The Lemhi Shoshoni: Ethnogenesis, Sociological Transformations, and the Construction of a Tribal Nation

Abstract

Parameters of Social Identity A group's social identity is established on the basis of the shared belief in a common heritage. Although it is not always possible to observe directly this belief, scholars have used a number of sociological indicators to recognize a shared social identity. Among the wide array of indicators used by social scientists, a number of major variables appear repeatedly in the literature. These include: A historical continuity in social heritage, whether factual or imaginary, that is acknowledged by the group members and by members of neighboring groups; a genealogical continuity, usually rooted in kinship and ideologies; political continuity; an association with a specific "place"; and shared cultural traditions. 1 Scholars of social identity support these criteria with ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and, to a lesser extent, archaeological data. Here I use these data to examine the continuity of social identity among the Lemhi Shoshoni. I explain the formation and the perpetuation of their social identity as a consequence of "ethnogenesis" during the historic era, a period of rapid culture change. Ethnogenesis and Sociological Transformations of Tribal Nations Central to comprehending the perpetuation of an autonomous identity is understanding how tribal nations are formed, how they change once they are brought into existence, and how tribal nations must alter themselves periodically if they are going to continue through time as a distinct society. In the examination of data about tribal nations, some researchers have assumed a false homogeneity about them. Early as well as some contemporary scholars thought that tribes hold a language, a body of cultural traditions, and a phenotype that was homogeneous and coterminal. Similarly, they assume further that the historical processes that produce any branching of language, cultural tradition, and physical type occur simultaneously. In other words, tribal nations as a social [End Page 539] phenomenon is not only coterminal but cotemporal and, hence, codivergent. That is, the social evolution of tribal nations occurs in a uniform fashion under the similar historical conditions. The assumption of uniformitarianism about the social evolution of tribal societies has been addressed by Moore in his seminal article, "Putting Anthropology Back Together Again: The Ethnographic Critique of Cladistic Theory." In that article he writes: The criticisms of synthetic theory currently being developed come largely from experienced field-workers and are based on the observation that historical scenarios postulated by synthesis—in which ethnic groups split, evolve homogeneously within ethnic boundaries, then split again in a cladistic manner—simply do not seem familiar ethnographically or ethnohistorically. How many tribal societies are there in which all the members are monolingual in the same language, marry only among themselves, and are homogeneous in their traditions and material culture? 2 The answer is practically none. One only needs to examine the sociological trajectories of the Shawnee, Cree, or Aikemal O'odham to find empirical evidence that tribal societies are not synthetic, bounded, ethnic units. More to the point, the ethnogenesis of the Wyandot is a classic example to refute the notion of uniform social evolutionary history. It is an assumption that creates an illusion that distorts sociological reality. 3 Yet it is a myth that is in many respects still perpetuated today, especially in the historical literature. Contrary to these assumptions about tribal nations, recent research reveals a dramatic heterogeneity among tribal populations. Tribal societies, especially in Native North America, rarely were homogeneous. Indigenous societies hardly ever simultaneously diverge biologically, linguistically, or culturally during their histories. Rather societies emerge and re-create themselves in history through a "series of transformative episodes, during which people, cultures and languages of diverse origins join to create, new, hybrid and original ethnic constructions." 4 This process is referred to as ethnogenesis. 5 Over two decades ago, William Sturtevant introduced the notion of ethnogenesis by examining the sociopolitical processes and historical forces by which the Seminole tribal nation became differentiated from the Muskogee Creek. 6 Ethnogenesis is a...