"There's lots of reasons for Native Americans to bemoan their fate. Nobody has greater reason to complain about the circumstances they've been placed in than the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone," said Devine said, who is not a tribe member.

Tragic legacy

The Northwestern Shoshone were victims of one of the worst American Indian slaughters in history.

On Jan. 29, 1863, U.S. Army troops, with Mormon guides, attacked the tribe at its winter campsite along the Bear River near present-day Preston, Idaho. An estimated 300 men, women and children were killed.

Shoshone raids on prospectors and immigrants traveling through the area prompted the assault. The raids, however, had been conducted by a different Shoshone band.

"We had about as many members killed up there as we have members today," Parry said.

The massacre remains a tender spot among Shoshones today.

"It kind of taught us not to trust the federal government," said Parry, a former director of the state Indian affairs office. "That's probably why we threw in with the Mormons rather than the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs)."

In the 1870s, every member of the tribe, except one who was afraid of water, was baptized into the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the past couple years, the tribe has acquired 33 acres at the massacre site. It has received pledges from congressional and other sponsors to build a $25 million visitors center, memorial park and monument.

Timbimboo-Madsen says the young people need to know about their ancestors. "I think with each generation you move away from that," she said.

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Proposed Shoshone projects in Utah, Idaho

Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation proposed projects in Utah and Idaho:

                                                                                                                    Bear River Massacre memorial      $25 million
                                                                                                                    Geothermal plant                  $280 million
                                                                                                                    Washakie planned community        cost undetermined
                                                                                                                    Bear Lodge Casino Resort          $150 million
                                                                                                                    Interpretive center               $25 million
                                                                                                                    Tribal offices                    $10 million
                                                                                                                    Power plant/biomass facility      $120 million
                                                                                                                    Travel plaza                      $10 million
                                                                                                                    Housing development               $1.2 million

                                                                                                                    

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