- The Eastern Shoshone are a group marked by Great Basin traditions, but their culture changed to embody many Great Plains traditions after white settlers appeared. Originating in western Wyoming, they expanded into the Great Plains in the 18th century. Mountain Sheep Eaters lived in the north and west and Buffalo Eaters inhabited the east and south. Around the 1700 and after horses became widely acquired, the Comanches broke off from the Eastern Shoshones to set off for areas south.
The Comanches, who became well-regarded for their superb horsemanship, eventually settled in the southern plains. They ruled the plains until the buffalo all but disappeared in the late 1800s, taking with them the Comanche way of life. The Comanche Nation signed away most of their land in the Jerome Agreement of 1892, and thus was forced to give up their nomadic way of life and settle into a life of farming and ranching. Today, about half of the registered Comanche Nation lives near Lawton, Oklahoma. - "The Northern Shoshone" is an anthropological term applied to people who lived in a particular geographic area; these people did not refer to themselves as Shoshone -- they called themselves "Nomo", or "the people." Located primarily in Idaho south of the Salmon River, the Northern Shoshone incorporated the Bannock, shared traits with the Ute and Paiute, and were sometimes referred to by settlers or other tribal groups as the Snake.
One of the first groups to acquire horses in the late 17th century, the Bannock then migrated to Shoshone territory near the Snake River of Idaho. With the horses, the Bannock and Shoshone began to hunt buffalo and raid for more horses. Sacajawea was a Northern Shoshone woman. - The Western Shoshone lived primarily in areas of Idaho, California, Nevada and Utah, where they intermingled with the Paiute. Unlike the Shoshones in other geographic areas, the Western Shoshone never adopted widespread horsemanship. Instead, they were expert foragers, grinding staple seeds and seed pods for use throughout the winter season.
The Western Shoshone Nation is still embroiled in a legal battle with the federal government over rights to their land. - Like the Paiute, Utes lived in the Great Basin and spoke a dialect of Shoshonean. Tracing their ancestry back 10,000 years, Utes were known to round up and sell Western Shoshones and Paiutes to Spaniards as slaves. Utes battled Comanches for hunting territory and were eventually driven back into the mountains and instead enjoyed a peaceful, prosperous existence.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -