the Ochoco, Volume II: Distant Thunder''. Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, Inc., Fourth Printing, August 1997. Crooked Leg was killed in 1824 by members of the Piegan Blackfeet when they raided a Shoshone hunting camp inside the Blackfoot hunting Boundary. Every able-bodied Shoshoni was following and hunting the migrating herds of game, as bison were now scarce in the Ochoco and the rest of the southern Blue Mountains, and food was in short supply. There had been a weak truce in the summer of 1820, between Fires Black Gun (Tooite Coon), (also known to white men as Cameahwait and Comeah Wait, brother to Sacajawea), and Piegan Blackfoot leader, Ugly Head. The Shoshoni had been hunting high in the Montana Rockies, well north of the southern boundary of the Blackfoot hunting grounds, for any game they could find. A Piegan war party, led by
Large Kidney Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...
and
Four Horns 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
, burst into one of their encampments on the Boulder River, to find Shoshoni head chief Owitze (Twisted Hand), his war leader Red Wolf, and the popular young leader of the Tussawehee White Knife dog soldiers, Po'have (The Horse). Fighting ensued. Washakie, by now in his late teens and riding with the dog soldiers, led by Weahwewa (Wolf Dog), was moving north out of Wyoming country with a weapons shipment of Mexican guns from
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
leader Shaved Head, and overheard the disturbance. Crooked Leg was camped a few miles away and Washakie immediately got word to him of the attack. When Crooked Leg arrived on the battle scene, he was killed. The hunting ceased and the dog soldiers went on the war trail, backed by Comanche war chief Red Sleeves and his reinforcements. They combed the
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...
, the Yellowstone, and the Musselshell for Blackfoot and killed many. This victory by the Shoshoni led to a council with the Blackfeet tribes, with the Shoshoni once again a proud warrior society. At the council, it was agreed that the Blackfeet tribes would join forces with the Shoshoni to restrict the expanding encroachment of trappers into each tribes' hunting grounds. By the late 19th century Washakie became head chief of the
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 ...
. He was the only Shoshone warrior to be honored by the Federal government of the United States, for leading
General Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
's army to defeat the
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
, after Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn. The year of Washakie's birth date is debated. A missionary in 1883 recorded the year of his birth as 1798, but his tombstone was later inscribed with a birth date of 1804. Late in his life he told an agent at the Shoshone Agency that when he was 16, he had met Jim Bridger. Interpolating from the age of Bridger when he first went into the wilderness, researchers have determined that Washakie was likely born between 1808 and 1810. During his early childhood, the Blackfeet Indians attacked a combined camp of Flathead and Lemhi people while the latter were on a buffalo hunt near Three Forks, Gallatin County, Montana (where the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers form the headwaters of the Missouri River). After Crooked Leg was killed, his mother and at least one sister were able to make their way back to the Lemhis on the Salmon River in Idaho. During the attack, Washakie was lost and possibly wounded. According to some family traditions, he was found by either
Bannock Indians The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oreg ...
who had also come to hunt in the region, or by a combined Shoshone and Bannock band. He may have become the adopted son of the band leader. For the next twenty five years (c. 1815-1840) he learned the traditions and ways of a warrior that were typical of any Shoshone youth of that period. Although the name by which he would be widely known has been translated in various ways, it apparently dealt with his tactics in battle. One story describes how Washakie devised a large rattle by placing stones in an inflated and dried balloon of buffalo hide, which he tied on a stick. He carried the device into battle to frighten enemy horses, earning the name "The Rattle" or "Gourd Rattler". Another translation of "Washakie" is "Shoots-on-the-Run."


