The Utah Black Hawk War; STORIES & TOPICS

This is our Main Menu for all Stories & Topics about the Utah Black Hawk War. The links to individual topics & stories are organized in chronological order according to the date the event took place, and grouped by category i.e. 'European Colonization' etc.:

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European Colonization

1452 The Doctrine of Discovery It is important to understand the Doctrine of Discovery and it's roll in the founding of colonial America. Both the Doctrine of Discovery and Congressional Acts that were designed to justify the extermination of indiginous peoples in both North and South America. "Papal authority is the basis for United States power over indigenous peoples but this fact is not generally understood, even by lawyers who work with federal Indian law."

1765 Explorers Discover 'The Bearded Ones' The Snake-Shoshone Timpanogos were discovered by Spanish explorer Juan Revera in 1765, and later Dominguez and Escalante in 1776.

John L. O'Sullivan on Manifest Destiny, 1839 The American people having derived their origin from many other nations, and the Declaration of National Independence being entirely based on the great principle of human equality...

EVENTS LEADING TO WAR

1849-50 Battle Creek & Fort Utah Massacres The following three stories Battle Creek, Old Bishop, and Fort Utah all occurred within a year 1849-50 between the Timpanogos Nation and the Mormon militia. These events contributed significantly to the Black Hawk War that followed some ten years later.

1850 The Extermination Order It followed that on January 31, Lieutenant General Daniel H. Wells of the all Mormon Nauvoo Legion sent orders to Captain George D. Grant to "exterminate the Timpanogos," known as "Special Order No. 2".

1853 The Walker War On July 18th, Wakara (known to Mormons as Chief Walker) and his brother Arapeen, at the height of their frustration led a group of their warriors in an attack on Fort Payson.

1854 Brigham Young His "Proper Way To Treat The Indians" Treat them kindly, and treat them as Indians, and not as your equals."

1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre The mass slaughter of an emigrant party by Brigham Young's Utah Territorial Militia dressed as Indians.

BLACK HAWK WAR PERIOD

1865 THE BLACK HAWK WAR At the peak desperation, War Chief Black Hawk asks for solidarity and support from surrounding Native Nations such as the Colorado Utes, Navajo, Apache, and Comanche to name some... Under the leadership of the Nation's Principal Chief Tabby.

1865 Grass Valley Massacre The Timpanogos account of the incident is that when the soldiers first approached their camp, their Chief said not to worry that he had a paper from the Bishop of Glenwood that says they are friendly and no harm will come to them. He was the first one shot, and the soldier who shot him then beheaded him with his sword. The soldiers then surrounded the camp killing women, men, and children.

1865 The Spanish Fork Treaty The significance of the Spanish Fork Treaty is that it was intended for the Timpanogos Nation living in the Utah Valley area, the Treaty was signed exclusively by leaders of the Timpanogos Nation. It was never ratified by Congress.

1866 Circleville Massacre April 21, Circleville, Utah, during the Black Hawk War 24 Paiute men women and children innocent of any wrong doing, were brutally murdered, their throats cut one by one then buried in a mass grave to be forgotten.

1866 Black Hawk Mortally Wounded at Gravely Ford James E. Snow shot and wounded Black Hawk standing behind his horse, this eventually led to his death.

1866 The Old Peace Treaty Tree After a good meal, Black Hawk and Canute smoked the pipe of peace under the old juniper tree, now referred to as the "peace treaty tree" in Ephraim, Utah

1866 Spanish Fork Diamond Creek Battle Late at night on June 26, a band of Timpanogos Indians led by a Colorado Ute named Mountain, drove off some 15 horses and thirty eight head of cattle that resulted in the deaths of six Natives and two whites.

1870 The Death Of Black Hawk In spite of the tremendous personal misery that Black Hawk endured from the time he was a child, in the remaining weeks before his death he is described as physically distraught, gaunt, hollow-eyed, and skeleton-like yet he elected to travel by horseback nearly two hundred miles from Cedar City to Springville, Utah to make peace.

1881 The Ute Removal Act forced three of the seven Bands of the Confederated Utes from Colorado to the Thornburgh Agency on the Uintah Valley Reservation in Utah. The three Bands were the Yampa the Uintahs; and the Grand Rivers.

*Black Hawk War Timeline Author & Historian Phillip B Gottfredson's detailed timeline of the "Utah Indian Wars" with the Timpanogos Nation from the arrival of Mormon colonists in Utah in the year 1847, to the the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in the year 1978.

More About Timpanogos Chief Antonga Black Hawk:

1847-1919 The Story of Timpanogos Leader Black Hawk - This is an in-depth story of (different version) Timpanogos leader Antonga Black Hawk, the circumstances that led to the Black Hawk War and to the time of his death.

Post War Period

The Timpanogos Nation Official Website "As Chief Executive of the Timpanogos Nation I have pondered many times how our people were forgotten. We are the living descendents of legendary Chiefs Walkara, Kanosh, Tabby, Arropean, Washakie, Tintic, Sowiette, Sanpitch and others, who extended their hospitality to Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers."

The 'Timpanogos Ute' Oxymoron Historians mistakenly identify the Snake-Shoshone Timpanogos Nation as being Ute. The Timpanogos are not enrolled members of the Ute Tribe, and never were. They are two distinctly different Tribes in origin, ancestral bloodlines, language, and customs.

1919 Black Hawk's Grave Robbed Black Hawk's remains were put on public display in a window of a hardware store for amusement and later moved to Temple Square in downtown Salt City.

1996 Examination Of Chief Black Hawk's Remains Published by permission from NAGPRA.

FACTS OF THE BLACK HAWK WAR Facts about the Utah Black Hawk War from Phillip B Gottfredson's research journal.

