The Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation include members of the Goshute, Paiute and Bannock tribes. They have retained strong ties to their culture and homeland, still depending heavily on wildlife and plant species on and off reservation. Most of the Goshute reside on the 113,000 acre reservation at the base of the Deep Creek mountain range.
The Goshutes are a band of Western Shoshone that lived in the area between the Oquirrh Mountains on the east and the Steptoe Mountains in eastern Nevada, and from the south end of the Great Salt Lake to an area almost parallel with the south end of Utah Lake. Their culture has long been recognized as the simplest of any to be found in the Great Basin. In aboriginal times they lived at a minimum subsistence level with no economic surplus on which a more elaborate sociopolitical structure could be built.
The Bannock are a tribe of Northern Paiute whose traditional lands include southeastern Oregon, southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana. Today they are enrolled in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho and the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation.
Some members of other various Northern Paiute bands are also enrolled in this tribe.
Official Tribal Name: Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation
Address: P.O. Box 6104, Ibapah, Utah 84034 (195 Tribal Center Road)
Phone: (801) 234-1136, 435-234-1138
Fax: (435) 234-1162
Email: goshutetribe@yahoo.com
Official Website: http://goshutetribe.com/
Recognition Status: Federally Recognized
Traditional Name / Traditional Meaning: Kutsipiuti (Gutsipiuti) which means “desert people”
Common Name: Goshute Tribe
Meaning of Common Name:
The name Goshute derived either from a leader named Goship or from Gutsipiuti, a Shoshone word for “Desert People.”
Alternate names:
Shoshone-Goship, Abbreviated: CTGR
Alternate spellings / Mispellings:
Gosuite, Gutsipupiutsi
Name in other languages:
Region: Great Basin
State(s) Today: Western Utah and Northeastern Nevada
Traditional Territory:
Their traditional territory extends from the Great Salt Lake to the Steptoe Range in Nevada, and south to Simpson Springs. Within this area, the Goshutes were concentrated in three areas: Deep Creek Valley near Ibapah on the Utah-Nevada border, Simpson’s Springs farther southeast, and the Skull and Tooele Valleys.
Confederacy: Shoshone, Paiute, Bannock
Treaties:
On October 12, 1863, Tabby and Autosome, Tints-pa-gin and harry-nap, the designated chiefs of the Shoshone-Goship Tribe, signed a “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” at Tale (Toolele) Valley. This treaty required that they give up their nomad lifestyle and live on a reservation. The treaty was ratified by Congress and signed into law on January 17th, 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln. The federal government and Mormon Church organized indian farms near Ibapah, Utah.
The treaty did not give up land or sovereignty but did agree to end all hostile actions against the whites and to allow several routes of travel to pass through their country. They also agreed to the construction of military posts and station houses wherever necessary. Stage lines, telegraph lines, and railways would be permitted to be built through their domain; mines, mills, and ranches would be permitted and timber could be cut. The federal government agreed to pay the Goshutes $1,000.00 a year for twenty years as compensation for the destruction of their game.
Reservation: Goshute Reservation
A permanent resevation was established south of Ibapah in 1914. The federal government built a log school, a log assembly hall, and log cabins, but many of the Goshute people continued to occupy traditional dwellings for many years. In 1939, the reservation was extended to include the Eight Mile, Goldsmith and Gash Ranches and in 1914, the Will Cession homestead and Kelly Ranch were purchased. The reservation lies half in Utah and half in Nevada on the Utah/Nevada state borders. The Tooele County section, located south of Ibapah, Utah, is disconnected geographically from the rest of the reservation.
Land Area: Approximately 112, 870 acres in White Pine County Nevada as well as 177.42 square miles (459.517 km²) in Juab and Tooele Counties in Utah.
Tribal Headquarters: Ibapah, Utah
Time Zone: Mountain
Population at Contact:
Registered Population Today: In 1993, the Confederated Goshute Tribe had 413 enrolled members.
Tribal Enrollment Requirements:
Genevieve Fields, Enrollment Officer
Ph (435) 234-1267
genevievefields@goshutetribe.com
Enrollment requirements for the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation
Government:
Charter: Constitution and By-Laws were approved on November 25, 1940
Name of Governing Body: Goshute Business Council
Number of Council members: 5
Dates of Constitutional amendments:
Number of Executive Officers: The five council members elect a chairman.
Elections: Terms are for three years.
Language Classification:
Language Dialects:
Number of fluent Speakers:
Dictionary:
Origins:
The Goshute people have resided in Western Utah and Northeastern Nevada for at least 1,000 years.
Bands, Gens, and Clans
Related Tribes:
Duck Valley Paiute | Pyramid Lake Paiute | Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Fort Independence Paiute | Ft. McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Kaibab Band of Paiute | Las Vegas Paiute Tribe | Lovelock Paiute Tribe | Moapa River Reservation | Reno/Sparks Indian Colony | Summit Lake Paiute Tribe | Winnemucca Colony | Walker River Paiute Tribe | Yerington Paiute Tribe
Ely Shoshone Tribe | Duckwater Shoshone | Yomba Shoshone Tribe | Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians (comprised of the Battle Mountain Band, Elko Band, South Fork Band, and Wells Band)
Traditional Allies:
Traditional Enemies:
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Navajo and Ute slave raiders preyed upon the Goshute.
Ceremonies / Dances:
Modern Day Events & Tourism:
Annual Goshute Powwow, First weekend in August in Ibapah, celebrates traditional Goshute and Shoshone culture and dance.
Legends / Oral Stories:
Art & Crafts: Basketry, beadwork.
Animals:
Clothing:
Adornment:
Housing:
At winter camps, the Goshutes lived in dug out houses built of willow poles and earth, known as wiki-ups.
Subsistance:
The Goshute were hunter-gatherers, roaming large tracts of land. Hunting of large game was usually done by men. They hunted lizards, snakes, small fish, birds, gophers, rabbits, rats, skunks, squirrels, and, when available, pronghorn (antelope), bear, coyote, deer, elk, and Bighorn sheep.
Women and children gathered insects, seeds, roots, and medicinal plants. They harvested nearly 100 species of wild vegetables and seeds. The most important food staple was the pine nut. The most common insects they ate were red ants, crickets and grasshoppers.
Economy Today:
Religion & Spiritual Beliefs:
Burial Customs:
Wedding Customs
Radio:
Newspapers:
Famous Goshute Chiefs and Leaders:
Famous Paiute Chiefs and Leaders
Famous Bannock Chiefs and Leaders
Tabby, Autosome, Tints-pa-gin, Harry-nap, Goship
Catastrophic Events:
Tribe History:
In the News:
Further Reading:
