Lemhi Shoshone

The Lemhi Shoshone are a tribe of Northern Shoshone, called the Akaitikka, Agaidika, or "Eaters of Salmon." The name "Lemhi" comes from Fort Lemhi, a Mormon mission to this group. They traditionally lived in the Lemhi River Valley and along the upper Salmon River in Idaho. Bands were very fluid and nomadic, and they often interacted with and intermarried other bands of Shoshone and other tribes, such as the Bannock. Today most of them are enrolled in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho.

Traditional culture

The Akaitikka are Numic speakers, speaking the Shoshone language.

Fishing is an important source of food, and salmon, trout, and perch were staples. Piñons, Pinus monophylla, and camas root, Camassia quamash are traditional vegetable foods for the Lemhi Shoshone. In the 19th century, buffalo hunting provided meat, furs, hides, and other materials.

History

During the 19th century, the Lemhi Shoshone were allied with the Flatheads and enemies of the Blackfeet. The Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered the Lemhi at the Three Forks of the Missouri River in 1805. In the 1860s, Indian agents estimated the Lemhi population, which included Shoshone, Bannock, and Tukudeka (Sheepeaters), to be 1,200.