Editing Boise, Idaho (section)

===Discovery of gold and silver===
The decline of the California gold rush prompted white settlers to search for gold elsewhere, including much of [[Idaho]]. The 1860 discovery of gold in [[Nez Perce]] territory near [[Pierce, Idaho]] and the resultant arrival of settlers raised tensions significantly.<ref name="KTVB">Holmes, Brian. “During the Gold Rush, Idaho City Became the Largest City in the Northwest.” ktvb.com, August 2, 2021. [https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/208/during-idaho-territory-gold-rush-idaho-city-became-largest-city-northwest-pacific/277-c9202682-1ca6-4ca9-afdb-6067e751d125 Link].</ref> In September of that year, the [[Utter Party Massacre]] happened about 100 miles Southeast of Boise, where 29 out of a group of 44 settlers were either killed or captured in an intense and organized ambush.

The discovery of gold around the Boise valley in 1863, together with ongoing fighting prompted the US Military to establish a new Fort Boise, where Boise is located today. The new location was selected because it was near the intersection of the Oregon Trail with a major road connecting the Boise Basin ([[Idaho City, Idaho|Idaho City]]) and the [[Owyhee River|Owyhee]] ([[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]]) [[mining]] areas, both of which were booming. That year, the United States established [[Idaho Territory]], whose boundaries included this region. After a year, with the creation of [[Montana Territory]], Boise was made the territorial capital of a much reduced Idaho in a controversial decision which overturned a district court ruling by a one-vote majority in the territorial supreme court along geographic lines in 1866. There was no treaty and no agreement with any of the native tribes up to this point, and the violent resistance against incursion and settlement onto their territory along the Oregon Trail and at the newly-found gold mines continued unabated. In order to resolve the matter of ownership and sovereignty over land, [[Caleb Lyon]], the second governor of Idaho, negotiated with the Boise Valley [[Northern Shoshone|Shoshone]] Tribe, and concluded the "Treaty of Fort Boise" on October 10, 1864.<ref>Idaho State Historical Society. “Text of the Treaty of Fort Boise, October 10, 1864.” [https://cfw.nwcouncil.org/Content/Committees/Members/meetings/2011_0310/IdahoHistoricalRef-No91_TextOfTheTreatyOfFortBoise_10oct1864.pdf Link], September 1865.</ref> This treaty stipulated that the tribe will give up lands to 30 miles on each side of [[Boise River]], land upon which Boise is located, while allowing an equal right to fishing in the river to both the Shoshone and the settlers. The treaty has not been ratified by the US senate to this date, and the tribe hasn't ever received any treaty payments.<ref>“CALEB LYON OF LYONSDALE AND THE BOISE CLAIM.” Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series, December 1974. [https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/0022.pdf Link].</ref>

Backlash from the perceived friendliness of [[Caleb Lyon]] in his dealing with the tribes led to an escalation of pressure and agitation among the White Settlers in Boise and the print media in the city, in demanding either genocide or removal of the tribes. Settler violence against Boise Valley native tribes increased considerably, with some going as far introducing bounties to murder any native.<ref name="idaho powers">Myers, Daniel. “An Archival Review and Ethnographic Study for the Relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex Hydroelectrical Plants.” Idaho Power, July 2001. [https://docs.idahopower.com/pdfs/relicensing/hellscanyon/hellspdfs/techappendices/Cultural/e04_12.pdf Link].</ref> ''[[Idaho Statesman]]'', the daily newspaper of Boise, which started publishing in 1864, reflected many such incitements and demands:

{{blockquote|...that the military should continue killing Indians 'until the last Indian in the Territories was either on his reservation or enriched the sagebrush with his decaying carcass.' ...if the Indians refused to move there, 'they will be killed or put on the reservation by force, and certainly shot if they don't stay there.' Furthermore, the editor continues, 'The idea that the Indians have any right to the soil is ridiculous. ...They have no more rights to the soil of the Territories of the United States than wolves or coyotes...'|David B. Madsen's quotation of the opinion column in ''Idaho Statesman'' on July 29, 1867|<ref name="idaho powers"/>}}
{{blockquote|This would be our plan of establishing friendship upon an eternal basis with our Indians: Let all the hostile bands of Idaho Territory be called in (they will not be caught in any
other manner) to attend a grand treaty; plenty of blankets and nice little trinkets distributed among them; plenty of grub on hand; have a real jolly time with them; then just before the big feast put strychnine in their meat and poison to death the last mother's son of them.|A "Letter to the editor" that was printed in the ''Idaho Statesman'' newspaper on October 6, 1867|<ref name="idaho powers"/>}}

At the same time, native warriors around the valley, under the leadership of Howluck also known as "Bigfoot" among white settlers, among others, waged an escalating and intensified guerrilla campaign of harassment of passerby caravans along the Oregon Trail. The [[United States Army]] also escalated and intensified "punitive expeditions" against formations of warriors and against civilian communities as well. This marked the start of the "unofficial" [[Snake War]] in 1866.<ref name="idaho powers"/> This war lasted until 1868, and is statistically the deadliest of the Indian Wars in the West in terms of casualties. In the end, 1,762 men were counted as the casualties of this war from both sides.<ref>Michno, Gregory, '''The Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868'''. Caldwell: Caxton Press, 2007. pp 345-346</ref>

In 1868, [[Fort Hall Indian Reservation]] was established in Southeastern Idaho, about 220 miles upstream, according to the terms of [[Fort Bridger Treaty Council of 1868|Fort Bridger Treaty]]. The Boise Valley [[Northern Shoshone|Shoshone]] and [[Bannock people|Bannock]] Tribes were not party to this treaty. Nevertheless, in April 1869, the [[United States Military]] embarked on a campaign of "Removal, rounding up of natives in the region including in and around Boise, and expelling them with cavalry escort to [[Fort Hall Indian Reservation]]. This period is known among the [[Northern Shoshone|Shoshone]] and [[Bannock people|Bannock]] people as '''Idaho's Trail of Tears'''. Some of the natives managed to escape, and they ran to either [[Duck Valley Indian Reservation|Duck Valley]] or [[Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe|Fort McDermitt]] in Nevada.<ref>Murray, Crystl. “Idaho Natives: Shoshone-Bannocks Tribes.” IDAHO NATIVES | SHOSHONE-BANNOCKS TRIBES. Accessed May 9, 2022. [http://www.buffalogirlsproductions.com/idahonatives/bannock/boise.html Link].</ref><ref>Smith, Justin. “Idaho's Trail of Tears.” Idaho State Journal, February 21, 2020. [https://www.idahostatejournal.com/opinion/columns/idahos-trail-of-tears/article_5ecbc45a-b5a2-569e-881c-60cbdde63435.html Link].</ref>