This is our Place (1847-1920)
Native American tribes—Shoshones, Utes, Goshutes, Paiutes, and Navajo (Dine)—experienced staggering changes wrought by the arrival of Mormons and other Euro-Americans in Utah. After initial contact an intense native resistance and conflict as the settlers society vied for scarce natural resources. What followed was a longer period of accommodation as Native American and Euro-American cultures came to live together in relative peace, when Mormons and federal Indian agents attempted to assimilate peoples. While non-Indians had lofty goals, what ultimately occurred was the creation of blended, syncretic cultures; peoples like the Shoshones chose elements of white culture they desired yet retained many elements of aboriginal culture. Aspects of pre-1847 native organization and culture survived to be passed on to future generations. (Mark Miller)