Paiutes are some of the main characters in Zane Grey’s Wild Horse Mesa. Given his relationship with Paiute individuals, I imagine he would have strong feelings about this massacre and the role of the Mormons. This article about the intended memorial tells the story of the killing of 30 Paiute men, women and children for no other reason than unfounded fear and lack of information.
By Dennis Romboy, Deseret News
Published: Thursday, April 14 2016 12:45 p.m. MDT | Updated: Thursday, April 14 2016 10:46 p.m. MDTAn artist’s rendering of a new memorial that will mark a dark but rarely mentioned moment in Utah history when Mormon settlers slaughtered as many as 30 Paiute men, women and children in the small town of Circleville 150 years ago. The monument will be dedicated April 22, 2016.; By Sunrise Engineering
A new memorial will mark a dark but rarely mentioned moment in Utah history when Mormon settlers slaughtered as many as 30 Paiute men, women and children in the small town of Circleville 150 years ago.
CIRCLEVILLE, Piute County — A new memorial will mark a dark but rarely mentioned moment in Utah history when Mormon settlers slaughtered as many as 30 Paiute men, women and children in the small town of Circleville 150 years ago.
The massacre with guns, knives and clubs happened in April 1866 during the Black Hawk War because of unfounded fears by the settlers that the Paiute Koosharem band posed a threat, even though the two groups had been friendly.
Despite being the worst atrocity committed against Native Americans in Utah, it became a hidden chapter in state history. Paiute people know little of what happened to their ancestors. Circleville residents — none of whom are original descendants of the perpetrators — don’t talk about it.
But that is changing.
The Paiute Tribal Council, Utah Division of State History, Circleville, LDS Church Historical Department, Utah Westerners and some independent historians felt compelled to recognize the victims.
On April 22 — the suspected date of the massacre — they will dedicate a monument to the slain Paiutes in Memorial Park in Circleville. It will provide a solemn place of contemplation and commemoration to honor the victims of one of Utah’s saddest episodes.
“I think it’s going to be beautiful,” said Dorena Martineau, Paiute Tribe cultural resources director. “Hopefully the remains, the spirits of our past ancestors can come to rest.”
The Paiute Tribe wrote the inscriptions for the granite monument, which in part say, “None of us can ever hope to describe the emotions that these people might have felt. All we can do is honor their existence as human beings.”
“The story here is about the victims, and it’s about the process of forgetting the victims,” said Jed Rogers, a Utah state historian. “How is that we have a tragic event that very, very few people in this state know anything about. That, to me, compounds the tragedy of Circleville.”……….
The rest of the article is on Deseret News
Zane Grey and me 