Snake Indians is a collective name given to theNorthern Paiute,Bannock, andShoshoneNative Americantribes.
The term was used as early as 1739 by French trader and explorerPierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Verendrye when he described hearing of theGens du Serpent ("Snake people") from the Mandans. This is probably the first written mention of the Shoshone people. The term "Snakes" is also used to refer to the Shoshone by British explorersDavid Thompson andAnthony Henday.[1]
The term was also used byPlains Tribes to refer to the Shoshone. They called the Shoshone "snake" referring to the Shoshone sign inPlains Indian Sign Language for the Shoshone people. The sign was used forsalmon but the fish was unknown on theGreat Plains.[2]
This term was widely used by American immigrants on theOregon Trail in theSnake River andOwyhee River valleys of southernIdaho andEastern Oregon.[3][4] The term "Snake Indian" later included the Northern Paiute tribes found in the basins between theCascade Mountains and these valleys in Oregon and northernNevada and northeasternCalifornia. These people were the opponents of theCalifornia,Oregon, and Washington Volunteers andUS Army, in theSnake War.
From 1688-1720s, when the British Empire first came into prolonged trade contact with the Western Cree andBlackfoot, both of these groups were united in a war against "the Snake Indians" of Canada.[5] It is not clear if this term (used in this period of Canadian history) is meant to refer to theNorthern Paiute people, inaccurate, or perhaps entirely unrelated. In modernPlains Cree language, the term "kinêpikoyiniwak / ᑭᓀᐱᑯᔨᓂᐘᐠ", literally translating to "Snake Indian" refers toShoshone people.[6]
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