Review
Title: The Whites Want Everything: Indian-Mormon Relations, 1847-1877
(Vol. 16 in Arthur H. Clark’s Kingdom in the West–The Mormons and the American Frontier Series)
Author: Will Bagley
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK
Genre: Mormon History; Native Americans; Utah
Year Published: 2019
Number of Pages: 559
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-87062-443-8
Price: $55.00
Reviewed by Kris Wray for the Association for Mormon Letters
Will Bagley has released an incredible volume which raises the bar in studies on the relationship between Latter-day Saints and Native Americans in the Utah Territory. “The Whites Want Everything” is an outstanding compilation of sources and insight into the complex and troubling interactions between the two. Bagley is probably the western historian best suited to tackle this project. While a complicated task due to so many sources presenting a perspective advantageous to their Anglo-American authors, Bagley’s expertise and decades of research show forth throughout the book as he combs through them. Hundreds of quotations from primary and sequestered sources—often in lengthy excerpts—are weaved throughout the narrative, revealing the characters involved, and providing context to the overall tragic saga.
The founder of the religion of the Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith Jr., taught members of the Church that Native Americans were a remnant of Israelites from the old world. The conversion of Indian tribes was not only prophesied in Mormon scripture, but paramount to LDS salvation theology and the goal of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. The introduction of “The Whites Want Everything” summarizes these beliefs, in addition to laying out the background of various Native American tribes who would come into contact with the Saints in Utah, such as the Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone.
Bagley covers the initial encounters Mormons had with Native Americans when they arrived in the Great Basin in 1847. Brigham Young and his brethren had high hopes for creating an alliance with the Indians of Utah, but conflicts quickly arose, resulting in contentious relations. Latter-day Saints spreading further and further into traditional Native American areas, and consuming vital resources, led to disputes which had both sides lashing out at one another. Many Native Americans were incensed at these pale faces who moved onto lands they occupied and hunted on, justifying themselves by matter-of-factly insisting that the Great Spirit was behind it. The divinely sanctioned manifest destiny attitude of Mormon leaders fostered an outlook towards indigenous peoples which consistently left them holding the short end of the stick, even if the intention was to uplift them. LDS authorities declared themselves the fathers of the cursed Indians, and demanded their cooperation.
By 1850, Federal Indian Agents had been appointed to the Salt Lake area. With the US Government desiring to integrate the former Mexican territory inhabited by Natives and Mormons into the Union, a three-ring circus was created. Plans were made to settle Native Americans on farms where they could be managed easier, but some Indians valued their freedom over submission. Considered unruly renegades by the whites, they demonstrated their disgust by stealing animals and supplies from their would-be overseers. Violent episodes would erupt for years to come, and attempts to resolve them would follow. The author’s style of providing large chunks of the documentation he relies on is helpful in comprehending these incidents.
For instance, flare-ups such as those near Provo River in 1850 had odious results when LDS and government leaders decided to exterminate any male Natives who would not comply with orders to stop molesting white settlers. Dozens perished and Native women and children were distributed among the Saints for reeducation. To the disgust of several residents of Fort Utah, a few heads of Indian warriors were brought back for display. Some Natives observed the consequences of resisting the influx of white invaders and federal officials, or stealing their property, and chose to be on friendly terms with their ever increasing Mormon neighbors. Some were even baptized members of the Church and pitted themselves against Natives antagonistic to the Saints. Nevertheless, peace remained elusive. While the whites at times showed mercy for indiscretions, and gave gifts and food as enticement and reward, if such actions were not reciprocated with cooperation, the penalty could be deadly. And Natives fighting among each other lessened the chance of preserving their hunting grounds and way of life even further.
As Bagley demonstrates, the atmosphere continued with outbreaks of violence, peaking with the Gunnison massacre in 1853, and struggles against Wakara until 1855. Mormon leaders weary of the continuous contention preferred to align with the Natives, as they felt prophecy dictated the Indians would become the battle axe of the Lord against the Gentiles. Endeavors such as the disastrous 1854 Green River and 1855 Elk Mountain missions, along with many other men called to go to other locations and tribes throughout the Territory, show Brigham Young’s determination to make headway with Native Americans. The Mormon Reformation was getting into gear by 1856, and by 1857 one of the results in the southern settlements was the atrocious massacre of emigrants at Mountain Meadows. LDS documents speak of attempts of LDS leaders to enlist Natives in their affliction of non-Mormons at that time.
The 1858 Utah War with the US Federal Government all but put the nail in the coffin of LDS dreams of complete sovereignty, let alone victory over their non-Mormon enemies. Expectations of a Mormon-Native army fizzled along with it. 1864 began with the Bear River massacre, and by 1865 reservations for Indian settlement were designated. Of course there were Natives who found the idea preposterous and demeaning, but whites were reacting with savage force, murdering a couple dozen Paiutes in 1866. While there was some success proselytizing Native Americans over the next decade, the losses they suffered at the hands of their Mormon and Federal “friends” was evident in the short and long run.
Will Bagley has published one of the best volumes of the Kingdom in the West series with “The Whites Want Everything.” It is the best book on Mormon and Indian relations in Utah as far as I’m concerned. Not only is it a balanced and highly educational work as far as the history, and a captivating read, but one cannot digest it without feeling sadness and despair for the plight of the Native American at the hands of a people who ironically felt their beliefs, lands, possessions, culture, and dignity had been violated by non-Mormons from whence they had fled.
What I found most useful was the information Bagley brought to the table as far as Native American personalities and their feelings and actions are concerned. The reader will learn about Ammon, Arapene, Peteetneet, Sanpitch, Sowiette, Tabby, Wakara, Washakie, and a host of other lesser known Indians and whites who were part of the experience.
Yes, some Mormons had good intentions, and Brigham Young displayed kindness and friendship to Indians who were in contact with him on occasion, but there were also times when their brutality was shocking. The perspective of most Mormons, considering the religious identity views they held about Natives, did not make them immune to perpetuating the same attitude of many of their fellow Americans; namely, that the worth of an Indian life, and their culture, was less valuable than that of a white person. This is classic Bagley at his best, and as always, well worth the price.