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    Moses Neaman (1872–1951)

    Moses Neaman, or Nihufen, was an Eastern Shoshone community leader and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.1 He was born on 1 August 1872 in Fort Washakie, Wyoming Territory, to father Onda-bow-low-se and mother Pan-da-we-itche.2 As a young boy, he was known as Eshah (Coyote) and Mumbich or Mumbitse (Owl).3 He suffered an accident that broke his leg and left him in a dire condition. His grandfather Anka-dewy-itse took him on the long journey through the snowy mountains to Baa-daa-see, a medicine place for the Shoshone. While there, he saw a vision of a “building . . . for the Lord,” which he would later recognize as the Logan Temple, atop the hill.4 The boy was miraculously healed but retained a limp for the rest of his life, thus earning the Shoshone name Nee-a-ma-ah, meaning “leaning to one side.” According to family tradition, Nee-a-ma-ah and his family stayed in Fort Washakie during his childhood.5 Later, in the mid-1890s, he apparently moved to the Washakie community in northern Utah, although he does not seem to have joined the church initially.

    For many young Shoshone men, it was common to have “short-lived, experimental relationships,” and Nee-a-ma-ah’s marital habits seemed to fit this mold.6 As a young man, he may have been married two or three times while in Wyoming.7 Around 1894, he and Annie Deweywatz began a relationship and had two children together, Willie Neaman (1895–1943) and Lucy Neaman (1897–1954), both of whom were reportedly born at Washakie.8 He first appeared in Washakie Ward records as Nea-man when he was baptized on his twenty-fifth birthday—1 August 1897—by Moroni Ward, the ward’s second Euro-American bishop.9 He subsequently adopted a variant of this name, Neaman, as his surname.10

    Neaman and Annie separated sometime after Lucy’s birth in 1897, and he started a relationship with Rebecca Widgagee (1878–1934).11 Neaman and Rebecca had at least four children together, two of whom survived to adulthood—Foster Neaman (1899–1988) and Jim John Neaman Sr. (1901–1967).12

    Around 1905, Neaman and Rebecca separated and he entered a relationship with Betsy Padzipe (1893–1909). During his marriage to Betsy, he adopted the biblical name Moses as his given name—with Mose used for short—and began using Neaman as his surname.13 Betsey and Mose had two children together, but neither survived to adulthood and Betsey passed away on 8 August 1909.14 On 15 July 1910, Mose civilly married Katie Pabawena (1876–1944), who came from a noteworthy Western Shoshone family.15 They were sealed together in the Logan Temple on 26 April 1916 and remained together until Katie’s death in 1944.16 They had five children, but only Linford Neaman (1910–1962) and Everett Neaman (1913–1975) lived to adulthood.17

    Mose cultivated land near the Washakie townsite and supported his large family as an industrious grain farmer.18 He purchased a tractor with iron wheels to maintain the farm and apparently cultivated plum trees on his land alongside the grain.19 Mose also participated in seasonal agricultural labor on other farms, like beet thinning and sheep shearing, and supplemented this income with furs and skins he sold after his hunting and trapping outings.20

    As his sons grew older, they became part of his hunting trips, and they traveled to Cache Valley each year to hunt rabbits.21 Late in life, Mose still took his grandchildren to hunt; one of them, Enid Neaman Lamelangi, remembered checking traps along riverbanks for muskrats, beavers, and weasels. They took the furs to market together and Mose bought Enid a pair of boots and a cowboy hat so she could be a “little cowboy.”22

    Although Mose never held a leadership position in the ward, he was nevertheless a pillar of the Shoshone Latter-day Saint community at Washakie. He was ordained an elder in 1907.23 In 1917, he was set apart as an acting teacher, in which capacity he visited the homes of other ward members and prepared the meetinghouse for Sunday services.24 He offered prayers and bore his testimony in hundreds of meetings throughout his lifetime on topics such as “the life of Moses,” the Plan of Salvation, and “loving always our makers.”25 His powerful testimony of the gospel resonated with grandchildren like Elva Roma Neaman Schramm, who cited his devotion to the church as the reason that the family stayed so long in Washakie instead of moving to federal reservations like Fort Hall or Wind River. She paraphrased Mose to this effect: “But I feel that I should stay here and raise my children and grandchildren here in this Church where they will grow to work hard instead of looking at money and what it can do for us.” Elva continued, expressing her admiration for the decision: “That’s one of the things I always looked up to my Grandpa. He sacrificed wealth to follow Jesus Christ. He’s always looked ahead. He seemed to see further ahead and visualize for a good purpose. He was a wise man.”26

