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Fort Hall Indian Reservation | |
|---|---|
 Location of Fort Hall Indian Reservation | |
| Tribe | Shoshone-Bannock |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| County | Bingham, Power, Bannock, and Caribou |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,110.51 km2 (814.87 sq mi) |
| Website | Shoshone-Bannock Tribes |
The Fort Hall Reservation is a Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkatee[1]) in the U.S. state of Idaho. This is one of five federally recognized tribes in the state. The reservation is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain about 20 miles (32 km) north and west of Pocatello. It comprises 814.874 sq mi (2,110.51 km2) of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power, Bannock, and Caribou. To the east is the 60-mile-long (97 km) Portneuf Range; both Mount Putnam and South Putnam Mountain are located on the Fort Hall Reservation.
Founded under an 1868 treaty, the reservation is named for Fort Hall, a trading post in the Portneuf Valley that was established by European Americans. It was an important stop along the Oregon and California Trails in the middle 19th century.
A monument on the reservation marks the former site of the fort. Interstate 15 serves the community of Fort Hall, the largest population center on the reservation. The total population of the reservation was 5,762 at the 2000 census. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes has more than 5,300 enrolled members, and more than half reside on the Fort Hall Reservation. Others have moved to urban areas for work. The tribes are governed by a seven-member elected council and maintain their own governmental services, including law enforcement, courts, social and health services, and education.
The four other federally recognized tribes in the state are the Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai, Nez Perce, and Shoshone-Paiute at Duck Valley Indian Reservation.
In July 2016, the Department of Interior made offers to 536 landowners with fractional interests at Fort Hall Reservation for buy-back of lands valued at $11 million in offers.[2] This was under its Land Buy-Back Program as part of the government's settlement of the Cobell v. Salazar class action suit.[3] The land purchased will be transferred into trust for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, to restore its traditional land. About 1.5 million acres of land has been put into trust for tribes under this program.
- ^ Crum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs. University Press of Colorado. Pg. 200 doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nz00
- ^ "Landowners on two reservations see $70M from Cobell program", Indianz.com, July 14, 2016; accessed November 26, 2016
- ^ "Landowners with Fractional Interests at Fort Hall, Quinault Indian Reservations Receive $70 Million in Buy-Back Purchase Offers", July 14, 2016, Press Release, Department of Interior; accessed November 26, 2016