FORT BRIDGER — The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 became the law of the land and established peace between the Eastern Shoshoni and the Bannocks.

Lee Juan Tyler, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock business council, gave a presentation on the effects of the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868, which set up the boundaries of the Shoshone-Bannock reservation in Idaho. The original reservation was set at 1.8 million acres, but has been reduced down to a little over 500,000 acres, but payments had been made to the tribes over non-payment of some of the gas and oil royalties.

The reservation is jointly owned by the two tribes and is in the Fort Hall area. The treaty is also recognized at the treaty, which stopped the war between the Eastern

Shoshone and the Bannocks.

Tyler’s presentation was one of a series of the Wyoming Humanities presentations leading up to the sesquicentennial celebration re-enactment at the Fort Bridger State Historic Site on July 3. Tyler’s presentation was on Thursday of last week at the American Legion Hall in Fort Bridger.

Tyler traced his personal history back to some of the earlier tribe members and noted the Bannocks were a warrior tribe. He spoke of multiple tribal warfare, and realated the Bannock battles with the Eastern Shoshone, the Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Flatheads, the Crow and others. The wars resulted with the tribes driving each other from their tribal areas to other areas of land.

Pictured:Nelson Racehorse and Lee Juan Tyler of the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation of Fort Hall Idaho, sing a song of their tribe at last week’s presentation. PIONEER PHOTO/Virginia Giorgis