Sho-Ban Tribal History and Geography

Treaties impacting the Fort Hall, Indian Reservation


Treaties and cession agreements
Tribal Government - Article I

Article II - Membership
Article III - Fort Hall Business Council

Subsistence Lifestyle

Hunting and Fishing

Traditional use areas

Food sources & clothing

Significance of dress

Lemhi Valley Indian Reservation

Jim Ballard was one of six Northern Shoshone-Bannock Indians who visited Washington, DC, in 1896 to meet President Grover Cleveland. Each man holds a pipe bag and pipe. The backdrop is the same painted scene of a Near Eastern-style window and drapery used in above photo of E.O. Leonard taken in 1896; the Ballards, however, are standing on a blanket.

(Left and below) Jim and Johnny Ballard, father and son, circa 1896. This photo, taken on the same day as photo on the bottom, was found in the NARA collection. It was established beyond any doubt the identical origin - Wrensted's studio - of the NARA and part of the IMNH collections of photographs.

(Left) Credit: * Idaho Museum of Natural History: 253226
(Bottom) Credit: * National Archives and Records Administration, Still Picture Branch: 75-SEI-105

Traditional Use Areas
There is evidence to suggest that the Shoshone and Bannock tribes made use of the horse as early as 1690-1700 in the plains, the Columbia River, and the northern plains.
The acquisition of the horse allowed the Shoshones and Bannocks to extend their range northward in pursuit of game, perhaps as far as Saskatchewan. The horse may have changes their land use patterns, allowing for more freedom and range.

In the winter months
The primary food was dried meat taken from the fall hunts of buffalo, elk, and deer, as well as roots and berries that could be found within the region of the winter camp.
For the Bannock, this camp was usually made on the Snake River above Idaho Falls at the mouth of Henry's Fork. Mule deer and cottontail rabbits which wintered in this area provided an additional source of subsistence. Historically, the Shoshones wintered apart from the Bannocks. They tended to spend the winter on the Portneuf River between Pocatello and McCammon, Id.

Johnny and Julia Baker Ballard on their wedding day, November 5, 1905. Julia Ballard attended the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, from about 1902 to 1905. She is posed here in a dress of heavy wool cloth decorated with cowrie shells. Her woven bag is possibly of Nez Perce origin. The blanket she is seated on was also used in photo below right. Credit: Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives: Leonard Collection.

Many Native American tribes have had a long relationship with the Yellowstone National Park area. The Bannock Trail which runs across the northern part of the park was used for over 11,000 years by tribes hunting bison and other animals. The Nez Perce national Historic Trail follows the route that Chief Joseph and his band took in 1877 when they crossed through the park. Many other Native American Indian trails followed routes around the geyser basins, in some of the same locations as our current road system. This helps disprove an old myth that said Native Americans were afraid of Yellowstone's geysers. In fact, Sheepeater Indians used the geysers to help soften bighorn sheep horns so they could be made into bows. Descendants of the Sheepeaters, a Shoshone group,were moved to the Wind River Shoshone reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyoming, and the Shoshone -Bannock reservation at Fort Hall, Idaho.

Credit: Louise Dixey for Sho-Ban tribal history.

Johnny and Julia Baker Ballard on their wedding day, November 5, 1905. Julia Ballard attended the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, from about 1902 to 1905. She is posed here in a dress of heavy wool cloth decorated with cowrie shells. Her woven bag is possibly of Nez Perce origin. The blanket she is seated on was also used in photo below right.
Credit: Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives: Leonard Collection.

Next >>>