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The Bear River Massacre

Question
Background Information
Archive
Teacher Resources

Central Question:

How should the Bear River massacre be remembered?

In the past the Bear River Massacre has been described in many different ways, and has even been called a battle. Today nearly everyone agrees that it was in fact a massacre. What are the essential parts of the story of the Bear River Massacre that should be remembered?

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Erected near the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre, this monument was dedicated on September 5, 1932

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Site of the Bear River Massacre courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society and the Beehive Archive
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The Battle of Bear River painted by Edmond J. Fitzgerald, located in the Preston, Idaho Post Office


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Click on each of the links below to understand more about the context of the event.

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Violence on the Bear River Document

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Hard History: The Bear River Massacre

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Utah History Encyclopedia

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These are some of the sources available to inform us about the events at Bear River. Click on each source below to read about the massacre from different perspectives. All accounts include the original version and a version simplified for student use.

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Document 1: Hans Jasperson’s Account

Salt Lake Tribune, Hans Jasperson's account published by journalist Kristen Moulton
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Document 2: Henry Woonsook’s Account

Interview of Henry Woonsook, the grandson of two Shoshone survivors

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Document 3: Patrick Conner’s Account

Report published by the U.S. War Department
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Document 4: William Drannan’s Account

Part of the memoirs of William F. Drannan
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Document 5: Casualties from the Battle

An appendix from a book called The Shoshoni Frontier and the Bear River Massacre published in 1985 by the University of Utah.
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Document 6: Sgt. William Beach’s Account

Hand drawn map of the location of the massacre and written account 16 days after the event
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Document 7: James Martineau’s Map

Map drawn by the surveyor for Cache County on January 29, 1863
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Document 8: James Martineau Account

Note written to accompany the map drawn by the surveyor for Cache County
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Document 9: Darren Parry’s Written Account

Excerpt taken from the book The Bear River Massacre: A Shoshone History
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Document 10: Darren Parry's Oral Account

Parts of an interview of Darren Parry, former Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone
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This lesson can be adapted to fulfill either a Utah History Core Standard or a US History II Core Standard. Find the resources for both classes below.

7th Grade

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Lesson Plan Outline

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Graphic Organizer

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Video Background Questions

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8th Grade

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Lesson Plan Outline

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Graphic Organizer

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Video Background Questions

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Instructions for Graphic Organizer

Teachers: You may need to simplify, adjust, or scaffold these instructions for students, depending on grade level/ability. This is just a general outline.

  1. Choose 6 sources from the archive page to analyze. (Teachers: you can add or remove rows from the table if you want students to look at more/fewer sources)

  2. In the first column, write the name of the source, the author, the date it was published, and the type of source it is.

  3. In the next two columns list the perspective of the source compared to your perspective of the information.

  4. Compare worksheets with the people around you, make sure a variety of sources have been analyzed by the people in your group. Pay attention to trends such as which responses were more commonly seen in the sources.

  5. Discuss your opinion with your group, and then answer the questions on your worksheet individually.