Lora Toms, a representative of the Paiute Tribe, also spoke during the ceremony, saying blame for the massacre was originally placed on her people and "this blame lives on today."

"People have to understand the cover-up, and the lies being told in our schools," she said. Leaders, educators and parents must step forward and share the truth of what happened, she said, rather than simply leaving it to Indian families "who have already endured so much pain."

"For most of 150 years no one had asked us our account. All through this we remained silent. Why? They knew where we lived, they knew who we are and where we came from. The answer is because they wanted us to believe a cover-up that I believe was not even a good cover-up at all."

She said her people, by nature, try to handle things within the tribe, and "you have to understand, we've been busy just trying to survive."

Toms thanked Latter-day Saints for helping them survive "when no one else would" but said part of the reason for their silence was fear, because they had long been dependent on Latter-day Saints.

"That was not the time (to speak)," she said. "Now is the time."

"Today we can all see we need each other to work through this story. We've been meeting with the LDS Church over the last year, and they've made real progress with their story. They've acknowledged that the only reason we were there was due to their influence."

Toms said she wants the discussions among all the concerned groups to continue. "I had hoped there would be more progress and something more we could celebrate today ... this is a sacred place, a sacred monument."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com