Washakie (1804-1900) was a Shoshoni tribal leader who helped passengers westward and remained friends with mountain men and trappers.

An ally of the white fur trappers, traders, immigrants, and the U.S. government, Chief Washakie and the Eastern Shoshonis were instrumental in assisting the Anglo-Americans in settling the western United States. His father, Paseego, was an Umatilla or Flathead Indian; his mother was a Shoshoni, possibly of the Wind River or Lemhi band.

Shortly after his birth in Montana's Bitterroot Mountains, he was named Pinquana ["Sweet Smelling"]. Later in life, he took the name Washakie--derived from Shoshonean Wus'sik-he, variously interpreted as "Gourd Rattle," "Rawhide Rattle," or "Gambler's Gourd." Washakie did not acquire this name until he had killed his first buffalo: after skinning the buffalo and curing the hide, he made a stone-filled rattle out of a dried, pouch-like piece of the animal's skin. During battle, Washakie would...