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.