Shivwits Band of Paiutes facts for kids
The Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a sovereign, federally recognized tribe located in southwestern Utah. The Shivwits Band is one of five Bands comprising the inter-Tribal government of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.
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Name
Shivwits comes from a Southern Paiute word, sipicimi. The word may be based on the prefix sibi-, meaning "east" or si-vints, meaning "people who live in the east." It is also spelled Shivwitz, Shi'-vwits, She-bits, Sübü'ts, and Sebit. The Shivwits Plateau in Arizona is named after the tribe. Today the Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians of Utah identify as See’veets eng, meaning "Whitish Earth People".
Paiute Origin Story in Folklore
The Paiutes trace their origin story to the tale of Tabuts who was a wise wolf and older brother to Shinangwav, the mischievous coyote. Mankind was created as Tabuts decided to carve many different people out of sticks. When he was finished, he placed the people in a sack, so he could scatter them evenly throughout the whole earth so that all people would have a fair share of land to live upon. However, the sly Shinangwav had another idea. Legend tells that Shinangwav cut open the sack and the people fell out in small concentrated clusters all over the world. This uneven distribution and disruption brought among the people much contention and fighting between humans. As legend has it, the few remaining people left in the sack were blessed by Tabuts and placed in Earth's choicest land: those people were the Southern Paiutes.
History
Pre European Contact
The Shivwits Paiutes settled in Utah around 1100 BC. Typically the Shivwits people are portrayed as hunter-gatherers who sought after berries, roots and pine nuts and hunted game such as rabbits and deer. However, excavations of two proto-historic features near the Santa Clara River provide evidence of Southern Paiute practice of garden cultivation (horticulture) such as wheat grains and maize cob and kernel fragments. They were farmers living along the Santa Clara River and the Virgin River and cultivated crops of corn, squash, melons, gourds, sunflowers, and, after European contact, winter wheat. They also practiced irrigation agriculture along the banks of the Virgin and Santa Clara river.
The people in the Shivwits Band of Paiutes camped together in family groupings. They had a nomadic mobile lifestyle and moved around frequently. For shelter, many created cone-shaped wickiups to live in. Later, some used tepees. In the spring and summer they would gather, plant, and hunt food in preparation for winter. After growing season was over in the fall they would gather together to celebrate marriages and have dances. (Other major celebrations include the pine nut harvest at the spring fish spawn.) In the winter they told stories of the Wolf and the Coyote, and recounted the history of their people.
It is likely that the Shivwits Plateau was also once a source of ceramic pottery that contributed to a thriving ceramic trade system that linked regions around southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. These Shivwits wares were composed of iron rich, dark brown/red ceramic materials, as well as crushed Moapa Gray Ware shards, all of which support the Shivwits production of these Native American ceramics. With near total consistency, these Shivwits wares were most commonly characterized by their style of being very large jars, large enough that it would take one person to transport just one jar. This ceramic trade, however, disappeared under unknown circumstances and only the historical evidence remains in support of its existence.
Beginning of White Settlement
The Domínguez–Escalante expedition of 1776 was most likely the Shivwits' first contact with Europeans. Fur trader Jedediah Smith created a route to California directly through Paiute territory. The 19th century brought non-Native trappers, traders, and settlers to the area. The newly introduced livestock had a negative effect on the area's delicate ecology. Utes and Navajos often captured Paiute women and children and sold them to European-Americans as slaves.
Spurred by the era of rapid expansion of settlers in the mid 19th century in Southern Utah, white settlement of the land marked the end of the Native American sovereignty and traditional lifestyle. By 1858, these settlers, predominantly Mormons, permanently settled on Paiute lands, putting an end to the Shivwits' traditional lifestyle. These settlers colonized many places that the Natives used for foraging, which resulted in many Natives facing problems with starvation. New diseases were also introduced to the Native Americans, whose epidemics ultimately killed 90 percent of some groups, drastically reducing their population. As a result, many Natives were pressed by the effects of poverty and vulnerability, and often, many women and children would turn to roles of servitude to the new settlers in order to support themselves.
The settlement of Mormons also had unique assimilating consequences upon the Shivwits through the intensive proselytizing efforts of the Mormon settlers. C. R. Savage, travelling with Mormon missionaries, captured the mass baptisms of Shivwits on March 19, 1875 through photography, and his photo has since been famously used to represent the expansion of early white Mormon settlers and their positive and negative impact on Indian society. Though uncertain, most reports agree that at least 160 Shivwits were baptized by Mormon missionaries—men, women, and children up to 60 years old. Within Savage’s historic photograph, is pictured Chief Qui-Tuss, or “Burning Fire,” standing in the water, preparing to be baptized by Bishop Daniel McArthur. As per custom, the chief, who was around fifty years old, was the first to be baptized as an act of respect to the chief, and to also encourage other tribe members to follow his lead.
Recent developments
The Shivwits regained federal recognition through an act signed by President Jimmy Carter on 3 April 1980. This act, Public Law 96-227, served as the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act, and was enacted to restore and confirm to the members of the Bands of Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and Indian Peaks, federal services and benefits, as well as extend services to the Cedar Band.
The reservation is larger than it was originally, covering over 28,000 acres. In 2003, the Shivwits received water rights for 4,000 acre-feet (4,900,000 m3) annually, enabling the tribe to create new economic development projects.
Today
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The Band is headquartered in Ivins and the unincorporated community of Shivwits, located in Washington County, Utah. Their office is located at 6060 West 3650 North Ivins, UT 84738. The current band chairperson is Carmen Clark.
Nine miles west of St. George on Highway 91, the Shivwits culture endures in a self-sustaining community surrounded by red cliffs. Their community includes forty homes, a health clinic, a community center, a gas station and a market. Economic development is an ongoing political challenge for the band, and in the dry desert basin water-lease agreements play an important role in economic survival. Future plans for the Shivwits reservation include building a gymnasium and cultural center.
A significant concern for the Shivwits today is the rapid development of the surrounding land in Washington County, and its impact on the ancient history of the Paiute nations. Many artifacts such as petroglyphs and pottery are being disturbed by home development and rapid population growth in Southern Utah.
Every year, the Paiute Restoration Gathering celebrates the reinstatement of federal recognition after the five bands of Utah Paiutes were terminated. Paiutes and their inner-tribal members all gather at an annual Pow-Wow, where they celebrate their tribal traditions by dancing and singing and performing ceremonies to help educate their youth about who they are and where they come from.