    Another legacy that Mose left with his descendants was his passion for Shoshone culture and tradition. In seemingly every phase of life, Mose participated actively in the Sun Dance. He regularly traveled to Deeth, Nevada, and Fort Hall, Idaho, for large gatherings where he sang and danced with family and friends.27 At the Washakie Ward’s annual party in 1937, he led an “Indian dance” performed with his grandson Junior Neaman and Aaron Pubigee.28 Descendants like Elva fondly remembered nights when he sang in a “beautiful, tender voice” accompanied by a hand drum as his family danced to his singing. Mose saved stories for the weekends when children and grandchildren could listen long into the night.29

    White leaders in Washakie did not always support the syncretism between Shoshone tradition and the Latter-day Saint faith that Mose and Katie exhibited. Enid remembered Mose and Katie’s aptitude for spiritual healings and patronage of an “old time Indian Doctor,” practices white church officials called into question in 1929.30 Mose adamantly defended traditional Shoshone medicinal practices against the Washakie bishopric, led by Bishop Joseph Parry, who argued that the “Indian Doctor” could have been operating under “the Power of Satan”. The bishopric could not prove their case before the Malad Stake court, and stake officials later dropped the case.31 Mose’s belief in the church and love for his culture did not diminish as a result of the experience, although some oral traditions suggest that they let go of their healing practices after the altercation.32

    Mose remained the patriarch of the tight-knit Neaman family until his death. He cared greatly for his family and took it upon himself to act as a father figure for grandchildren like Lee Neaman.33 The Neaman family joined other Shoshone church members in working outside the community when the opportunity presented itself during World War II, but Washakie remained their home base, and the Neaman land is now held in trust by the federal government, a status that can provide tax credits and ensure that the land stays in Neaman hands indefinitely.34 Mose died of old age on 20 June 1951 at his home in Washakie.35 He was buried in the Washakie cemetery three days later.36

    Cite this page

    Moses Neaman (1872–1951), Native Saints, accessed May 28, 2026 https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/native-saints/biographies/moses-neaman

      Footnotes

      1. [1]“Moses Neaman,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      2. [2]Washakie Branch, part 2, image 468, Record of Members, 1836–1970, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (Church History Library hereafter cited as CHL); Utah Death Certificates, 1904–51, DGS 2224906, file no. 51-020049, 20 June 1951, familysearch.org. Some family traditions and historical records indicate that Moses was the son of Emma Brain, also known as Pan-da-we. A sealing record from 26 April 1926, when Moses and his wife Katie acted as proxies for his two parents—identified as Onda-bo-lous and Pan-da-we-itche—listed Pan-da-we-itche’s death date in 1892. Later, Moses participated in a sealing with Emma Tibahoo (still living), acting as a proxy for Frank Brain. This suggests that Pan-da-we-itche was Moses’s biological mother who died in the 1890s and that Moses had a close relationship with Frank and Emma Brain, thus her identification as his “Mother” in the 1910 census. Sealings for the Dead, Couples (Includes Some Living Spouses), 1884–1943, microfilm 178068, vol. N.S. A, p. 476, 26 Apr. 1916, FamilySearch Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City (FamilySearch Library hereafter cited as FSL); Sealings for the Dead, Couples (Includes Some Living Spouses), 1884–1943, microfilm 178070, vol. N.S., p. 8, 19 Sept. 1917, FSL; 1910 U.S. Census, Washakie, Box Elder Co., UT, enumeration dist. 12, p. 4A.

      3. [3]Kenneth Neaman, interview, 2001, transcript, p. [6], The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Tribal Library, available at Utah State University Digital History Collections, libraryusuaccess.preservica.com (The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation Tribal Library hereafter cited as NWBSNTL); Elva Roma Neaman Schramm, interview by Dan Kane, Rios Pacheco, and Karen Duffy, Sept. 2001, transcript, p. 2, NWBSNTL; Eastern Shoshone Working Dictionary, compiled by David Leedom Shaul, https://easternshoshone.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/eastern-shoshone-working-dictionary2.pdf.

      4. [4]Lorena Washines, Paper, p. 5, attachment in Lee A. Neaman to Nolan P. Olsen, 31 Jan. 1981, image 15, Nolan P. Olsen Papers, 1950–79, CHL; Jim John Neaman Jr., interview by Rios Pacheco, Sept. 2001, transcript, p. [2], NWBSNTL.

      5. [5]Schramm, interview, Sept. 2001, p. 3.

      6. [6]John W. Heaton, The Shoshone-Bannocks: Culture and Commerce at Fort Hall, 1870–1940 (University Press of Kansas, 2005), 82–83.

      7. [7]Moses’s granddaughter Elva Roma Neaman Schramm suggested that he was married a total of seven times during his life, with some of these marriages likely occurring while he lived in Fort Washakie, Wyoming Territory. A proxy sealing for Yaw-qu-za-po-pee (ca. 1870–ca. 1897) to Moses in 1917 provides some evidence for this. (Schramm, interview, Sept. 2001, p. 3; Sealings for the Dead, Couples (Includes Some Living Spouses), 1884–1943, microfilm 178070, vol. N.S. C, p. 9, 20 Sept. 1917, FSL.

