The Utah Back Hawk War is one of the more tragic and regrettable Indian Wars in Native American history and the old west that underscores the 'extermination' of the Timpanogos Nation of the Wasatch. The Timpanogos is the most documented tribe in Utah that few people know about. "The time has come for the truth to be told," said Gottfredson.
Some seventy thousand Timpanogos men, women, and children died from violence, starvation, and disease, all in the name of colonization. Colonists stole their land and destroyed their culture over a twenty-one-year time frame, which resulted in an astonishing 90% decrease in their population, yet few people know anything about the Timpanogos, who they are, or their account of Utah's Black Hawk War.
The Timpanogos were first discovered by Spanish explorers Juan Revera in 1765 and later by Dominguez and Escalante in 1776. They describe in their journals having met "the bearded ones" who spoke Shoshone.
Timpanogos leader Black Hawk witnessed the worst kind of man’s inhumanity to mankind. In severe pain dying from a gunshot wound to his stomach, Chief Black Hawk made an epic hundred-and-eighty-mile journey by horseback and spoke to Mormon settlers along the way pleading for peace—and to end the bloodshed. You didn't see the settlers do this. So, it took a greater man to do such a thing. This was Black Hawk's mission of peace, but it gets left out of Utah's history.
"How do I know these things? I lived with them; I found the truth" said Phillip B Gottfredson, who has spent decades living among First Nations people seeking to understand Native American history and culture. Gottfredson provides a detailed synopsis of the Black Hawk War of Utah that historians have sugar-coated and made to appear little more than a trivial event.
His account brings a much-needed perspective to a war that has historically been examined from the one-sided perspective of the Mormons. In collaboration with tribal leaders, he shares the Timpanogos version of the story, writing from the vantage point of the indigenous peoples of Utah – a reference point that has been deliberately ignored.
Join the author as he shares his extraordinary spiritual journey into the Native American culture. and highlights a war that has been overlooked and misunderstood for far too long.
Five Star Reviews!
My journey to Understand... Black Hawk's Mission of Peace
"This is the book of our time. Who would devote 20 years of their life to do what you have done?" Carol Pettit Harding, Utah
"This book is an honest look at how native peoples have been and still are treated by an encroaching group who believe they have a higher right to do whatever they want to do, regardless of the consequences in human pain and suffering. Mr. Gottfredson has done an amazing job of telling this story with passion and honesty. As you follow him through his journey of discovery, you will be captivated by his experiences. The truth will set us free. Bravo, Sir ! barely ablemann Washington DC"
"This book was truly inspired! It was powerful, filled with emotions, truths and love. Thank you Phillip Gottfredson - Cynthia Johnson Utah"
You might also be interested in:
Indian Depredations in Utah by Peter Gottfredson
My journey to Understand Black Hawk's Mission of 
Peace is a companion book to "Indian Depredations in Utah" by Peter Gottfredson Phillip's great-grandfather. Peter's book is one of the oldest first-hand accounts of the Utah Black Hawk War published in 1919. For more information, please visit our Indian Depredations In Utah homepage.
