Chief Pocatello
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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 Shoshon ...
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 Indigenous people of the Grea ...
, 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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
and led the Shoshone during their struggle to survive following their deportation. The city of
Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, containing the city's airport. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metro ...
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 st ...
and along the
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...
. He gained a reputation among Mormon leaders and Indian agents as a leader of a band 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 h ...
, 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
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 Fort Douglas (initially called 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. Its purpose was to protect the overland mail route and te ...
under Colonel Patrick Edward Connor, 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. 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 along the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...
. 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 city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 809 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 685. History For almost ten years from its founding on 25 March 1869, the town of Corinne prospered as th ...
, 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. 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 founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...
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 ...
across the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. 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 ...
following the discovery of gold. After his death in 1884, Pocatello's body was interred 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 turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the sequel to Civilization IV, ''Civilization IV'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, Windows in Sep ...
'' 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 American leaders American Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism Mormonism and Native Americans Native American history of Idaho Native American leaders People from Utah People from pre-statehood Idaho Northern Shoshone people