CHAPTER 14
INDIANS
Long-time residents of Idaho Falls remember Indian women
coming to the back doors of city homes and sitting on the steps
waiting patiently for the gift of a loaf of bread or other food.
This was common well into the 1930s. Most homemakers were generous.
Did they wonder why the Indians came begging?
Eastern Idaho Indians are of the related Shoshoni and Bannock
tribes. Early fur brigades found them friendly; the Indians
welcomed the added strength against the Blackfeet, raiding from the
north. They had their own language, beliefs and practices. Family
ties were strong: cousins were "brothers" and grandparents shared
in the nurturing.
During the middle decades of the past century, the Indians
lived well. From wintering spots along Snake River bottoms,
extended families journeyed to westerly prairies to harvest camas
root. Summer was for fishing and berry gathering. Numerous
artifacts have been found in the hills and along the streams of
Bonneville county. Teepee rings and fire rings are still to be
seen.
The later-designated John's Hole at Idaho Falls was a well-
used fishing spot. At Flathead Crossing--which later became the
site of the Eagle Rock Ferry--piles of obsidian chips mark camps of
considerable size where obsidian brought from elsewhere was shaped
into arrows and tools. Families crossed the Snake here to proceed
to Salmon River's bountiful fish harvest. In the fall, mounted
hunting parties traveled the long distances to Montana and Wyoming
to hunt buffalo and other large game.
Fortunes changed for the Indians. As in other parts of the
nation, their subsistance customs were obliterated. The
government's dealings with Idaho Indians is a tale of broken
promises and coercion. Private citizens exhibited greed, dishonesty
and hatred; the editor of the "Boise Statesman" frequently demanded
"extinction." Even those whose intentions were good were blind to
Indian culture and sensibilities.
Eastern Idaho Indians were commanded to stay on the Fort Hall
reserve, denied most of their treaty hunting rights and told to
farm for a living. With scant direction? With few tools, like three
small plows for 1500 Indians? With no cash and no credit? It was a
long season of hunger. Documented accounts are recommended reading.
The abused and the abusers are long gone. Hindsight is acute,
but mewling and anger do not serve the present. Though plagued by
some dissident voices, competent, modern-day Indian leaders strive
for local direction of their domestic affairs, full citizenship
with accompanying privileges and responsibilities, opportunity--
fair chances, appreciation of ethnic heritage, and respect as
fellow human beings. Does not every American?
Submitter: Edith Lovell
Sources: David L. Crowder, "Tendoy, Chief of the Lemhis," Caldwell,
Idaho, 1969. Alvin M. Josephy Jr., "The Indian Heritage of
America," N.Y. 1968; Brigham D. Madsen, "The Bannock of Idaho,"
Caldwell, 1958; "Northern Shoshoni," Caldwell, 1980. Virginia Cole
Trenholm and Maurine Carley, "The Shoshonis, Sentinels of the
Rockies," Norman, Okla. 1964.
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