The Fort Hall Reservation is a

Native American reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose government is autonomous, subject to regulations passed by the United States Congress and admini ...

of the federally recognized

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

- Bannock Tribes (

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 ...

: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs. University Press of Colorado. Pg. 20
doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nz00
/ref>) in the U.S. state of

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), ...

. This is one of five federally recognized tribes in the state. The reservation is located in southeastern Idaho on the

Snake River Plain The Snake River cutting through the plain leaves many canyons and Canyon#List of gorges, gorges, such as this one near Twin Falls, Idaho The Snake River Plain is a geology, geologic feature located primarily within the U.S. state of Idaho. ...

about north and west 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 ...

. It comprises of land area in four counties: Bingham,

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

, Bannock, and

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

. To the east is the Portneuf Range; both Mount Putnam and South Putnam Mountain are located on the Fort Hall Reservation. Founded under an 1868 treaty, the reservation is named for

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the Western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern ...

, a trading post in the Portneuf Valley that was established by European Americans. It was an important stop along the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

s in the middle 19th century. A monument on the reservation marks the former site of the fort.

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

serves the community of

, the largest population center on the reservation. The total population of the reservation was 5,762 at the 2000 census. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes has more than 5,300 enrolled members, and more than half reside on the Fort Hall Reservation. Others have moved to urban areas for work. The tribes are governed by a seven-member elected council and maintain their own governmental services, including law enforcement, courts, social and health services, and education. The four other federally recognized tribes in the state are the Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai,

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

, and Shoshone-Paiute at

Duck Valley Indian 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, betwee ...

. In July 2016, the Department of Interior made offers to 536 landowners with fractional interests at Fort Hall Reservation for buy-back of lands valued at $11 million in offers."Landowners on two reservations see $70M from Cobell program"
''Indianz.com,'' July 14, 2016; accessed November 26, 2016 This was under its Land Buy-Back Program as part of the government's settlement of the '' Cobell v. Salazar'' class action suit."Landowners with Fractional Interests at Fort Hall, Quinault Indian Reservations Receive $70 Million in Buy-Back Purchase Offers"
July 14, 2016, Press Release, Department of Interior; accessed November 26, 2016 The land purchased will be transferred into trust for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, to restore its traditional land. About 1.5 million acres of land has been put into trust for tribes under this program.

History

The Shoshone and Bannock had long occupied the territory of Idaho and nearby areas. They were not disrupted by settlers until the late 1840s and 1850s, when emigrant wagon trains increasingly crossed their territory which put strain on food and water resources, disrupting the way of life for the Shoshone and Bannock. In the 1850s the Shoshone, led by

Chief Pocatello Chief Pocatello (known in the Shoshoni language as Tondzaosha (Buffalo Robe); 1815 – October 1884) was a leader of the Northern Shoshone, a Native American people of the Great Basin in western North America. He led attacks against early settler ...

, attacked emigrant parties in an effort to drive them off, as the settlers encroached on their hunting grounds and game. After initial hostilities, the

Mormons Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...

, led 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 h ...

, pursued a policy of reconciliation with the Shoshone. But other settlers complained, and the federal government ordered the U.S. Army into 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 ...

in 1858, resulting in full-scale conflict between the U.S. and the Shoshone. There had been escalating conflicts, with the Shoshone and Bannock tribes pitted against the increasing tide of European-American settlers. The latter encroached on the Native Americans' traditional territory, competing for resources and damaging the habitat of game they depended on. In January 1863 Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led his 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 ...

to chastise the Shoshone. In what is known as the Bear River massacre (1863), his US Army forces killed more than 400 Shoshone, including women and children, in present-day southeastern Idaho. Warned of Connor's advance, Pocatello had led his people out of harm's way. Another chief and his band were attacked and largely destroyed. Seeing the power of US forces, Pocatello subsequently sued for peace and agreed to relocate his people in 1868 to a newly established 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 ...

. Four bands of Shoshone and the Bannock band of the

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

relocated to the reservation, then consisting of of land. As part of the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, the U.S. government agreed to supply the Shoshone-Bannock tribes annually with goods and supplies annuities worth 5,000 dollars. The U.S. government often failed to provide the annuity goods on time, and food supplies sometimes arrived spoiled. In addition, the lands of the reservation, located on the Snake River Plain, were not appropriate for the subsistence-type agriculture that the government wanted the Shoshone-Bannock to adopt. In the years following their removal to the reservation, the Shoshone-Bannock peoples suffered severely from hunger and disease, with high mortality. Hoping to relieve his people's suffering, Pocatello led a small group to a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

farm in the

to receive mass

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and conversion to

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

. Although the Shoshone were baptized, the local settlers, primarily Mormon, agitated for removal of the Indians. The U.S. Army forced the Shoshone back onto the reservation. From 1868 to 1932, the federal government reduced the territory of the reservation by two-thirds, taking some for such projects as railroads and roads, and allowing non-Native settlers to encroach on the grounds. Most importantly, under the

Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...

of 1887, the government attempted to impose the model of private property and subsistence farming, thinking to encourage assimilation of the tribes to the majority type farm. It registered all members of the tribes and allotted individual 160-acre plots of land to each household. Given the arid local conditions, these allotments were generally too small to support subsistence agriculture. The government declared the remainder of the formerly communal land to be "surplus" and sold much of it to European-American settlers. Some members of the tribes later sold their plots because they were too small to be successfully farmed, leading to the tribes' losing control of more lands.

20th century to present

In 1934 during the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

administration, the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

passed the

Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

, created in part to end the allotment process and encourage tribes to re-establish self-government and to stabilize their land bases. In 1936 these two tribes reorganized, wrote a common constitution and established their own elected government. They have managed to retain most of their lands since that time. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, the US government assumed control of a 3,300-acre tract within the reservation, which it developed for use as an air base. Federal officials had told the tribe they would return the land to them after the war. Instead, the federal government sold the property for $1 to nearby

, a city about to the east, which developed it as a

regional airport A domestic airport is an airport that handles only flights within the same country. Domestic airports do not have customs and immigration facilities and so cannot handle flights to or from a foreign airport. These airports often have short r ...

.Anne Minard, "Shoshone-Bannock’s Stinging Insult That Is the Pocatello Airport"
''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, June 6, 2016; accessed June 6, 2016 In the 21st century, there continue to be conflicts over development at the airport without consultation with the tribe. (See material below).

FMC Corporation FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...

operated a

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

mine and plant under a lease at the Fort Hall Reservation. Between 1949 and 2001, it produced an estimated 250 million pounds of elemental phosphorus annually. It has had serious adverse environmental effects. In 1989, as part of what is termed the Eastern Michaud Flats Contamination, its 1500-acre plant site was designated by EPA under CERCLA as a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site because of extensive water and land pollution caused by these operations, including degradation of the Portneuf River. The J.R. Simplot Company also operated on and near the reservation for decades. Their sites have been designated by the EPA as Superfund sites. Although some mitigation has been accomplished, scientists estimate the pollution will be hazardous for a very long time. As a result of this case, EPA has worked with the Tribes to develop the Clean Air Act’s Tribal Authority Rule, to provide tribes with more control over enforcement of clean air quality. The company abandoned the plant and related mine, due in large part to increased costs of electricity and competition from cheaper Chinese phosphate. Seventeen mines in the region have been designated as Superfund sites because of

selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...

poisoning. Since 2001, FMC has been working on cleanup at the reservation. The tribe has developed its own expertise in air, water and land quality, but its resources are still seriously threatened by the extensive cleanup needed.Anne Minard, "The Wound That Won’t Heal: Idaho’s Phosphate Problem"
, ''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, September 25, 2013; accessed June 6, 2016 The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes chose to participate in the Department of Interior's Native Nations Land Buy-Back Program, established after 2009 as part of the government's settlement of the '' Cobell v. Salazar'' class action suit over mismanagement of fee/lease accounts. Under this program, the government is buying back fractional interests in lands within reservations to put the land into trust for the communal use of the tribes. It is an effort to restore some of the lands lost following the 19th century allotment process and reduce fractional holdings too small to use readily. In July 2016, the Department of Interior made offers to 536 landowners with fractional interests at Fort Hall Reservation for buy-back of lands valued at $11 million. In total by July 2016, the Department of Interior had put about 1.5 million acres of land into trust for tribes under this program. Relations with the city of Pocatello became strained in April 2016 after the tribes learned that the city had contracted with Pocatello Solar, based in Boise, to lease a new property at the airport. The tribe was consulted by FAA officials, who are handling the environmental assessment for the project, but they learned that the company was prohibited by the city from entering into any written agreement with the tribes. They are worried about getting stuck with an operation that could cause environmental damage.

Economy

Grain elevator on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeastern Idaho

In the 21st century, the tribes employ nearly 1,000 Native and non-Native people in various trades: 575 in tribal government, 85 by the enterprises, and more than 300 in gaming. Since the late 20th century, the Tribes have developed the Fort Hall Casino and two smaller satellite casinos on the reservation. They are all operated by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, who use the revenues for additional economic development and to support education and healthcare for the people. The combined payroll of the various activities is more than $32 million. The tribal government is building the economy and ensuring the protection and enhancement of the reservation landbase for generations to come. The main agricultural crops are wheat and potatoes, with the value of crops produced on the reservation exceeding $75 million annually.

District Communities

* Bannock Creek (Saigwi'ogwai') * Fort Hall Townsite (Botoode) * Gibson (Bohogoi') * Lincoln Creek * Ross Fork

References

External links

Official Website
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

Fort Hall Casino
Fort Hall Casino Info Fort Hall Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Idaho
United States Census Bureau-->
The Fort Hall Indian reservation: history and establishment of the reservation, MSS SC 858
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

"As It Happens; Indian Stereotyping,"
1980-07-14, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The AAPB is a national effort to di ...