Shoshoni people

Shoshone
Newe

Shoshone beaded moccasins, Wyoming, ca. 1900
Total population
(12,300 (2000))
Regions with significant populations
United States ( Idaho,  California,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Utah,  Wyoming)
Languages
Shoshone,English
Religion
Native American Church, Sun Dance, traditional tribal religion,Christianity, Ghost Dance
Related ethnic groups
Bannock, Goshute, Northern Paiute, and Comanche

The Shoshone or Shoshoni (/ʃoʊˈʃoʊniː/ or /ʃəˈʃoʊniː/) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:

They traditionally speak the Shoshoni language, part of the Numic languages branch of the large Uto-Aztecan language family. The Shoshone were sometimes called the Snake Indians by neighboring tribes and early American explorers.

Their peoples have become members of federally recognized tribes throughout their traditional areas of settlement, often colocated with the Paiute and Washoe peoples of the Great Basin.

The name "Shoshone" comes from Sosoni, a Shoshone word for high-growing grasses. Some neighboring tribes call the Shoshone "Grass House People," based on their traditional homes made from soshoni. Shoshones call themselves Newe, meaning "People."

Meriwether Lewis recorded the tribe as the "Sosonees or snake Indians" in 1805.

The Shoshoni language is spoken by approximately 1,000 people today. It belongs to the Central Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Speakers are scattered from central Nevada to central Wyoming.