American Indian Utah Tribes

Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation

About the Tribe

The Shoshone, Paiute, Bannock, and Ute people are related. They call themselves Newe and Neme (the People). Prior to contact with Europeans, the Newe groups formed small extended-family groupings that traveled extensively as semi-nomadic hunter-gathers to survive in the harsh environment of the Great Basin desert. Horses, guns, white contact and disease destroyed this social organization, resulting in more formal tribal identities and band loyalties. Pre-contact identities did exist to some extent according to the influence of horse ownership and resource use. What became the Northwestern Shoshone band was a part of those groups who had traveled largely on foot in a delicate balance of living off the land. The expression So-so-goi means "those who travel on foot." The old ones called the Shoshone by that name. When horses became available, the So-so-goi joined the mounted hunting groups in annual harvests.

Resources about the Shoshone Tribe:

 

The Native American Indian Literacy Project

The Native American Indian Literacy Project was the work of USOE Indian Education Specialist in 2006, Shirlee Silversmith, and a partnership between the Utah State Office of Education (currently the Utah State Board of Education) and the San Juan School District Media Center. The project included a series of books, lesson plans and histories that were created with the help of tribal elders and cultural consultants and are based on the oral traditional stories and history of their specific tribes. Funds for the original project came from the Utah State Office of Education.

The original booklets were designed for printability (Print Instructions), and have been reformatted here for digital use. A big thank you to Brenda Beyal (Dine) and Lorna Loy (Dine) for updating these lesson plans and aligning them to current core standards. This update was funded by a partnership grant from the Utah Division of State History and Utah Humanities. 

 

How Wood Tick Became Flat - A Tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone
Presentation | Print

Lesson Plan

Coyote and the Rock - A Tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone
Presentation | Print

Lesson Plan

The Greedy Porcupine - A Tale from the Northwestern Band of ShoshonePresentation | Print

Lesson Plan

Handsome Coyote and Wildcat - A Tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone
Presentation | Print

Lesson Plan

Coyote and Mouse - A Tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone
Presentation | Print

Lesson Plan

Coyote and the Buffalo - A Uintah/Ouray Ute Tale
Coloring Book

BYU ARTS Partnership Lesson Plans

Lesson plans co-created with the Northwestern Shoshone Indian Tribe of Utah and BYU ARTS Partnership:

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