Sometimes gentle persuasion needs a boost.
May 12, 2005 1:24 PM   Subscribe

Mormons versus Indians. Once upon a time, Mormons and Shoshone didn't get along particularly well. Mormon cattle ate Shoshone grass. Shoshone took Mormon cattle as rent. Both sides were poor and sometimes barely able to feed themselves. Help was needed.

Chief Sagwich's Northwestern Band of Shoshone had their world shattered on January 23, 1863 when the US Army's 3rd California Volunteers under the leadership of a bitterly xenophobic Patrick E Connor, killed 250 of the 450 tribal members at the behest of Utah territorial officials to have the tribe disciplined. This slaughter, known as the Bear River Massacre, was the largest such mass killing of natives (even surpassing Wounded Knee) and the only official Civil War battle that took place in what is now Idaho.

The good chief survived along with about 90 of his tribe and, ten years later, converted to Mormonism along with all of his people. The tribe survives.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies (8 comments total)
 
I had heard that story a couple of times before, but never that post-script about the tribe converting. Must be weird to be members of a religion that teaches (or did teach back then) that your red skin is God's punishment for your being a bunch of murderous savages.
posted by iron chef morimoto at 1:32 PM on May 12, 2005


The fact that they converted is interesting, given what the Mormons thought Native Americans were. I like a good, well-researched historical post. Thanks, DFT.
posted by goatdog at 1:57 PM on May 12, 2005


The good chief survived along with about 90 of his tribe and

Um, no.

"Approximately 250 Shoshoni were slain, including 90 women and children. After the slaughter ended, some of the undisciplined soldiers went through the Indian village raping women and using axes to bash in the heads of women and children who were already dying of wounds. Chief Bear Hunter was killed along with sub-chief, Lehi. The troops burned the seventy-five Indian lodges, recovered 1,000 bushels of wheat and flour, and appropriated 175 Shoshoni horses. While the troops cared for their wounded and took their dead back to Camp Douglas for burial, the Indians' bodies were left on the field for the wolves and crows."

The chief was killed. The tribe had 450 members, so 200 survived. And after converting to Mormonism, I'm not even sure you can claim that the tribe survives. Some members have ancestors that were there, but the way of life is gone.
posted by bitmage at 2:01 PM on May 12, 2005


Fantastic post. In general, Mormons liked to claim that they got along better with Indians than did most other settlers, but there are some exceptions.

It is also interesting that the site of the Bear River Massacre is very close to the site of a much better known massacre of 400 whites by Indians in 1861--a massacre that turns out never to have happened.
posted by LarryC at 2:28 PM on May 12, 2005


My father's family is White Mountain Apache, but my great-great-great-grandfather, Corydon E. Cooley, was one of the first non-mormon whites in the area. The indians and the mormons still don't get along, the mormons never try to integrate with the natives, just convert them.
posted by slm303 at 4:32 PM on May 12, 2005


Chief Bear Hunter was killed along with sub-chief, Lehi.

Was his name really Lehi? That's funny in an ironic sort of way.
posted by euphorb at 4:53 PM on May 12, 2005


The Catawba Tribe of South Carolina converted to Mormonism in the 1880s - mainly to prevent the state from sending the Catawba children to Black schools after their own school was shut down.

A bunch of them moved out to Utah and Colorado during the depression. They were recently denied tribal membership by the S.C. tribe.

A friend of mine who has worked with the SC Catawbas says that their Mormonism mainly manifests itself in shrill racism against mixed-blood Indians with black facial features or hair.
posted by zaelic at 2:02 AM on May 13, 2005


Fucking pathetic. Course I say that about all converts...here's talking about you you lousy xtians! Damn buddhists! Fuckin muslims!
posted by filchyboy at 11:06 PM on May 14, 2005


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