Land area
Land of the Shoshoni in Wyoming, ceded 1872 (area 539)
- 1868
Set aside as a reservation
By Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 (Eastern Shoshone and Bannock)
- 1872
Ceded to the United States
The 1899 record: “Cede a portion of reservation (subject to approval of Congress) established for them by treaty of July 3, 1868”
- 1874
Earlier terms confirmed
The 1899 record: “Ratifies agreement of Sept. 26, 1872, for cession of part of reservation established by treaty of July 3, 1868”
- 1874
Earlier terms confirmed
The 1899 record: “Ratifies agreement of Sept. 26, 1872, for cession of part of reservation established by treaty of July 3, 1868”
In the record
The southern part of the Wind River reservation set apart for the Shoshones in 1868, ceded in a September 1872 agreement that Congress ratified in 1874. The area covers about 900 thousand acres in what is now Wyoming.
The 1899 record names Shoshone (Shoshoni) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty or agreement. The treaty text records a negotiated reservation treaty signed by chiefs and headmen; the Supreme Court in 1937 describes it as an exchange of reservations, and no source cited describes coercion.
Today, Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation and Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band; and Wells Band) carry the history of the people named here.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
- Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
- Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
- Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation
- Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band; and Wells Band)
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named for this land 1, matched by the Forest Service, under review
- Shoshone (Shoshoni)suggested
Agreements recorded for this land 1
Located in 1
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1868-07-03primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1868-07-03primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1872-09-26primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1874-12-15primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Wyoming 2 (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 539
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1868-07-03; 1872-09-26; 1874-06-22; 1874-12-15
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Shoshoni
- States
- WY
- Counties
- Fremont; Sublette
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Wyoming 2
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium