Sanpitch (Ute chief)
| Chief Sanpitch | |
|---|---|
| Born | Utah, United States |
| Died |
18 April 1866 Birch Canyon, near Fountain Green, Utah |
| Known for | Being the brother of Chief Walkara and fathering Black Hawk |
| Children | Black Hawk |
Sanpitch (killed April 18, 1866) was a leader of the Sanpits[1] tribe of Native Americans who lived what is now the Sanpete Valley, before and during settlement by Mormon immigrants. The Sanpits are generally considered to be part of the Timpanogos or Utah Indians
He was the brother of famed Chief Walkara and the father of Black Hawk,[2] for whom the Black Hawk War in Utah (1865–72) is named. In 1850, after measles from newly arrived Mormon settlers decimated their tribes, Walkara and Chief Sanpitch asked the Mormons to come to the Sanpete Valley teach the band to farm,[3] though this was met with little enthusiasm.
In March 1866, (after having fought in the Black Hawk War) as part of the ongoing disputes with the local natives, Chief Sanpitch had been taken into custody and incarcerated in the jail in Manti. Following his escape a month later, he was killed on April 18, 1866, in Birch Creek Canyon (in San Pitch Mountains, between Fountain Green and Moroni).[3][4][5][6]:188 Sanpitch's interactions with early Mormon settlers are chronicled in Gottfredson's History of Indian depredations in Utah.[6]
Sanpitch is almost certainly not the same person as the Shoshone chief of the same name who was alive in 1870.[4] The Shoshone and Utes were enemies.
Some sources indicate that he, or his grandfather of the same name, is the namesake of Sanpete County, the Sanpete Valley, the San Pitch Mountains, and the Sanpitch River. However, all of them share the origin of their names: the Sanpits people. According to William Bright, their name comes from the Ute word saimpitsi, meaning "people of the tules".[7][8]
References
- ↑ Sturtevant, William C. (1978). D'Azevedo, Warren L.; Sturtevant, William C., eds. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 340. ISBN 0160045819.
- ↑ "Interesting Black Hawk War Factoids 1847 1872". blackhawkproductions.com. Black Hawk Productions, LLC. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- 1 2 Simmons, Virginia McConnell (2001). The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico (1st pbk. ed.). Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0870816470.
- 1 2 Mackey, David (10 Jul 2014). "Sanpitch, a nearly forgotten chief". The Pyramid. Mount Pleasant, Utah: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ↑ "Timpanogos Leader Sanpitch Killed Near Moroni". blackhawkproductions.com. Black Hawk Productions, LLC. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- 1 2 Gottfredson, Peter (1919). History of Indian depredations in Utah. Salt Lake City: Skelton Publishing, Co. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- ↑ Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 419. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4.
- ↑ Fletcher, Lyle. "Where did Sanpete get its Name?". sanpete.com. Sanpete County. Retrieved 20 May 2016.