War deeds

Fur trapper records of the 1830s describe Washakie as being feared by the Blackfeet. He had a life-long scar on his cheek from an arrow that was inflicted by an enemy during a raid. When as an older man his authority was questioned by fellow Eastern Shoshone, Washakie sought to reconfirm his prowess as a warrior to maintain his status. He disappeared for many days, then returned having singlehandedly secured several scalps of his enemies, a daring feat for a man of any age. In 1866, Washakie fought one-on-one with Crow
Chief Big Robber Chief Big Robber (died 1858 or 1866), also known as Big Shadow or Big Robert, was a 19th century Crow chief. He was a participant in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. His name ''Big Shadow'' referred to his large stature. Biography Big Robber had ...
to end a stalemate over rights to occupy the Wind River Basin, which the Crow claimed through the 1851 Horse Creek Treaty of Fort Laramie, though the area had long been used by the Shoshone. Washakie emerged victorious and displayed his enemy's heart on a lance. This event is memorialized in the place name of
Crowheart Butte Crowheart Butte is a summit located in the Wind River Valley in rural Fremont County, Wyoming. The community of Crowheart is located nearby. Crowheart Butte was named after an 1866 battle between the Shoshone and Crow tribes. According to leg ...
on the Wind River Indian Reservation, though the actual battle took place along a nearby draw. In 2005 a sculpture of the event was unveiled at the University of Wyoming's Washakie Dining Center in Laramie.


Fur trade

Washakie's band evidently participated in the fur trade rendezvous (1825–1840), since those rendezvous took place within the
Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada *Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
, Wind River, and
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 Snake ...
regions claimed by the horse-owning and buffalo-hunting
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 ...
and
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 ...
bands of eastern Idaho. Late in life, Washakie reported that he and Jim Bridger became fast friends, and indeed, Bridger became Washakie's son-in-law in 1850 when he took Washakie's daughter as his third wife. Bridger, born March 17, 1804, entered Shoshone country in 1824 (Washakie said Bridger was the older of the two). Washakie learned French and some English from trappers and traders. Washakie's close association with the trappers developed into a similar relationship with U.S. officials.


Fort Bridger Treaties

In 1863, and again in 1868, he signed treaties with the U.S. at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1863 established a generic Shoshone country, whose borders extended eastward to the crest of the Wind River Mountains, south to the
Uintah Mountains The Uinta Mountains ( ) are an east-west trending chain of mountains in northeastern Utah extending slightly into southern Wyoming in the United States. As a subrange of the Rocky Mountains, they are unusual for being the highest range in the c ...
of Utah, and on the northern side, to the crest of the Bitterroots. The western border was left undefined, but was understood to include most of 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 Snake ...
as far as the Oregon border. This treaty included a number of Shoshone and Bannock Indian bands besides that of Washakie. The
Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 This Fort Bridger Treaty Council of 1868, was also known as the Great Treaty Council, was a council that developed the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 (also Shoshone Bannock Treaty). The Shoshone, also referred to as the Shoshoni or Snake, were the m ...
was established at the
Fort Bridger Treaty Council of 1868 This Fort Bridger Treaty Council of 1868, was also known as the Great Treaty Council, was a council that developed the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 (also Shoshone Bannock Treaty). The Shoshone, also referred to as the Shoshoni or Snake, were the ...
and it proved more significant, for it established the
Shoshone and Bannock Indian Agency The Fort Hall Reservation is a Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone- Bannock Tribes (Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs. University Press ...
located in west-central Wyoming. Moreover, this was land selected by Washakie and his headmen of the
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 ...
s. The initial reservation included about in Wyoming's Wind River country for his people. Although an 1872 land cession reduced the size by , this valley remains the home of the Eastern Shoshones today. He was also determined that Native Americans should be educated, and he gave land to
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
clergyman John Roberts to establish a boarding school where Shoshone girls learned traditional crafts and language.


Washakie and Mormonism

Washakie was a friend of Brigham Young and expressed sadness at the fighting his people had often done with the Utahns. It was not until after 1880, after Young's death, that Washakie became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized on 25 September 1880 by
Amos R. Wright Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Amos Records, an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California, in 1968 * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * ''Amos' ...
. About 300 other Shoshone joined the church at this point.


