Utah town to memorialize Paiutes massacred by Mormons

Published April 18, 2016

A Utah town will erect a memorial to 30 men, women and children from the Paiute tribe who were slaughtered by Mormon settlers 150 years ago.

The memorial will be dedicated in Circleville on April 22, the apparent date of the dark moment in Utah history, the Deseret News reported (http://bit.ly/1qxtEhg).

The massacre was prompted by a Fort Stanford dispatch that said two formerly friendly tribal members had shot a Utah militia man. The dispatch failed to say one of the Paiutes had been shot and killed with a soldier's rifle, according to information from the Utah Division of State History.

No one was punished as a result of the massacre.

"How is that we have a tragic event that very, very few people in this state know anything about," said Jed Rogers, a Utah state historian. "That, to me, compounds the tragedy of Circleville."

Paiute Tribe cultural resources director Dorena Martineau says the tribe is grateful that it has come time to honor the victims.

"I think it's going to be beautiful," Martineau said. "Hopefully the remains, the spirits of our past ancestors can come to rest."

Rogers said the massacre should be recognized and placed in the larger context and of Utah history.

It's "something that should be reflected in our textbooks, in our general histories and in our consciousness," he said.

Private donors joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Utah Westerners in funding construction of the monument.

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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

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