A documentary featuring Washington State University history professor Orlan Svingen’s research on the unratified treaty of the Mixed‑Band of Shoshone, Bannock, and Sheep Eater people will air on two PBS stations this week.
“In Good Faith” shares the story of the Virginia City Treaty of 1868. Signed by Chief Tendoy, the leader of the Mixed‑Band people in southwestern Montana Territory, the treaty was negotiated with U.S. government officials in good faith. Tendoy then ceded 32,000 square miles of aboriginal territory in 1870 for a permanent treaty reservation in central Idaho. However, the United States Senate failed to ratify the treaty.
“The facts surrounding the unratified treaty for the Mixed‑Band is a little‑known historical narrative of a tribe that has been mistreated, removed multiple times, and has lost millions of its acres without compensation. This is an important story to share,” said Svingen.