PRESTON – Dennis Alex, Chairman of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation (NWBSN), welcomed some 500 people gathered for the 162nd anniversary of the Bear River Massacre on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
The logo found on a trailer represents the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation.
This year the memorial was held at the at the pullover on Hwy 91at the stone Daughters of the Utah Pioneers marker just north of the Bear River Bridge on the river bottoms.
The massacre records kept by the Shoshone show when General Patrick Edward Connor and his soldiers from Camp Douglas shot, raped, bludgeoned, and bayoneted between 270 and 400 Shoshone to their death.
The Shoshone fought back with the limited weapons they had, but the band was nearly annihilated. Entire families were lost and with them the records of their very existence.
The annual memorial service brings members of the Shoshone tribe and others to recognize the anniversary of the attack. The massacre happened at the place where they wintered yearly by hot springs just to the south along the Bear River not far from the site of the DUP monument.
During the ceremony they read the names of some of the casualties of the event and Dr. Cheryl O’Brian read a proclamation to the NWBSN from Idaho Governor Brad Little dedicating January 28th as the Bear River Massacre day.
A Color Guard posted the American, Idaho and Utah state flags at the Bear River Massacre Memorial Ceremony on Monday, Jan. 28, 2024.
Long stretches of cars lined both sides of Highway 91 near the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Monument where the ceremony was held. The temperature was in the 30’s. warmer than the description of one of the largest massacres of Native American history.
Some people wait for the Bear River Massacre memorial to begin on Wednesday Jan. 29 2025.
There are many stories that have come from the massacre. Susan Hawkes, the site coordinator at the Franklin Relic Hall and other historic buildings in the town, has several stories about the massacre and those who were rescued.
Hawkes produced a Hull family history document that told of Franklin residents following General Connor’s soldiers to the massacre site. They watched from far away as the carnage unfolded.
“The Franklin people were told if the soldiers were to lose, they were to gather everyone and go to Richmond,” Hawkes said. “The soldiers camped near the massacre site and after the battle the people of Franklin went to the site looking for anyone who survived.”
She thought there could be as many as 11 wounded Shoshone. They took some back to Franklin and nursed them back to health. Some died and some when they were healthy enough stayed there in Franklin.
“One baby left hanging in a tree on a cradle board died a short time later,” she said. “Some of the children survived and were taken in by families.”
Two women, two boys and a girl were taken back to Franklin. Families took in the children and when the women were healed, they joined other Shoshone when they came to the area.
One of the untold stories is about a four year old girl wounded at the massacre.
“The Hull family took in the girl, she was about four years old. They named her Mary,” Hawkes said. “Mary was treated like a sister and became a part of the family.
She feared Indians and would run and hide when they came into town. She was educated in Franklin and immersed herself into the Hull family.
Brad Parry tribal council vide-chairman shares the history of the massacre and the site restoration efforts of the tribe on Wednesday Jan. 29, 2025.
When part of the family moved to Hooper she went with them. After a few years she met and married George Heber Riley and raised ten children.
The Bear River Massacre survivor died in Ogden in 1910 and was buried in the Hooper cemetery. A photograph of Mary Hull hangs in the Franklin Relic Hall.