Before and during the historical period, the Goshute often: Hunted animals and birds, fished, and gathered insects like grasshoppers and all kinds of plants, like cattails, to eat. Ate pinyon pine nuts as an important part of their diet. Wore clothes woven from plants, with rabbitskin robes in winter.

Tooele valley soon became a major grazing ground for Mormon cattle owners from Salt Lake and Utah Valley. In 1849, the Mormons starting building permanent structures in Goshute territory, beginning with a grist mill commissioned by Ezra T. Benson.

The Goshute tribe were originally seed gathers, fishers, hunters, traders and from the Great Basin cultural group of Native Indians. The Goshutes lived in small family groups in small camps of grass houses or temporary wikiups. They spent most of their time gathering food.

The food that the Paiute tribe ate included Indian rice grass, also known as sandgrass, Indian millet, sandrice and silkygrass. Rice grass occurs naturally on coarse, sandy soils in the arid lands throughout the Great Basin. Other common names are sandgrass, sandrice, Indian millet, and silkygrass.

Goshute War. Goshute War. By early 1860 Indian-white relations in the western portion of the Great Basin were at a critical point. The Overland Stage was constantly harassed, and some of the permanent settlements were threatened. In May of that year a detachment of federal troops was sent to the area from Camp Floyd.

In some communities Paiute women wore long deerskin dresses, while in others they wore shorter skirts and poncho-like shirt. Paiute men wore breechcloths and leggings. Here is a website with some Native American breechcloth pictures. In colder weather, men would also wear buckskin shirts.

They knew which plants were good for food or could be used for medicine. Parents and grandparents taught their families the secrets of these important plants. The Goshute people did not keep horses or hunt large game very often. They added meat like rabbit and other small animals to the many different plants they ate.

Mormon settlement also displaced nearby Ute Indians, who, after 1854, were forced from their homeland around Utah Lake and began encroaching on Goshute territory. Facing competition for scarce natural resources, the Goshute responded by raiding Mormon settlements and stealing livestock.

The larger of the two is on the Utah-Nevada border at the base of the Deep Creek Mountains, while the smaller reservation is located in Skull Valley. Today, the Goshutes live on these reservations and in the surrounding communities, small in numbers and still relatively isolated from their white neighbors.

Etymology. The name “Shoshone” comes from Sosoni, a Shoshone word for high-growing grasses. Some neighboring tribes call the Shoshone “Grass House People,” based on their traditional homes made from sosoni. Shoshones call themselves Newe, meaning “People.”

The Goshutes were so adept at using all their available resources to the fullest potential, that unlike their Ute and Shoshone neighbors, they refused to keep horses.

• 1 Bows and Arrows. Ute men used bows and arrows for hunting and warfare.
• 2 Knives. The Utes, like many Native Americans, needed good knives to cut and to carve.
• 3 Spears and Shields. The Ute Indians used spears for warfare.
• 4 Nets. The net was almost as important as the bow and arrow for a Ute hunter.
• 5 Baskets.
• 6 Pottery.

Hopi Indians