The Northern Shoshoni by Madsen, Brigham D
The Northern Shoshoni by Brigham D. Madsen is a detailed historical and ethnographic study of the Northern Shoshoni people, exploring their social, cultural, and political life in the Great Basin and surrounding regions. Madsen provides a comprehensive account of the Northern Shoshoni’s traditional lifeways, including their kinship systems, economic practices, seasonal movements, and spiritual beliefs, situating these within the broader environmental and historical context of the American West.
The book also examines the profound effects of Euro-American expansion, including the fur trade, settler encroachment, military campaigns, and U.S. federal Indian policies. Madsen highlights both the disruptions these pressures caused and the resilience of the Northern Shoshoni in maintaining cultural cohesion, negotiating treaties, and adapting to changing circumstances. The work draws on extensive archival research, oral histories, and earlier ethnographic accounts to provide a nuanced portrait of the tribe over time.
The Northern Shoshoni serves as both a scholarly resource and an accessible narrative, offering insights into the complexities of Native American survival, adaptation, and identity. It is essential reading for historians, anthropologists, students, and general readers interested in the history of the Northern Shoshoni, Great Basin Indigenous cultures, and the broader processes of cultural change and resilience in the American West.