Chief Pocatello (known in the
Shoshoni 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 ...
as Tondzaosha (Buffalo Robe); 1815 – October 1884) was a leader of the
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 ...
, a
Native American people of the Great Basin in western North America. He led attacks against early settlers during a time of increasing strife between settlers and Native Americans. After making peace with the
U.S. Government, he moved his people to their present
reservation 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 ...
and led the Shoshone during their struggle to survive following their deportation. The city of
Pocatello
Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...
is named in his honor.
Biography
Pocatello was born 1815. He was the leader at the time of the United States' arrival into Utah in the late 1840s. In the 1850s, he led a series of attacks against emigrant parties in 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 state. ...
and along the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
. He gained a reputation among Mormon leaders and Indian agents as a leader of 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 ...
of Native Americans.
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 ...
, the leader of the Mormons, attempted a policy of reconciliation and appeasement of the Shoshone, but the arrival of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in the Utah Territory in 1858 exacerbated tensions between the emigrants and the Shoshone.
In January 1863, Pocatello received advance notice of the advance of U.S. Army troops from
Fort Douglas
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862, during the American Civil War, as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, to protect the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In ...
under Colonel
Patrick Edward Connor
Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans during th ...
, who had set out to "chastise" the Shoshone. Pocatello was able to lead his people out of harm's way from the Army, thus avoiding the catastrophe of the
Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre, or the Engagement on the Bear River, or the Battle of Bear River, or Massacre at Boa Ogoi, took place in present-day Franklin County, Idaho, on January 29, 1863. After years of skirmishes and food raids on farms and ranc ...
. Pocatello sued for peace after pursuit from the Army. Pocatello agreed to cease his attacks on Oregon Trail emigrants and southeast Idaho settlers if the government would provide compensation for the game and land preempted by these intruders on the tribe's ancestral territory. With the
Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, the chief agreed to relocate his people to the
Fort Hall Indian Reservation
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 ...
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 Snake ...
. Although the U.S. government had promised $5,000 in annual supplies, the relief rarely arrived, forcing continuing suffering and struggle among the Shoshone.
In 1875, faced with starvation among his people, Pocatello led them to the Mormon missionary farm of George Hill in
Corinne, Utah
Corinne ( ) is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 685 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Corinne is located in southeastern Box Elder County, on the west side of the Bear River. It is the last town on the river bef ...
, with the hope that a mass conversion of his people to Mormonism would alleviate his people's suffering. Although the missionaries willingly baptized the Shoshone, the local population of white settlers did not receive the Shoshone openly and agitated for their expulsion. In response, the U.S. Army forced the Shoshone to return to the
Fort Hall Reservation
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 o ...
.
In the late 1870s Pocatello granted a right-of-way to
Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...
to extend the
Utah and Northern Railway
The Utah & Northern Railway is a defunct railroad that was operated in the Utah Territory and later in the Idaho Territory and Montana Territory in the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s. It was the first railroad in Idaho and in M ...
across the
Fort Hall Indian Reservation
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 ...
. The extension of the railroad was motivated by the increasing flood of settlers into the
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho.
History
1860s
The territory w ...
following the discovery of gold. The city of
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...
, founded along the railroad during this time, is named after him.
After his death in 1884, Pocatello's body was
interred
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
in a deep spring in Idaho along with his clothing, guns, knives, and hunting equipment. Eighteen horses were also slaughtered and put into the spring on top of his body.
Name
In 1918, John E. Rees published a list of Idaho place names called ''Idaho Nomenclature''. His derivation of ''Pokatello'' included ''po'' "road," ''ka'' "not," and ''tello'' "to follow," and Rees offered the meaning "he does not follow the road," referring to the chief's "stealthy habits and thieving raids." An earlier reference to ''Pocataro'' occurred in 1859, when
F. W. Lander, Superintendent of the U.S. Overland Wagon Road, met Chief Pocatello and arranged his release from U.S. Army custody. Linguist Sven Liljeblad believed that Lander's encounter with Chief Pocatello was the first reference to the name. Liljeblad refuted John Rees' syllabic derivation of the name, reasoning that Rees had simply connected unrelated Shoshoni roots. Liljeblad concluded that Pocatello was not even a Shoshoni word. Chief Pocatello's daughter, Jeanette Lewis, confirmed that the name had no meaning in the Shoshoni language, and that the chief referred to himself as Tondzaosha, meaning "buffalo robe."
In popular culture
Pocatello appears in ''
Sid Meier's Civilization V
''Sid Meier's Civilization V'' is a 4X video game in the ''Civilization'' series developed by Firaxis Games. The game was released on Microsoft Windows on September 21, 2010, on OS X on November 23, 2010, and on Linux on June 10, 2014.
In '' ...
'' as the playable leader of the Shoshone Civilization.
References
External links
UtahHistoryToGo: Chief PocatelloWebsite of the descendants and family of Chief Pocatello
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocatello, Chief
1815 births
1884 deaths
19th-century Native Americans
American Latter Day Saints
Converts to Mormonism
Mormonism and Native Americans
Native American history of Idaho
Native American leaders
People from Utah
People of pre-statehood Idaho
Shoshone people