This brief article is from Legacy: International Society: Daughters of Utah Pioneers
few People know or remember that some very important Shoshone Native American men were prominent leaders in the early days of the Mormon Church.
Chief Sagwitch of the Northwestern Shoshone tribe lived on the lower Bear River and was wounded at the Bear River Massacre January 29, 1863. Many of his family were killed. Nevertheless, during the years immediately following the massacre, the chief and his band came to know the Mormon residents of Brigham City and he joined the Mormon Church under the tutelage of Mormon missionary George Washington Hill and followed the steps of the Priesthood to become an Elder.
Sagwitch homesteaded land near Portage, Utah and also at Washakie, a small Mormon-sponsored Indian community in Box Elder County. It is recorded that he helped build the Temple in Logan, Utah. He experienced the traditional Indian patterns of hunting and gathering to the adjustment of adapting successfully to both EuroAmerican and religious influences.
His descendant included Moroni Timbimboo, the first native American Bishop in the Mormon Church and Bruce Parry, for many years director of Utah's Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The DUP Camp in Paradise, Utah was named in honor of Chief Sagwitch as well as two mountain peaks and a basin between the Cache and Ogden valleys.
Terry Carlsen great
ReplyDeleteElaine Andersen Great article.
Jennifer Nielsen Johnson We've taken our cub scouts over the mountain to the Indian cemetery he's buried in. We told them his story and lead them thru the burial grounds. Quite a humbling experience. Especially before they did the upgrades. Those boys will never forget that experience.
Darrin Smith Scott Christensen who wrote the book on Chief Sagwich will be the guest speaker in June for the Cache Valley Historical Society.