Western Shoshone comprise several

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 ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s that are

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

to the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided 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), ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three languages do not form a single subgroup and th ...

Goshute The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today: * Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah * Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of ...

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (British and Irish food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle served mainly in Scotland but consumed throughout the British Isles * Bannock (Indigenous American food), various types of bread, usually prepare ...

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

, and

Timbisha The Timbisha ("rock paint", Timbisha language: Nümü Tümpisattsi) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe federally recognized tribes, federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. The ...

tribes. They speak the Western dialect of the

Shoshone 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 Shosho ...

. Other Shoshone-speaking groups include the

(Utah-Nevada border),

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 ...

(southern Idaho), and

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 ...

(western Wyoming).

Bands

Bands of Western Shoshone are named for their traditional geographical homelands and their primary food sources. :*Kuyatikka (Kuyudikka,

Bitterroot Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus '' Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 from ...

Eaters), Halleck, Mary's River, Clover Valley, Smith Creek Valley, Nevada :*Mahaguadüka (

Mentzelia ''Mentzelia'' is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Loasaceae, native to the Americas. The genus comprises annual plant, annual, biennial plant, biennial, and perennial plant, perennial herbaceous pl ...

Seed Eaters),

Reese River The Reese River is a tributary of the Humboldt River, located in central Nevada in the western United States. The Reese rises in the southern section of the Toiyabe Range, on the flanks of Arc Dome. In its upper reaches, the Reese River is ...

Ruby Valley Ruby Valley is a large basin located in south-central Elko County, Nevada, Elko and northern White Pine County, Nevada, White Pine counties in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. From Secret Pass it runs ...

, Nevada :*Painkwitikka (Penkwitikka, Fish Eaters),

Cache Valley Cache Valley ''( Shoshoni: Seuhubeogoi, “Willow Valley”)'' is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of th ...

, Idaho and Utah :*Tipatikka (Tepattekka'a, Tetadeka, Pinenut Eaters, Bia Tevateka), northernmost band, northern Utah :*Tosawiˑccɨh (Tosaˑwihi, Dosawii, White Knife Shoshone), Battle Mountain, Nevada (perhaps variant name for the Tsogwiyuyugi) :*Tsaiduka (

Tule ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' ( syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the p ...

Eaters), Railroad Valley, Nevada :*Tsogwiyuyugi,

Elko County, Nevada Elko County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko, Nevada, Elko. The county was established ...

:*Waitikka ( Ricegrass Eaters), Ione Valley, Nevada :*Watatikka (

Ryegrass ''Lolium'' is a genus of tufted grasses in the bluegrass subfamily (Pooideae). It is often called ryegrass, but this term is sometimes used to refer to grasses in other genera. They are characterized by bunch-like growth habits. ''Lolium'' ...

Seed Eaters),

, Nevada :*Wiyimpihtikka ( Buffalo Berry Eaters), Big Smoky Valley, Nevada:Thomas, Pendleton, and Cappannari 280–283

Tribes

Federally recognized Western Shoshone tribes include: *

Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation The Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone, based in central Nevada in the high desert Railroad Valley, in northern Nye County. Their autonym is ''Tsa ...

, Nevada * Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada * Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon * Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Utah * Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada * Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada * Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, Nevada *

Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone people in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditional ...

:* Battle Mountain Band :*

Elko Band The Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone people in northeastern Nevada. History The tribe organized under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Western Shoshone elected a traditional ...

:* South Fork Band :* Wells Band * Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation, Nevada.

