Sunrise prayer at the Fort Hall Rodeo grounds July 3.
By ROSELYNN YAZZIE
Sho-Ban News
FORT HALL — A sunrise ceremony paid tribute to the anniversary of the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 on Friday, July 3 at the Fort Hall Rodeo grounds, where social distance measures were followed according to the safety plan.
The event was organized by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Language & Culture Department. Ernest Wahtomy said the prayer for the event and Clyde “Duke” Dixey Sr. smudged participants. Nelson Fred and Bird Osborne sang Sundance songs to greet the morning as it rose over the mountains.
Duke Dixey talked about the importance of youth learning to carry on the songs, so they would not be forgotten.
Fort Hall Business Councilman Ladd Edmo thanked everyone for coming and expressed his appreciation to the Language & Culture Department staff. He talked about continuing to protect the treaty for the people.
“Our ancestors gave their lives and they prayed hard,” he continued to say today, they constantly fight the United States government to protect the rights given through the treaty. He also thanked the Eastern Shoshone relatives for their role in signing and protecting the treaty also.
Edmo talked about this time of change and how the whole earth is changing, the climate, the water, and the air, he said maybe it’s cleaning the earth and he will continue to pray for all brothers and sisters and those in the animal families.
Edmo said he came to the event because he believes in the songs and traditions, which will help the people continue the journey forward.
Sunrise prayer.
Language & Culture Department Manager Louise Dixey explained the Eastern Shoshone Tribe also coordinated a sunrise ceremony at Fort Bridger, Wyo., because of the COVID-19 pandemic both tribes were unable to gather together. The Eastern Shoshone lit the fire at the site, which was specifically dug for the 150th anniversary of the treaty.
She explained it was Bannock leader Chief Taghee who insisted they have their reservation where it is today, including the area all the way to the Camas Prairie near Fairfield, Idaho. Because of a transcribers error the Camas Prairie was left out when it came to setting up the reservation. Chief Washakie spoke for his reservation to be in the Warm Valley area in Wyo.
She said it wasn’t until after the reservation was already established here that an executive order was issued in the spring of 1869 declaring that the Bannock Reservation would be here in Fort Hall.
She mentioned she read a couple of young tribal member’s comments on Facebook, which asked why did the old men sell out and give up to the white people and sign off on a treaty.
“It wasn’t that easy,” she said. “The Bannocks were hunted and tracked down because they refused to go sign a peace treaty. It wasn’t until so many of them died and were tracked down that they finally agreed to sign a treaty.”
“They fought and died. There were 600 Bannocks that were camped there at Fort Bridger before the treaty was signed. Because it was getting late and the peace commission didn’t arrive until almost 30 days after they had been camped there. Half of them went to go hunting in Montana to hunt buffalo. So, it was Taghee who stayed there, then he was our leader and he’s the one who signed the treaty on our behalf. There were several sub chiefs that were with him.”
Dixey said the whole story is told on a GIS story map, which is now on display at the Fort Hall Museum. She encourages people to check it out and to take the youth.
She said it’s because of our elders prayers that we’re here today.
“We’ve been here 152 years now, on this reservation,” she said.
Participants received a black Fort Bridger Treaty T-shirt designed by Sho-Ban News graphic artist and web designer Jeremy Shay to commemorate the event.