In Remembrance of Timpanogos Leaders and Warriors List of names of Timpanogos Chiefs and members of the Timpanogos Tribe.

The Utah Black Hawk War Legacy "Every day we are reminded of what our ancestors went through. How our families were torn apart. Children murdered, the old, the women, all those who were brutally murdered and made to suffer and die from violence, then disease, then starvation, our ancestors’ graves torn up, the land destroyed, it was genocide plain and simple." - Timpanogos

Congressional Acts Governing First Nations A series of congressional acts designed to diminish tribal lands, or reservations, the Dawes Allotment Act, the Reorganization Act, the Termination Act, the Self Determination Act, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Then came the boarding schools and the LDS Church Indian placement program.

*Peter Gottfredson

Much of the material found on this website comes from Peter Gottfredson who lived with the Timpanogos during the Black Hawk War. Peter is a great-grandfather of author Phillip B Gottfredson.

Peter Gottfredson's Book Indian Depredations In Utah. 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of Peter Gottfredson's classic firsthand account of the Mormon's Black Hawk War in Utah. First published in 1919 by Skelton Publishing CO. Salt Lake City, Utah, only 100 copies were printed. Revered by historians and cited in countless publications for over a century now.

Peter's Autobiography 1857-1874 On the 12th of December, 1855 we sailed on the John J. Boyd ship. There were 508  passengers on board.  We had a very rough voyage over the Atlantic. We got in New York on the 15th of February, 1856, having been sixty five days on the water.

Peter In The Indian Camps He spent most of time in the Timpanogos camps during the Black Hawk War, he was a friend of Timpanogos Chief Antonga Black Hawk.

EXCERPTS From Peter Gottfredson's book Indian Depredations in Utah 1865-1873 first hand account of the Black Hawk War.

Eulogy to Peter Gottfredson 1934 "The life of Peter Gottfredson is like the life of other men who traveled along the whole trail of the Mormon Pioneers. At the age of 12 years, he walked across the plains; my mother did the same thing at 13."

Veterans of the Utah Black Hawk War  A list of some 640 names both veterans and Timpanogos Chiefs from the book Indian Depredations in Utah by Peter Gottfredson.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF PETER GOTTFREDSON Peter and his family arrived in New York in 1857. From there they traveled to Illinois where his mother died. His father, Jens took the family to Ohio and left Peter alone to take care of his siblings.

*Author Phillip B Gottfredson

"I am truly grateful, honored, and blessed that I have spent two decades living with Native Americans and learning their sacred ways. Best years of my life!" - Phillip

Buy The Book! Phillip B Gottfredson shares an intimate perspective of the Timpanogos peoples of Utah and the Black Hawk War of Utah from 1849 to 1873 in his debut Native American history book titled “My Journey to Understand ... BLACK HAWK'S MISSION OF PEACE” (published by Archway Publishing from Simon & Schuster).

Bio and Source Material

Phillip B Gottfredson's BIO and source material Mr. Gottfredson spent several years learning from the Ute, Shoshone, Paiute and many more First Nation people throughout North and South America and the Mayan.

Archive A collection of commentary and articles Phillip B Gottfredson wrote while researching and writing about the Black Hawk War in Utah.

National Museum of the American Indian Author Phillip B Gottfredson's quest to understand the First Nations of North America attended this auspicious event the perfect place to start his research.

Learning Native Ways

Protocols And Ethics of the Native American. When Phillip B Gottfredson was invited to live with a Shoshone family one of the first things he was taught were protocols. He added this page to help educators and people who are beginning relationships with indigenous people.

Truth In Education For All Over the past decades Phillip B Gottfredson has advocated for TRUE history of the Black Hawk War and the Timpanogos people of Utah to be added to the school curriculum in Utah's public school system.

Home Of The Mayan Phillip spent six months living with Mayan Scholars and Shaman learning of the historical and spiritual connection between North and South American Native peoples.

RUSSEL MEANS "For America to Live, Europe Must Die" was Russel Means most famous speech. A tribute to the late Russell Means a Lakota patriot.

VIDEOS

The following video collection has been assembled to help further our understanding of the Native American perspective and the Black Hawk War in Utah.

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY: Steve Newcomb Published on Feb. 2, 2016 Steven Newcomb, Author of Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery" addresses the Spotlight of Indigenous Peoples plenary at the 2015 Parliament of the World's Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 19th.

THE VIDEO BLACK HAWK WAR: UTAH'S FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY Video 2005 Mr. Gottfredson was  commissioned by the Utah State Division of Indian Affairs to make a documentary film of the Black hawk War. The project was funded in part by Utah State Division of Indian Affairs, the George S. Deloris Dori Eccles Foundation and Private Donors.

Bear River Massacre Memorial 155th Anniversary January 29, 2018

Misc..

MEMORIAL OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF UTAH (document) Brigham Young spent one and a half million dollars to "get rid of the Indians."

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ARTICLE Book Review of Indian Depredations In Utah By Historian And Columnist Will Bagley 2002. "Few of these histories are as valuable as a Danish immigrant’s account of Utah’s Indian wars."

PROMISES BARAK OBAMA HAS MADE TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN PEOPLE "My American Indian policy begins...

The Land Of The Lamanites That the Lamanites (American Indians) a "white and delightsome people." Can you say Vitiligo?

The Danites The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by The Church of Latter-Day Saints in June of 1838, at Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri.

MAPS

1866 Map of the Black Hawk War See where the battles took place during the war! Phillip never finished this map, but has some good information.

Tribal Locations in America Past and Present Map