Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and SocietyMurphy, Robert F. (Robert Francis)
History
Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society
Murphy, Robert F. (Robert Francis)
Bannock Indians; Shoshoni Indians
It is possible to document almost endlessly the ways in which the
labels "Shoshone," "Digger," and "Snake" were applied in turn or at
the same time to Shoshone-Comanche and Mono-Bannock speakers alike.
Since political or social significance has frequently been attributed
to Indians' names--both those bestowed by the whites and those by
which the several sectors of the Shoshone population referred to each
other--we will discuss this nomenclature in the context of each
section of the following report.
II. THE EASTERN SHOSHONE
It is necessary to preface all discussions of Shoshone Indians with a
clarification of what is implied by the names attached to Shoshone
subgroups. The commonly used appellation "Wind River Shoshone" implies
no more than reservation membership. Thus, we also have "Owyhee
Shoshone" and "Fort Hall Shoshone" (and Bannock). Wind River residents
of admitted descent from other groups are also referred to as "Wind
River people," if they are on the agency rolls. They were, of course,
not known by this name or a native equivalent in the pre-reservation
period. The names, "Eastern Shoshones" and "Eastern Snakes," by which
the Shoshone of Wyoming are also known in anthropology, were first
consistently applied by government officials during the 1850's and
1860's (cf. Lander, 1860, p. 131; Head, 1868, p. 179; Mann, 1869, p.
616). Lander also referred to the Eastern Shoshone as the "Wash-i-kee
band of the Snake Indians" (Lander, 1859, p. 66). This term came into
common use after Chief Washakie rose to prominence in the eyes of the
whites.
Previous to this period the Eastern Shoshone were called Snakes and
Shoshones (or variations thereof), indiscriminately. As has been
mentioned, the only firm distinction was made according to whether or
not the Indians in question owned horses and hunted buffalo. Although
Lewis and Clark never visited the Wyoming lands, the tribal lists
which they compiled at Fort Mandan before pushing west mention a
group, said by Clark to be "Snake," called the "Cas-ta-ha-na" or "Gens
de Vache" (Lewis and Clark, 1904-06, 6:102). They were said to number
500 lodges having a population of about 5,000 people. The Shoshone
identity of this people is somewhat obscured by Clark's report of an
affinity between their language and that of the Minitaree, but, on the
other hand, they were said to "rove on a S. E. fork of the Yellow Rock
River called Big Horn, and the heads of the Loup" (ibid.). The
"Cas-ta-ha-na" are mentioned also during the return trip of the
expedition. Lewis and Clark noted of the Big Horn River: "It is
inhabited by a great number of roving Indians of the Crow Nation, the
paunch Nation (a band of Crows) and the Castahanas (a band of Snake
In.)." The editor of the journals, Reuben Thwaites, identifies the
latter as "Comanche." (Ibid., 5:297.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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