June 21st, 2018

Contact: Chris Floyd, 307-782-3842

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

Fort Bridger Hosts Treaty of 1868 Re-Enactment on July 3

Fort Bridger State Historic Site is partnering with members of the Eastern Shoshone and Shoshone-Bannock tribal nations to host a re-enactment of the Peace Treaty of 1868 on its 150th anniversary.  The public is invited to attend this free event.

Activities will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 3, with a traditional Native prayer ceremony followed by introductions of both the descendants of the treaty signers, and the treaty re-enactors, who will be dressed in traditional attire.  

The re-enactment itself is scheduled for 10 AM with a pipe ceremony, traditional Native dances, a lunchtime feast, military exercises, and traditional games to follow.

"The treaty signing is arguably the single most important event that ever happened at Fort Bridger," said Chris Floyd, District Manager for Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails.  "It continues to influence events 150 years later."

As the construction of the transcontinental railroad moved farther west in 1868, the federal government sought to remove any Native claims to lands in its path.

On July 3 of that year, leaders of the Shoshones and the Bannocks met at Fort Bridger and agreed to the terms of the treaty, which among other things would soon establish the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho.  

The new reservations were significantly smaller than the 44 million acres that the had been agreed upon in a treaty only five years earlier. 

The 1868 treaty was one of the last to be ratified by the U.S. Senate and it still provides a legal foundation under the federal constitution for the two tribal nations today. 

Among the signers of the treaty at the fort were Chief Washakie of the Eastern Shoshones, Chief Tahgee of the Bannocks, and peace commissioner Major General C.C. Augur.

"We hope this event will help provide a better understanding of the historical events surrounding the treaty and promote awareness of how it continues to affect people today," Floyd said.

The event is sponsored by the Eastern Shoshone and Shoshone-Bannock Business Councils, the Fort Bridger Historical Association, and the Wyoming Humanities Council.

   
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
A Division of Wyoming State Parks & Cultural Resources
2301 Central Avenue, 4th Floor, Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-6323, www.wyoparks.org