The title of an article in Teen Vogue Magazine of July 14, 2021 is “Unmarked Graves (In Canada) at Indian Residential Schools Speak to Horrors Faced By Students.”

The Koosharem Band of the Utah Paiute Tribe knows this horror.

Near the Veterans of Foreign Wars monument in Circleville, UT is a gray stone marker that commemorates what is known as the “Circleville Massacre” with these words:

“In remembrance of the innocent who were lost in this place so long ago.  None of us can ever hope to describe the emotion that these people might have felt.  All we can do is honor their existence as human beings.” – Koosharem Band of Paiutes

The Circleville Massacre is an un-lanced sore on the collective skin of the State of Utah.  Many of the facts and timeline are generally not in dispute and are summarized by Dr. Jed Rogers for the Utah Historical Quarterly.

While the Paiute history differs from the histories told by the settlers of Circleville, Utah there is no disagreement that sometime between 21 April and 24 April 1866 thirty men, women and children; members of the Koosharem Band of Paiutes were killed, many with their throats slit.

The  general timeline and parts of the story that are not disputed (except where noted) are as follows:

In what is now known as the Blackhawk War (1865-1872) Ute Indians went to war with the settlers in central Utah. In November 1865 Ute warriors killed four settlers living in Circleville. Militia officers at Fort Sanford (between Circleville and Panguitch, UT) then decided to “take in all straggling Indians in the vicinity”–Paiutes included–primarily due to suspicion that Paiutes were in alliance with the Utes.

On April 21, several expresses sent from Fort Sanford to Circleville made claims that are disputed including: 

  • That two formerly friendly Paiutes had shot and wounded a member of the Utah militia, and 
  • Paiutes had shot and killed a member who belonged to the militia–though no militiamen had been killed, and
  • Advising that Paiutes encamped near the settlements should be disarmed. 

Settlers in Circleville met to decide what to do. They sent a messenger to the nearby Koosharem Band of Paiutes to come into town and hear a letter. Those who complied were directed into the log church meetinghouse. When the settlers told the Indians to disarm, and the Paiutes indicated reluctance, the settlers forcefully disarmed them. Men were sent to bring in the other Indians who had refused to come in the first time. One Paiute who attempted to escape was shot. These Paiutes, including women and children, were taken to an unused cellar to be held under guard. 

LDS Church Apostle Erastus Snow received a report from Circleville and instructed that prisoners should be treated kindly and let go unless “hostile or affording aid to the enemy.” But the dispatch arrived too late–except for two prisoners who escaped, and four small children, settlers massacred the men, women, and children. Reportedly the bodies were taken to the cellar of an unbuilt mill and buried in a mass grave. 

UPU requested a statement from the Koosharem Band of the Utah Paiute Tribe and received this email from Toni Kanosh, Chairwoman:

“To all our relations from the Koosharem Band of Paiutes, taken from us in the Circleville Massacre, you will forever be in our hearts and prayers. We have not forgotten our warriors, mothers and innocent children whose lives were taken so tragically on April 21, 1866. Our hope is to one day give you the proper burials you deserve through ceremony, instead of the mass grave forced upon you. We will forever remember you, as well as our Paiute children forcefully taken to residential boarding schools who never made it home. We know you are out there….somewhere waiting for us, we are calling our loved ones home, and one day with faith, love and prayers, we can all give you the respect and honor you deserve.“