NARRATIVE: Sagwitch Timbimboo was a 19th-century chieftain of a band of Northwestern Shoshone in the Great Basin region. As tribe leader and orator, he continually worked to broker peaceful coexistence with European-American settlers who moved steadily into his people's territory.

Tensions did erupt at times as people competed for sometimes scarce resources. On January 29, 1863, Chief Sagwitch and his tribe were ambushed in southern Idaho by a group of voluntary soldiers led by U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Edward Connor. The ambush came to be known as the Bear River Massacre and is one of the deadliest atrocities in the history of the Western United States. Approximately 400 Shoshone adults, children and infants were killed. Sagwitch was injured but survived the massacre along with three of his sons and a daughter, but his wife and two stepsons were killed.

In 1873, Sagwitch joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along with about 100 members of his tribe. He credited his faith as the source of strength that allowed him and his people to forgive and find hope. “Because he continually fought for a peaceable solution, he and his tribe ended up having a future,” said Scott R. Christensen, historian and author. (Source: "Sagwitch" by Scott Christensen, 1999, Utah State University Press Publication)