Connecting with 'The People': American West Heritage tour highlights Shoshone sites in Cache Valley

They called themselves Newe — "the people" — and they wandered the land of what is now Cache Valley as long as anyone could remember and beyond. They hunted and gathered, following the seasons, the growth of plants, the migrations of game.

By others who wandered the area, they were also known as So-go-goi — "those who travel on foot." In the spring and summer, they wandered the lush valley, gathering seeds, roots and berries. In the fall, they moved to what is now Salmon, Idaho, to fish for salmon, and on to western Utah and Nevada to gather pine nuts. Then they would move on to western Wyoming to hunt buffalo, elk, deer, moose and antelope.

As the snows began to fall, they settled into a winter camp along the Bear River near what is now Preston, Idaho, to live off their harvest. As the snows melted and grass grew, the cycle began again.

It changed, of course, as it did for all native tribes, as first explorers and then settlers came. But for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation — one of several tribes of Shoshones that called the western United States home — it changed in dramatic ways.

"They have a unique history, a unique story to tell," says Elisabeth Johnson, educational director for the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville. "At the center, we have a partnership with the tribe to help tell that story."

That's one reason the center recently sponsored a tour of Shoshone sites in Cache Valley. Sponsored by a grant from the Utah Humanities Council, the tour focused on what Johnson says is a "less well-known story — that of Cache Valley's earliest inhabitants."

At the center, she says, they do a lot of work with schoolchildren, "and we try to teach them about the cultural boundaries, the misunderstandings that led to clashes. But when you actually visit some of these sites, you get a better sense of place, a better feel of what happened."

In January 1863, the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone was camped for the winter along what they called Bia Ogoi — Big River.

It had been a cold, harsh winter, and as the increasing numbers of settlers in the area depleted native grasses and other food sources for both people and game animals, food supplies dwindled.

Increased clashes between the cultures led to bloodshed on both sides. Cattle was stolen by starving Shoshone; horses were taken; fights broke out; two miners were killed; a confrontation between young settlers and natives left two dead on each side.