The 544,000 acre Fort Hall reservation near Pocatello is now home to the Shoshone-Bannock tribes, also known as the Sho-Bans. Shoshone-speaking Indians use to roam all the territory south of Salmon River in what is now the State of Idaho. They have also been called "Snake Indians" and "Shoshoni." The word should be prounounced "sho-SHO-nee." The Shoshone on the Fort Hall reservation are known as the Northern Shoshones, as opposed to the Western Shoshones of Western Nevada and Utah and the Eastern Shoshones of Wyonming.
In the 18th century, Northwest Pauite Indians, now known as the Bannocks, moved into southern Idaho from eastern Oregon when they acquired horses. Their culture is more closely associated with the Eastern Shoshones, but they interacted with the Northern Shoshone on hunting trips and eventually intermarried, to become what are now known as the Shoshone-Bannocks. The Fort Hall reservation also includes the Lemhi Shoshone, who would like to be recognized as a separate tribe and return to their native land near Salmon. One of the most famous Lemhi Shoshone was Sacajawea, one of the guides for Lewis and Clark.
The Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 set aside 1.8 million acres for the Shoshones. The Bannocks were promised a separate reservation, but were never given one. Subsequent government orders, including one that created the city of Pocatello, have diminished the Fort Hall reservation to 544,000 acres. Today the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Business Council, made up of seven elected tribal members, manages the affairs of 2500 Sho-Bans.
There is high unemployment on the reservation, but the tribes are trying to develop their own businesses, which currently include a grocery store, restaurant, bingo hall, buffalo herd and museum. They are also known for their annual public powwow, which hundreds of Indians and non-Indians alike attend.