Washakie and Episcopalianism

In 1883, the Episcopal Church assigned John Roberts to minister to the Shoshone and Arapahos on the Wind River Reservation. Roberts established several churches on the reservation, as well as within his designated 150 mile radius. Although Washakie's son was killed by a white man in 1885 during a dispute over alcohol, which purportedly led Washakie to vow revenge against whites, Roberts purportedly earned the Chief's respect by offering his own life in exchange. Furthermore, Roberts learned Shoshone customs, beliefs and language, and translated the Bible into Shoshone (and Arapahoe). Circa 1888, Washakie helped Roberts establish a boarding school where Shoshone girls from distant villages could learn traditional crafts and language, by donating 160 acres near Trout Creek, which many considered sacred ground. Washakie chose Episcopalianism as his faith, was baptized again in 1897, and ultimately buried in a service officiated by his friend Roberts, on February 22, 1900. Congress reaffirmed the church's ownership of the school in 1909, when it deactivated the fort named after Chief Washakie. Although the school closed circa 1945, many of the historic girls' school buildings survive today.


Recognition

His prowess in battle, his efforts for peace, and his commitment to his people's welfare made him one of the most respected leaders in Native American history. In 1878, a U.S. army outpost located on the reservation was renamed
Fort Washakie Fort Washakie was a U.S. Army fort in what is now the U.S. state of Wyoming. The fort was established in 1869 and named Camp Augur after General Christopher C. Augur, commander of the Department of the Platte. In 1870 the camp was renamed Camp ...
, which was the only U.S. military outpost to be named after a Native American. Upon his death in 1900, he became the only known Native American to be given a full military funeral.
Washakie County, Wyoming Washakie County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,685. Its county seat is Worland. History Washakie County was created on February 21, 1911, as Hanover County with land detached ...
was named for him and there’s a statue of his head in front of the Washakie County Courthouse. In 2000, the state of Wyoming donated a bronze statue of Washakie to the National Statuary Hall Collection. There is also a statue of Washakie in downtown
Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...
. The dining hall at the University of Wyoming is also named after him. The current ghost town of Washakie, Utah was also named after him. During World War II, a Liberty Ship built in Portland, Oregon, in 1942, SS ''Chief Washakie'', was named in his honor. USS ''Washakie'', a United States Navy harbor
tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
in service from 1944 to 1946 and from 1953 to 1975, also was named for him. Washakie was a hide painter. An 1880 painted elk hide at the Glenbow Museum is attributed to him. The hide painting portrays the Sun Dance.


Chief Washakie Foundation

The Chief Washakie Foundation was founded in 2004. It supports educational programs and research into the history and cultural traditions of the Shoshone and Arapaho of Central Wyoming and advocates for
Native American education The cultural assimilation of Native Americans refers to a series of efforts by the United States to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European–American culture between the years of 1790 and 1920. George Washington and Henry Knox we ...
. Washakie's great-great grandson
James Trosper James Trosper is the current Eastern Shoshone Sun Dance chief. He is widely regarded as “a respected voice on traditional Plains Indian spirituality.” He is Director of the High Plains American Indian Research Institute. HPAIRI facilitates a ...
serves as Chair and Executive Director.


Selected references in popular culture

* Chief Washakie appears in the album ''
Le Fil qui chante ''Le Fil qui chante'' is a ''Lucky Luke'' adventure written by Goscinny and illustrated by Morris. It is the forty sixth book in the series and was originally published in French in 1977 by Dargaud and in English by Cinebook in 2012. The story ...
'' of the Franco-Belgian comics series '' Lucky Luke'' created by Morris and René Goscinny. * Chief Washakie figures prominently in Amy Harmon’s historical fiction novel “Where the Lost Wander”.


Notes

* Shimkin, Demitri B. "Eastern Shoshone." Warren L. d'Azevedo, volume editor. '' Handbook of North American Indians: Great Basin, Volume 11.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986: 308–335. .


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Washakie Year of birth uncertain 1900 deaths American Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism Native American male artists Native American leaders People of pre-statehood Wyoming Shoshone people Mormonism and Native Americans Wind River Indian Reservation