Northwestern Shoshone commemorate 160th anniversary of Bear River Massacre

Dozens gather at the Bear River Massacre Historical Marker near Preston, Idaho, on Sunday to commemorate the massacre's 160th anniversary.

Dozens gather at the Bear River Massacre Historical Marker near Preston, Idaho, on Sunday to commemorate the massacre's 160th anniversary. (Sydnee Gonzalez, KSL.com)


7 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PRESTON, Idaho — Sunday morning was bitterly frigid along the Bear River — likely similar to the morning exactly 160 years ago when Shoshone Chief Sagwitch Timbimboo woke early to find around 200 U.S. Army soldiers descending towards his sleeping village along the river.

About four hours later, at least 350 men, women and children had been killed. It was the largest massacre of Native Americans in U.S. history, with some estimates putting the death toll closer to 490.

"I woke up this morning and I looked out and it was dark. I was thinking this must have been what it felt like when they walked out and they overlooked the bluffs and they could see the soldiers coming," Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Chairman Dennis Alex said. "It was freezing cold, and I think this is just right that we have to feel what they felt — not only the Indians but also the soldiers. I know there were some that didn't want to participate and I've read some of their accounts."

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone commemorated the massacre's 160th anniversary Sunday with a public memorial, including an oral history and musical performances. Dozens braved the icy winds to attend, with cars lining the highway outside the Bear River Massacre historical marker near Preston, Idaho.


I believe that those who died that day at Bear River have a God-given right to be heard. Their story needs to be told. Their voices speak to me from the dust.

–Darren Parry, former Northwestern Shoshone chairman


"The events that took place that cold January morning have long been forgotten by most, but I hope there's a new generation of people that have a desire to listen and to learn," said Darren Parry, a former chairman of the Northwestern Shoshone. "It's not because we're looking to have things made right — we're not. But I believe that those who died that day at Bear River have a God-given right to be heard. Their story needs to be told. Their voices speak to me from the dust."

Remembering history

Parry, a descendant of massacre survivors, has spent years raising awareness about and chronicling the history of the massacre, which was originally only passed on through oral storytelling — including that of his grandmother, historian Mae Timbimboo Parry. Survivors recounted horrific tales of the massacre and its aftermath, including torture, pillage and rape. Chief Sagwitch's 12-year-old son, Yeager Timbimboo, survived by laying among the dead bodies and playing dead. One woman, Anzee Chee, swam across the frigid river to join 10 women hiding under an overhanging bank. Unable to quiet her baby's cries and fearing the noise would lead the soldiers to the women, Chee felt the only option was to throw the baby into the river, according to Parry.

Darren Parry, a former chairman of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, presents an oral history of the Bear River Massacre.
Darren Parry, a former chairman of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, presents an oral history of the Bear River Massacre. (Photo: Sydnee Gonzalez, KSL.com)

What led to such a horrific loss of life? Settlers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began encroaching onto tribal land in the mid-1800s. Soon resources in the Cache Valley began to be strained by the growing population and the livestock they introduced.

"My people were starving. I think they had three options: beg for food, which we know they did from the journals of the pioneers ..., starve or steal — and I'm sure they did all three," Parry said in a podcast interview about the massacre, adding that the pioneer and Shoshone perceptions of things like personal property were vastly different.

"That's the way their community lived: you took care of one another if there was a need. But to the Saints, it wasn't that way — it was 'You're stealing my property,'" Parry continued. "It's just two different people living two different lifestyles. You can fault the Shoshones, saying they were stealing. You could fault the Saints for not living the law of consecration. ... It just put really a lot of hardships on both groups. In the end, something was about to give and that something was what we call the Bear River Massacre today."

Settlers in Cache Valley weren't directly involved in the massacre. However, they did write letters to Salt Lake City requesting that someone take care of the disputes between them and the Shoshone, with a church authority going so far as to advocate for the army to wipe out the Shoshone from the valley, Parry said in another podcast.

Members of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation play a song for the posting of the colors during a memorial for the 160th anniversary of the Bear River Massacre outside Preston, Idaho, on Sunday.
Members of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation play a song for the posting of the colors during a memorial for the 160th anniversary of the Bear River Massacre outside Preston, Idaho, on Sunday. (Photo: Sydnee Gonzalez, KSL.com)

After a group of miners traveling south and a white man were allegedly killed by Native Americans, arrest warrants were issued for some Shoshone men, reports the Washington Post. U.S. Army Col. Patrick E. Connor was ordered to "effect the arrest of the guilty Indians," according to records from the National Park Service. Instead, without asking for the Shoshone to turn over the accused parties, Conner and his command slaughtered the Shoshone.

Parry, who is a sixth-generation Latter-day Saint, said in the podcast that he sees both the Shoshone and Latter-day Saint perspectives leading up to the massacre.

"I hope in some ways you can respect the story that we want to have told as well as recognize your role within that story," Parry said at the memorial. "History doesn't always affirm us. Sometimes history challenges us to think about an uglier past that we'd rather not have. But that's really the power and the benefit of history: it connects us to the past and connects us to our humanity and inhumanity. But it always offers us a way to move forward."

Pushing forward with resiliency

Over a century after the massacre, the Northwestern Band of Shoshone's population has returned to about what it was before the massacre. Today, the band is about 600 members strong.

"It means a lot to us to be able to get back to the size the Northwestern Band was. That was due to just sheer leadership from my grandmother, Mae Parry, and her brother Frank Timbimboo just kind of forcing us to stay together," vice chairman Bradley Parry said. "It's just interesting that at the time we're getting the land back and restoring it, that we are back to about the same numbers."

Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation Vice Chairman Bradley Parry speaks about the band's ecological restoration work on the Bear River Massacre site as well as efforts to build an interpretive site to better tell the history of the massacre.
Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation Vice Chairman Bradley Parry speaks about the band's ecological restoration work on the Bear River Massacre site as well as efforts to build an interpretive site to better tell the history of the massacre. (Photo: Sydnee Gonzalez, KSL.com)

In 2018, the Northwestern Band of Shoshone purchased 640 acres of ancestral territory, including the massacre site (a big win for a tribe that does not have reservation land). The band is currently working on ecological restoration that will send thousands more gallons of water to the Great Salt Lake each year. It is also fundraising to build an interpretive site to better tell the history of the Bear River Massacre.

Prior to the massacre, the Shoshone used the Bear River and its hot springs area to pass the winter for centuries. It was a time to rejuvenate and catch up with family, including games, ceremonies and a "warm dance" to drive out winter and welcome spring, Darren Parry said. For Bradley Parry, the band's efforts to revitalize the area are a chance to return to that legacy.

"We know something horrible happened here, but we were here for thousands of years in complete happiness," he said. "To bring some of that back, and the byproduct being it will help the Great Salt Lake and the drought, plus it honors our ancestors — it's bigger than I ever imagined."

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Multicultural Utah stories

Related topics

Multicultural UtahHistoricUtahIdaho
Sydnee Chapman Gonzalez is a reporter and recent Utah transplant. She works at the Utah Investigative Journalism Project and was previously at KSL.com and the Wenatchee World in Washington. Her reporting has focused on marginalized communities, homelessness and local government. She grew up in Arizona and has lived in various parts of Mexico. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, rock climbing and embroidery.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast