Reservations, Boarding Schools, and Today
Between 1860 and 1880 the Tonaquint Band who lived in present-day Washington County “all but disappeared.”[1] Between disease, disappearing food sources, and overtaken homesites, the Band quickly lost their livelihood.[2] Those who survived the outbreak of disease had very few options.[3] Many migrated away; some moved to Cedar City where welfare from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was common. Some moved to communities on the Muddy River; while others worked in mining camps to the north. The remaining people were older and dependent on white settlements. General attitudes from settlers were patronizing, preaching “I know better what is good for you, than you do yourself,” and failed to recognize the part they played in the poverty of the Native nations around them.[4]
Reservation and Boarding Schools
The Shivwits Nung'wu Southern Paiute Band moved to the Santa Clara Valley in 1891.[5] They were removed from their homeland in Arizona near the Shivwits Plateau.[6] Part of their homeland was taken and used as a cattle ranch, partially owned by Anthony W. Ivins, a religious and political leader. Ivins recalled “trouble” with the Indigenous Band because of stolen cattle.[7] Concerned with the Band’s “condition”, Ivins contacted the Bureau of Indian Affairs and suggested relocation.[8] Congress appropriated funds to purchase the land and relocate the Shivwits Band, naming Ivins the Special Disbursing Agent.[9] He purchased land on the Santa Clara river and fenced it in. He later bought teams, wagons, farming tools and established a school. The federal government did not buy this land until 1903, which formally established the Shivwits Indian Reservation.[10] There were many problems on the reservation. Disease and water rights were particularly sore points, as well as the use of reservation land by whites without consent.[11]
During this period, Shivwits children were sent to boarding schools off the reservation. One school was in Panguitch, Utah which operated from 1904 to 1909.[12] School superintendents reported perceived improvements, but also cases of poor health and death. Ultimately the school was closed because of poor health. Around thirty children were enrolled every year. The government policy during the time was focused on forced assimilation of culture, language, and heritage.[13] In addition, many of these school forced students to perform manual labor to maintain the schools. In 2023, twelve bodies were confirmed to be buried at the Panguitch Indian Boarding School site.[14]
Termination
Federal policy work in the early 1950s resulted in the termination of tribal affiliation for thousands across the nation, as well as the removal of millions of acres from Indigenous peoples. The Shivwits Band tribal status was dissolved during this time. Reports listed the band as not ready for termination in 1954, but they were included in the first bill calling for termination.[15] The final termination date was Feburary 21, 1957. Many Shivwits abandoned the reservation and sought support and employment elsewhere.[16] Within ten years, the Shivwits were impoverished in “deplorable” living conditions, many worked low-paid seasonal jobs.[17]
Restoration
In 1980, Congress passed the Paiute Restoration Act which reestablished the government trust relationship for five Bands of Southern Paiute in Utah (Cedar, Indian Peaks, Kanosh, Koosharem, Shivwits).[18] They were each restored to pre-termination status, as separate federally recognized Indian tribes. The five Bands agreed to adopt a joint-governance constitution in 1981 and have a joint Tribal Council. Each Band retains its own Band Council and bylaws and govern their own affairs. As of 2000, the Shivwits Band had 311 members, and the reservation included 28,000 acres of land with congressionally confirmed water rights.[19]
The Nung’wu are still here.
Citations
[1] Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, NUWUVI: A Southern Paiute History (Reno, NV: Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, 1976), printed by the University of Utah Printing Service, 109.
[2] John S. Stucki, Family History Journal of John S. Stucki: Handcart Pioneer of 1860 (Pyramid Press, 1932), 53-54; Jacob Hamblin, Jacob Hamblin: a narrative of his personal experience, as a frontiersman, missionary to the Indians and explorer, disclosing interpositions of providence, severe privations perilous situations and remarkable escapes (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1881), 94
[3] Inter-Tribal Council, NUWUVI, 111.
[4] James G. Bleak, The Annals of the Southern Mission: A Record of the History of the Settlement of Southern Utah (Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 522.
[5] Anthony W. Ivins, Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins 1875-1932 (Signature Books, 2013), 105-107.
[6] The actual name of this Band is See’veets eng which means “whitish earth people,” referring to the whiter dirt on the Shivwits Plateau. Shivwits is a broken English version of their name.
Shanandoah Martineau Anderson. "Interview with Shanan Marineau," Interview by Susannah Nilsson, The Washington County Historical Society, November 16, 2018, Audio, Utah Tech University Library Digital Collections, 4, https://digital.library.utahtech.edu/items/show/1071.;
Inter-Tribal Council, NUWUVI, 112.
[7] Ivins, Cowboy Apostle, 106.
[10] Inter-Tribal Council, NUWUVI, 114.
[11] Inter-Tribal Council, 115.
[12]"Shebit School Removal," Salt Lake Herald-Republican (Salt Lake City), July 3, 1903, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers, https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s69w1m4w.;
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Annual Reports of the Department of the Interior for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1904: Indian Affairs Part 1. Report of the Commissioner, and Appendixes. (Washington: Government Printing Office:,1905), 41, 345-47, https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/T-21936.pdf.;
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Annual Reports of the Department of the Interior for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, Indian Affairs Part 1. Report of the Commissioner, and Appendixes (Government Printing Office: Washington, 1904), 19, 330-31, https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/T-21935.pdf.;
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior (Government Printing Office: Washington, 1908), 41, https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/T-21940.pdf.;
Courtney Tanner, "Paiute Tribe Confirms Bodies of 12 Children Buried at Former Boarding School Site in Southern Utah," Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), July 11, 2023, https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2023/07/11/paiute-tribe-confirms-bodies-12/.
*Some of these reports indicate that the school started Oct. 2, 1900, the first few years are likely referring to a school on the Shivwits Reservation in Washington County. On June 30, 1903, Linda B. Work, School Superintendent, indicated that the school would be moving to a new home in Panguitch, Utah later that year. See above 1903 Report, 330-31. Closing due to poor health was reported in Courtney Tanner's Salt Lake Tribune Article.
[13] “Paiute Tribes Respond to USU Confirmation of Graves at the Panguitch Indian Boarding School ,” shivwits.org, July 11, 2023, https://shivwits.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Joint-Press-Release-re-Panguitch-Boarding-School-07.10.23.pdf.
[14] “Paiute Tribes Respond to USU Confirmation of Graves at the Panguitch Indian Boarding School.”
[15]United States Congress, Report with respect to the House resolution authorizing the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to conduct an investigation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, (Washington: G. P.O, 1954), 86, 432.
[16] Inter-Tribal Council, NUWUVI, 116-118.
[17] Bureau of Indian Affairs, Social and economic survey of Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, Indian Peaks and Cedar City Bands of Paiute Indians (U.S. Gov. Print Office, 1968), Utah Tech University Special Collections and Archives, 9, 12-17.
[18] Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act, Pub. L. No. 96-227, H.R.4996, (1980), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-94/pdf/STATUTE-94-Pg317.pdf#page=1.
[19] Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Water Rights Settlement Act, H. Rept. 106-743, H.R. 3291 (2000), https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/house-bill/3291/text.;
Shivwits Band of Paiutes. “Shivwits Band History,” accessed May 6, 2023, https://shivwits.org/shivwits-band-history/.
Images
George Cannon, Photo of the old school on the Shivwits Reservation, March 20, 2010, Washington County Historical Society, WCHS-00659, used by permission, https://wchsutah.org/photos/wchs-00659.php.
Chris English, Near Ivins, UT: Shivwits Geology, 2011, June 16, 2011, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Near_Ivins,_UT,_Shivwits_Geology,_2011_-_panoramio_(1).jpghttps://wchsutah.org/photos/wchs-00659.php.
Shivwits Indian School, undated, Utah Tech University Special Collections & Archives, Glenn and Laura Snow Collection, WASH065-09-25-002. https://archives.utahtech.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/19754.
Shivwit Shelters P.4, undated, Utah State Historical Society, Classified Photograph Collection, used by permission, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=449890&q=shivwit+shelters.