Coddiwomple: September 2022

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Photo link to ALL the shots

Well, I haven't labeled any pictures yet, but here is a link to the photos of the trip.

Friday, September 23, 2022

Cheif Washakie

Here is another installment of Nickole's investigations into places we visited, and people we heard about.

Chief Washakie
Chief Washakie was a leader among the Shoshone and other Native groups in western Wyoming,
and an important figure in Wyoming's Native American history. He was born in the early 1800s to a
Shoshone mother and a Umatilla father. His father was killed when Washakie was young, and his
turbulent youth saw him travel with other Native Bands across the West.

When Washakie had gotten older he began to travel with a band of the Shoshone. During his travels he
met Jim Bridger, a famous fur trapper. Washakie had a daughter, who married Jim Bridger.
Washakie learned English and French, because of his connections with white Americans. This skill was
very useful for when he became an effective leader in negotiations with the American government.

Even while establishing the friendly relationships with the white people, Washakie set out to prove
himself in a traditional Shoshone manner, by showing his skill in war and conflict. He made war
with the Blackfeet, a traditional enemy of the Shoshone, and was involved with many raids across
the West. They stole horses (which were a valuable commodity) from white settlers and Native groups.
Washakie and the Shoshone found themselves in conflict with other Native tribes, the Crow in
particular. Washakie and the leader of Crow, Big Robber, fought one on one in 1866. Washakie was
victorious as he impaled Big Robber through the heart and displayed Big Robber's heart on his
lance.

As Washakie proved himself on the battlefield, he moved up the ranks among the Shoshone people.
As early as 1840, he was listed as a leading Shoshone warrior. After becoming chief, Washakie
negotiated with the U.S. on behalf of the Shoshone. He was present at the first treaty of Fort
Laramie, though he didn't sign it. Later he signed the Fort Bridger treaties of 1863 and 1868,
which set aside land for the Shoshone as a reservation along the Wind River in Wyoming.
Washakie got millions of acres of land for his people, who still inhabit the land today.

In the 1870s, Washakie and the Shoshone began to ajust to life on their reservation. As the buffalo
population dwindled, they were forced to adapt to new lifestyles focused on farming. In addition,
in 1878 a group of Northern Arapaho Indians (who were another traditional enemy of the Shoshone)
were moved onto their reservation. Washakie was now faced with ethnic tensions in his own land.
Although aging and faced with new challenges of reservation life, Washakie remained a powerful
voice among the Shoshone. He died in the early 1900s.

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I am working on getting all the pictures loaded onto a shutterfly site. It has been slow going.
 My apologies for the delays.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Sarah Winnemucca

Our trip brought us opportunities to expand our knowledge of people we never knew about, as we roamed the West. One day, Dakota was in dire need of us pulling over so that she might enter the camper. It's not easy finding a wide enough spot on a shoulder-less highway to safely stop. Becky saw what appeared to have once been a Memorial site. It was a terribly defaced informational sign along the ION Trail (Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada), where a Native American woman - Sarah Winnemucca- was paid tribute.
I took a photo of the sign, and Nickole wrote the following report on Sarah Winnemucca.

Sarah Winnemucca (By Nickole Johnson- 8th grade)
Sarah Winnemucca was born near Humboldt Lake, Nevada in 1844. She was born into an influential Paiute family who
led their community in pursuing friendly relationships with white people. When she was 16 she studied at a Catholic school in San Jose,
California, until her parents objections forced her to leave. She founded a Native American children's school in Lovelock, Nevada.
She was one of the few Paiute who could read and write in English. Her Indian name was Thocmectone (sometimes spelled Thocmectony). It means "shell flower". She lived
with a white family for a while and adopted the name Sarah.

Sarah had 3 siblings; her 2 sisters Mary, and Elma, and her brother Natchez. Her father was the war chief of a small band of about 150 people.
Sarah's Grandfather Truckee (Truckee means "good" in the Paiute language) had established a good relationship with the European Americans who started exploring the area.

When the Paiute War broke out between the Pyramid Lake Paiute and the settlers Sarah and some
of her family went to San Francisco and Virginia City to escape the fighting. They made a living preforming onstage as
"A Paiute Royal Family." In 1865, when the family was away their band was attacked by the US cavalry, who killed 29
Paiutes including Sarah's Mother. At 27 years old Sarah began working at the Bureau of Indian affairs at Fort McDermitt in 1871 as
an Interpreter.

Following the Bannock War, the Northern Paiute bands were ordered from Nevada to the Yakama Reservation,
where they endured great deprivation. A total of 543 Paiute were interned in what has been described as a "concentration camp."
Sarah accompanied them to serve as a translator. Since she had an official job, she was not required to live on a reservation.

In 1872 Sarah accompanied her tribe to a new reservation, The Malheur, in southwestern Oregon. On the outbreak of the Bannock war in 1878, she learned that her father
and others had been taken hostage and Sarah offered to help the army scout the Bannock territory. She was scout, aide, and interpreter during the campaign against the Bannocks.
After a year of teaching school Sarah went on an Eastern lecture tour to arouse public opinion. Aided by General Howard, Elizabeth Peabody, and others, the tour was a success.

Sarah published a book called "Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims," in 1884. It is considered "the first known autobiography
written by a Native American woman." Sarah Winnemucca died on October 16, 1891 at Henry's Lake, Idaho. In 2005 Nevada contributed a
statue of her made by Benjamin Victor to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. The town of Winnemucca was named after Sarah's father.