The history of Latter-day Saint interactions with Native Americans is a complex tapestry of theological affinity, colonization, cooperation, and conflict, often oversimplified in traditional pioneer narratives. How did Indigenous converts navigate this fraught reality to forge their own unique spiritual and cultural identity within the Church? A new interview over at the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, features Senior Historian David W. Grua, who discusses Native Saints: The Washakie Ward, a groundbreaking collaborative digital project between the Church Historian’s Press and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. Grua unpacks the incredible journey of the Shoshone Saints—from surviving the horrific 1863 Bear River Massacre to experiencing divine visitations, building a thriving, self-led Latter-day Saint farming community, and preserving their indigenous language and heritage amidst the pressures of a rapidly changing American West.
Tragedy and Manifestations
The background context of the Washakie Ward is rooted in unimaginable trauma. In 1863, U.S. troops slaughtered over 300 Northwestern Shoshone men, women, and children at the Bear River Massacre. Survivors, including Chief Sagwitch, resisted federal pressure to relocate to reservations in Idaho, choosing instead to remain in their ancestral homelands in northern Utah.
Their entrance into the Church, which occurred about ten years later, was catalyzed by a remarkable spiritual experience. In 1872, Sagwitch and his cousin were visited by three strangers who instructed them to be baptized and to adopt Euro-American agriculture.
Sagwitch and Ech-up-wy presumably understood this as a manifestation of bo’ha, or spiritual power, and the three visitors as spirit guides; their descendants would later interpret the experience as a visitation of the Three Nephites of the Book of Mormon.
Following this vision, missionary George Washington Hill baptized Sagwitch and hundreds of his people. Because the Book of Mormon was not translated into Shoshone, missionaries used visual panoramas painted by C.C.A. Christensen to teach the stories of the scriptures.
A Sanctuary from the Reservation
In 1880, the Church helped these converts establish the farming community of Washakie. Grua explains a fascinating political reality behind this move: the federal reservation system was heavily tied to Protestant denominations that actively banned Latter-day Saints from preaching. Creating Washakie offered the Shoshone a way to bypass this anti-Mormon federal system.
Even though Euro-American attitudes of the time were heavily paternalistic, including among Church members, Washakie unexpectedly became a bastion of cultural preservation.
Washakie was the place where the Northwestern Shoshone Latter-day Saints preserved their language, culture, and history and passed it on to their children. Worship services were conducted largely in Shoshone well into the twentieth century. Shoshone tribal elders taught their children the stories of their people at Washakie, while traditional medicinal and marital practices remained commonplace with minimal interference from white leadership.
Indigenous Leadership
The Washakie Ward was not merely a passive congregation managed by white leaders; it became an active, indigenous-led community. Literacy gained at the local day school became a tool for empowerment. Shoshone clerks kept the ward records, and Willie Ottogary used his education to become a pioneer in Native treaty-rights activism.
Their spiritual devotion was intense. They donated heavy labor to the construction of the Logan Temple, and in 1922, the entire ward was recognized for being 100% full-tithe payers. Shoshones served in leadership callings, such as counselors in the bishopric, and by 1939, Moroni Timbimboo was sustained as the first Northwestern Shoshone bishop.
A Tragic End and a New Beginning
Grua’s historical candor shines when discussing the painful end of the Washakie settlement. During the Great Depression and World War II, many Shoshone residents temporarily left to seek jobs in the defense industry in cities like Ogden.
Many who were living elsewhere due to employment nevertheless saw Washakie as home, and the church misapprehended the Shoshone Saints’ attachment to the place, leading to the tragic decision to sell the farm (including the townsite) in 1972. As they prepared the land for sale, local church leaders—believing incorrectly that the Shoshone Saints had all moved elsewhere—directed that homes be burned, a traumatic experience that continues to reverberate among descendants today.
It is a heartbreaking conclusion to the physical town, but the legacy of the Washakie Saints lives on. Today, the Church History Department and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation are working closely together in a spirit of true reciprocity, sharing records and supporting the tribe’s ongoing reclamation and memorial projects at the Bear River Massacre site.
To learn more about the incredible faith of Bishop John Moemberg, the specific records recovered for the Native Saints project, and the ongoing relationship between the Church and the Shoshone Nation, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog, From the Desk, to read the full interview with David Grua.
While you’re there, check out the updated interview about the Bells at Temple Square, which will be updated with a link to the livestream of their performance next Friday (June 12)!
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