The Native Americans known as the Shoshone (or Shoshoni) traditionally occupied a large area in what is now the western United States. They are usually divided into three groups. The Western Shoshone lived in present-day Nevada, California, and Utah. The Northern Shoshone lived in what is now Idaho and Utah. The Eastern Shoshone lived in present-day Wyoming.

Society and culture

The various Shoshone groups each developed their own way of life based on their surroundings. The Western Shoshone, for instance, lived in a barren environment with few sources of food. They had to travel in small bands in search of any food they could find. They lived largely on roots, nuts, seeds, and small animals such as lizards and rabbits. Northern Shoshone lands were richer. They survived by fishing for salmon and collecting wild roots. The Eastern Shoshone were blessed with a homeland full of game animals. They obtained much of their food by hunting.

Sometime after 1700 the Northern and Eastern Shoshone obtained horses. On horseback they could travel farther distances than ever before. They began going on expeditions into the Great Plains to hunt buffalo (bison). There they battled with Plains Indian tribes, such as the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne, for control over hunting grounds. These Shoshone also adopted some Plains Indian customs, including living in tepees and wearing clothing made from buffalo hides.

History

The U.S. explorers of the Lewis and Clark Expedition visited the Shoshone in 1805. A key member of the expedition was a Shoshone interpreter and guide named Sacagawea. As a girl, Sacagawea had been kidnapped by another tribe and taken down the Missouri River to the Mandan villages where the explorers met her. She convinced her people to give the explorers horses and guidance to help them cross the Rocky Mountains as they headed further west.

Other non-Indians soon began arriving in Shoshone territory. The first were fur traders and pioneers known as mountain men. They were followed by settlers of the Mormon religion. By the mid-19th century settlers and miners headed for present-day California and Oregon were pouring into the tribe's lands. By that time many Shoshone had already died from exposure to diseases brought by the newcomers, especially smallpox.

The United States government pressured the surviving Shoshone to give up most of their old territory and move to reservations. The Northern Shoshone were sent to the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in present-day Idaho, where they were joined by the Bannock Indians. The Eastern Shoshone were moved to the Wind River Indian Reservation in present-day Wyoming. The Western Shoshone were settled on various small reservations in what are now Nevada and California. One branch of the Western Shoshone known as the Goshute were granted land in present-day Utah and Nevada.

About 8,000 Shoshone lived in the United States at the end of the 20th century. Many make a living in farming and ranching.