Legal battles

The Western Shoshone have been engaged in legal battles with the federal government over rights to their land since the erroneous filing of a claim in 1951 for land presumed to have been taken. Most western states comprising the Great Basin were created by federal statutes that referenced that "no part of Indian country will be included into the boundaries or jurisdiction of any state or territory ...without the consent of the Indians". During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

1861–1864, gold was needed from the west by the Union to prosecute the war against the south. The Doty treaties were entered into by the US with the Shoshone. In 1863 the Treaty of Ruby Valley was entered into with the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation (18 Statute 689–692) and identified the boundaries of their territory. The Western Shoshone did not consent to the inclusion of their property into the boundaries or jurisdiction of any state or territory. The Western Shoshone possess all the interests the United States sought to purchase by the treaty for $5,000 per year for 20 years. The treaty was also used by the Union to demonstrate to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an governments and banks backing the Union that it could do what it said and provide the gold needed for the war. "the treaty is in full force and effect" The United States failed to make any, but the first payment. In an effort to close a 1951 Indian Claims Commission 326-k case, the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004 established by the United States to give the perception that the Indians have been served justice, made payment of $160 million to the Great Basin tribe for the perceived acquisition of . The 326-k claim was $1.05 per acre for 26,000 million acres but did not in fact constitute a transfer of rights, title and interest since the Treaty of Ruby Valley is controlling. These facts are the basis for the failure of the United States Department of Energy to prove ownership to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and the withdrawal of the license application. In 1979 Congress appropriated $26 million to settle the land claims, but the tribes said they wanted the US to abide by the 1863 treaty and stop trespassing on their lands. In 1985 the US Supreme Court ruled in the US v. Dann that the appropriation of funds by Congress and the acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior constitutes "payment" and effects Section 70 U of the ICC Act and forever bars further claims and Western Shoshone title is 'presumed to be extinguished', but the tribes have left the money with the government. As recently as 2004, Congress has attempted to force the purchase of Western Shoshone land but this has been opposed by the majority of tribal leaders. Disputes over tribal land and the international recognition by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

of their struggle against the United States government is documented in the 2008 film '' American Outrage''. Western Shoshone have demonstrated related to a number of issues as they try to protect their property; they have called for an end to nuclear testing within their country as well as filing injunctions against

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

that would result in

dewatering Dewatering is the removal of water from a location. This may be done by wet classification, centrifugation, filtration, or similar solid-liquid separation processes, such as removal of residual liquid from a filter cake by a filter press as pa ...

of Mount Tenabo, Nevada.

Passports

The Western Shoshone have issued their own passports since 1992. In 2010, when Timbisha Shoshone Chairman Joe Kennedy and Western Shoshone elder Carrie Dann went to the World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in

Cochabamba, Bolivia Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630,587 according to the 2012 ...

, Chairman Kennedy traveled on his Western Shoshone passport. For further information on passport issues, see the

Iroquois passport The Haudenosaunee passport, also known as the Iroquois passport, is a passport issued by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also known as ''Iroquois''). History The Haudenosaunee government has issued passports since at least 1923, when Haudenos ...

Notable Western Shoshone

Ned Blackhawk Ned Blackhawk (b. ca. 1971) is an enrolled member of the Te-Moak tribe of the Western Shoshone and a historian currently on the faculty of Yale University. In 2007 he received the Frederick Jackson Turner Award for his first major book, ''Viole ...

(Te-Moak), historian and professor at Yale * Carrie Dann, elder and lands right activist * Mary Dann, elder and land rights activist * Corbin Harney, elder and anti-nuclear weapon activist * Frank Temoke, Last chief to the Te-Moke

Notes

References

* Kroeber, A. L. 1925. ''Handbook of the Indians of California''. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C. * Thomas, David H., Lorann S.A. Pendleton, and Stephen C. Cappannari. "Western Shoshone." Warren L. d'Azevedo, volume editor. ''

Handbook of North American Indians The ''Handbook of North American Indians'' is a series of edited scholarly and reference volumes in Native American studies, published by the Smithsonian Institution beginning in 1978. Planning for the handbook series began in the late 1960s and ...

: Great Basin, Volume 11.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986: 262–283. .
"Western Shoshone Struggle Earns World Recognition"

External links

*http://www.nativecommunityactioncouncil.org *http://www.poohabah.org
Great Basin Indian ArchivesTe-Moak Tribe of the Western Shoshone Indians of NevadaTimbisha Tribe of the Western Shoshone NationWestern Shoshone Defense Project Records
Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno. {{authority control Indigenous peoples of California Native American tribes in Nevada Native American tribes in Utah Native American tribes in Idaho Uto-Aztecan peoples