Sagwitch

Sagwitch (1822 – March 20, 1887) was a nineteenth-century chieftain of a band of Northwestern Shoshone that converted to Mormonism. His group were the ones killed in the Bear River Massacre. Chief Sagwitch himself was injured in the massacre but survived.

Sagwitch, whose name meant "orator", was born in 1822 on the lower Bear River, in present-day Box Elder County, Utah.

In 1873, Sagwitch was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) by George Washington Hill. The rest of Sagwitch's band, totalling about 100 people, were also baptized into the LDS Church. Sagwitch was also ordained an elder in the church. In 1875, Sagwitch and his wife were sealed in the Endowment House, an ordinance performed by Wilford Woodruff.

In 1880, Sagwitch and his band settled Washakie, Utah. They operated a farm there. They also contributed large amounts of labor towards the building of the Logan Utah Temple.

Sagwitch's son, Frank W. Warner, born Pisappih "Red Oquirrh" Timbimboo, who was largely raised by the Amos Warner family after his mother was killed during the Bear River Massacre, became one of the first Native Americans to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church. Sagwitch's grandson Moroni Timbimboo was the first Native American to serve as a bishop in the church.

A biography of Sagwitch by Scott R. Christensen entitled Sagwitch: Shoshone Chieftain, Mormon Elder, 1822-1887 was published by Utah State University Press in 1999.

References

• Encyclopedia of LDS History, pp. 1311, 1052–1053
• Christensen, Scott R. (1999). Sagwitch: Shoshone chieftain, Mormon elder, 1822-1887. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. ISBN 0874212715.