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.