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It is
generally believed that the Shoshone and Bannock Indians lived for
hundreds of years in what is now called the states of Wyoming,
Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. The introduction of
the horse in the 1700's enabled some of them to travel great
distances to pursue game and feed their families.
Sketch from
the Official Report of the Stanbury Expedition (1849)
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The first
white men to explore the west were the trappers and explorers.
Sacajawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman, led Lewis and Clark through the
west to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1867 a
Presidential Executive Order established the 1.8 million acre
Reservation and was confirmed by the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868.
Later a survey error reduced the size of the Reservation to 1.2
million acres and other encroachments reduced the Reservation to
its present size of just over a half of million acres.
Ruts of the
historic Oregon Trial lead past the obscure monument of the original
Fort Hall, which was founded in 1834 by Nathaniel Wyeth.
Fort Hall first served as a fur
trading post.
The British flag flew over Fort Hall
briefly when it was purchased by an English company, until a treaty
placed it and the rest of the Oregon Country in United States
territory.
Years later
Fort Hall became an important supply and rest stop for the seemingly
eternal flow of settlers to the going west. Today
roughly 3500 Shoshone Bannocks live on the Fort Hall Reservation.
Today
the Tribes operate as a sovereign government which provides many
services to Tribal members and non-Indians with revenues from
agriculture, business enterprises, tourism, and other operations.
The Oregon Trail and Old Fort Hall Site offer visitors a
unique experience while visiting Blackfoot, Fort Hall or Pocatello
Long hidden out of view by buffalo grass, the original site of the
Old Fort Hall on the Oregon Trail is now open for viewing.
Visitors can view the site in the Fort Hall "bottoms" near
the bank of the Snake River, or they can contact Tribal Historic
Trails Manager "Red" Perry to get an escorted tour of the
many Oregon Trail sites around Fort and Pocatello. Perry, a lifelong
resident of the area and son of a trapper, brings the sites to life
and regales visitors with stories of trappers, pioneers, Native
Americans and their history. For more information, contact Robert
"Red" Perry at 238-0097 or call the Chamber of Commerce at
233- 1525
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