Fremont pithouse

Anasazi cliff dwelling “House of Fire” near Blanding

Navajo Max Bertola On a recent trip to the Navajo Nation I had the opportunity to visit a hogan. Although I had seen them often throughout Southeastern Utah, this was my first time inside one. From the outside the hogan is a rounded shape, much like the igloo of the Eskimo, but covered with red dirt. There were no windows on the outside walls. As I entered, I was surprised by the beauty of the dwelling. I was expecting dirt walls and a poorly lit room; instead, the entire inside was lined with wood, much like being inside a cedar closet. I found out that the dirt was simply plastered onto the wood frame. Poles, five feet tall, line the walls, and above them is a framework for the ceiling which consists of poles laid on each other in a circular fashion. It was filled with light from an opening at the top of the ceiling, which was about two feet square. The hogan, because of its thick earthen walls, is cool during the heat of the summer and warm during winter. It appeared to be a perfect dwelling for such a delightful people as the Navajo.

Ute tepees

Shoshone The Shoshone, Shoshoni, or Snake are a Native American group consisting of several bands. They are closely related to the Paiutes, Comanches, and Utes and share very similar Shoshone languages. The Shoshone lived in a wide area around the Great Basin and Great Plains areas in a number of bands headed by chiefs with shifting membership. The Shoshone adopted a horse culture but had trouble competing with tribes to their east who had better access to European trade and weapons. Famous tribe members include Washakie, Sacagawea who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Pocatello whose name was used by the city of Pocatello, Idaho.

here are three large divisions of the Shoshone - the Northern, the Western and the Eastern. The Northern concentrated in eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and north-eastern Utah. The Eastern lived in Wyoming, northern Colorado and Montana. Conflict with the Blackfoot, Crow, Lakota, Cheyennes, and Arapahos pushed them south and westward after about The Western ranged from central Idaho, northwestern Utah, central Nevada, and in California about Death Valley and Panamint Valley.

Goshoutes/Southern Paiute