Fort Hall Indian Reservation

Grain elevator on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation

The Fort Hall Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Shoshone and Bannock people in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north of Pocatello, and comprises 2,110.514 km² (814.874 sq mi) of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power, Bannock, and Caribou counties. Founded in 1863, it is named for Fort Hall, a trading post that was an important stop along the Oregon Trail and California Trail in the middle 19th century. The ruins of the fort are located on the reservation. The community of Fort Hall, along Interstate 15, is the largest population center on the reservation. The total population of the reservation was 5,762 at the 2000 census.

History

The reservation was established by an agreement between the United States and the Shoshone and Bannock tribes in the wake of the Bear River Massacre, in which the United States Army under Colonel Patrick Edward Connor slaughtered over 200 Native Americans in present-day southeastern Idaho. The massacre was the culmination of a long struggle between the Shoshone and U.S settlers, which included numerous attacks by both sides. The Shoshone, led by Chief Pocatello, were motivated to attack emigrant parties in part because of the despoliation of natural resources in the region by the increasing tide of settlers. The Mormons, led by Brigham Young, had subsequently pursued a policy of reconciliation with the Shoshone, but the arrival of the U.S. Army into the Utah Territory in 1858 led to a full-scale conflict between the U.S. and the Shoshone. Connor led his troops from Fort Douglas in January 1863 in order to "chastise" the Shoshone. Pocatello was able to receive advance warning of Connor's advance and led his people out of harm's way. He subsequently sued for peace and agreed to relocate his people to the newly-established reservation along the Snake River. The U.S. government agreed to supply the Shoshone annually with 5,000 dollars in goods.

Houses in the town of Fort Hall

The reservation, located on the open plains, was not especially amenable to agriculture, and the U.S. government did not always fulfill its obligation of payment of goods. In the years following their relocation, the Shoshoni suffered from disease and hunger. Hoping to relieve his people's suffering, Pocatello led them to a missionary farm in the Utah Territory to receive mass baptism and conversion to Mormonism. Although the Shoshoni received baptism, the local population of settlers agitated for their removal. In response, the U.S. Army forced the Shoshoni back onto the reservation.

The main agriculture on the reservation today is the cultivation of wheat and potatoes. The reservation has recently become the site of a casino, The Fort Hall Casino, operated by the Shoshone-Bannock tribes along Interstate 15, exit 80, north of Pocatello.

Communities

• Arbon Valley
• Fort Hall
• Pocatello (part, population 24)

External links

For more information, see Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

References

• Fort Hall Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Idaho United States Census Bureau