Public Memory and the Massacre
When you go visit the site of the Bear River Massacre, there are several different signs. Each of these signs tell a different story, juxtaposed by their close positioning. The monument erected by the Franklin Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1932 tells a story of Mormon generosity, taking in the survivors of the unfortunate battle and helping them rebuild. The monument presents the incident as a battle between hostile Indians and peaceful settlers, and the soldiers who came to the defense of the settlers. Another sign, placed by the state of Idaho in 1990, labels Bear River as a massacre and briefly summarizes the event. In 1990 the site was also officially declared a national historic landmark under the title of the Bear River Massacre site. See the images of the monument and both signs below.
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In 2003, some of the Massacre site was deeded to the Northwestern Shoshone Band. On this land, the Northwestern Band and the Idaho Transportation Department placed seven interpretive signs that tell a more complete story of the Shoshone and the Massacre.
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These monuments and signs all stand within a few minutes walk of each other. As a visitor explores the Massacre site, they can see the shift in historical memory. The incident at Bear River was always a massacre, but was not considered such at first because of the relief and shame felt by local residents after the event. The steps taken to correct and update the monuments at Bear River shows “that the act of enshrining a memory does not necessarily give it permanence.” The change in monuments also highlights the changing nature of a community, as the Northwestern Shoshone Band is taking back the narrative of their history. In January of 2017, the Northwestern Shoshone Band purchased at least 550 acres of the Massacre site and some surrounding land. On that land, the Band plans to build a cultural interpretive site that teaches about Shoshone life and the Massacre.
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According to Darren Parry, the current Chairman of the Northwestern Shoshone Band, the funds to build the site are almost completely raised. The project has received priority from the 2019 Utah Legislature and will likely be receiving money from the Legislature. Chairman Parry also has given numerous presentations about the Massacre, bringing the Native perspective back to the event. In other links, you will read Chairman Parry’s words about the Massacre, as well as watch one of his presentations. A written account of an oral history passed down through generations of the Parry family is available here, alongside Colonel Connor’s account of the event.
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The sources below discuss the Bear River Massacre and memory. Two of the sources come from Darren Parry and discuss the Shoshone struggle to remember the Massacre. The second article analyzes the changes made to the Bear River Monuments over the years and how they have changed. Special attention is also paid to how the changing public memory affected, and was affected by, a changing sense of place.
1. See Memory article for further discussion about those two specific monuments. Barnes, “The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863,” 81-104.
2. Barnes, “The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863,” 103.
3. Trent Toone, “'Because it's sacred land': Shoshone Nation chairman is 'on a mission' to share massacre site with world,” Deseret News, Sept. 9, 2018, https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900031109/shoshone-nation-hopes-new-center-at-massacre-site-draws-sacred-feeling.html. Shoshone Nation, Deseret News. Artists rendering of the Cultural Interpretive Center.
4. Necia P. Seamons, “Utah Legislature poised to help fund interpretive center at Bear River Massacre site,” The Herald Journal, Feb. 20, 2019, https://www.hjnews.com/news/local/utah-legislature-poised-to-help-fund-interpretive-center-at-bear/article_03f951d6-6561-567e-96b6-4926d816aa59.html.
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First Slideshow. Pictures from John Barnes, “The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863,” The Public Historian 30, no. 1 (February 2008): 81-104. Taken by David Rich Lewis.
Second Slideshow. See photos of the Massacre site, as well as the interpretive signs below. Photos taken by author, Raelyn Embleton, May 16, 2018.