      8. [8]Washakie Branch, part 1, image 156, Record of Members Collection, CHL; “Annie Deweywatz,” “Willie Neaman,” and “Lucy Neaman,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      9. [9]Washakie Ward Record Book, 1887–1909, image 27, CHL; “Moroni Ward,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      10. [10]Lorena Washines, Paper, pp. 5–6, attachment in Lee A. Neaman to Nolan P. Olsen, 31 Jan. 1981, images 15–17, Nolan P. Olsen Papers, 1950–79, CHL. Details between versions of this story differ, but the story above preserved the common elements of both. See also Zoey Diede, “Healing on Sacred Ground,” Liahona, Oct. 2025, United States and Canada Section, Gospel Library.

      11. [11]“Rebecca Widgagee,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org. Moses was sealed to Rebecca in 1941 after her death in 1934. Sealings for the Dead, Couples (Includes Some Living Spouses), 1884–1943, microfilm 5270226, vol. N.S. R, p. 363, 24 Apr. 1941, FSL.

      12. [12]“Foster Neaman,” “Jim John Neaman Sr.,” “[Infant] Neaman [ca. 1903–3],” and “Lucene Neaman,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org. Endowments of the Living, 1884–1957, microfilm 178054, vol. A, p. 657, 28 Jan. 1932, FSL; Washakie Ward Record Book, image 38, CHL; Washakie Branch, part 1, images 154, 156, Record of Members Collection, CHL. Washakie records contain information on all of their children together except for Abraham Neaman (1898–1898) who has a FamilySearch profile attached to Moses and Rebecca without sources (M7WB-9RZ).

      13. [13]“Betsey Padzipe,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org. The first recorded use of “Moses” was in 1907. (Washakie Ward Minutes, 1883–1910, p. 114, 27 July 1907, CHL.)

      14. [14]“Lewis Jones Neaman” and “[Infant] Neaman [1909–9],” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org; Washakie Ward Record Book, image 58, CHL; Washakie Branch, part 1, images 156, 168, Record of Members Collection, CHL; Mose was sealed to Betsey by proxy in 1916. (Logan Temple Sealings for the Dead, Couples [Includes Some Living Spouses], 1884–1943, microfilm 178068, vol. N.S. A, p. 476, 26 Apr. 1916, FSL.)

      15. [15]Washakie Branch, part 2, image 69, Record of Members Collection, CHL; “Katie Pabawena,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      16. [16]Washakie Branch, part 2, image 200, Record of Members Collection, CHL; “Katie P. Neaman,” Ogden (UT) Standard-Examiner, 17 Dec. 1944, B14; “Katie Pabawena,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      17. [17]“Linford Neaman,” “Everett Neaman,” “Della Neaman,” “Mary Neaman,” and “Louis Neaman,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org; Washakie Branch, part 1, image 169, Record of Members Collection, CHL.

      18. [18]Matthew E. Kreitzer, ed., The Washakie Letters of Willie Ottogary: Northwestern Shoshone Journalist and Leader, 1906–1929 (Utah State University Press, 2000), 150. Mose probably farmed this land for decades before acquiring it as federal trust land in 1941 when Ty-boatsy’s homestead was portioned off. (Utah Tract Books, DGS 7115138, vol. 23, p. 43, FSL.)

      19. [19]Elva Roma Neaman Schramm, interview by Paula B. Watkins, 23 Mar. 2015, pp. 125–26, CHL.

      20. [20]Kreitzer, Washakie Letters of Willie Ottogary, 46, 55, 77, 147.

      21. [21]Kreitzer, Washakie Letters of Willie Ottogary, 105, 200.

      22. [22]Enid Neaman Lamelangi and Carolyn Neaman, interview by Dan Kane and Rios Pacheco, Sept. 2001, transcript, p. 2, NWBSNTL; Enid Neaman Lamelangi, interview by Paula B. Watkins, 5 Sept. 2013, transcript, p. 54–55, CHL.

      23. [23]Washakie Branch, part 1, image 194, Record of Members Collection, CHL; Malad Idaho Stake Melchizedek Priesthood Minutes and Records, 1872–1973, First Quorum of Elders Minute Books, 1909–1973, vol. 19, image 27, CHL.

      24. [24]Washakie Branch, part 1, image 236, Record of Members Collection, CHL; Washakie Ward General Minutes, 1902–33, 1943–62, vol. 8, image 43, CHL. For the duties of acting and ward teachers, see William G. Hartley, “Ordained and Acting Teachers in the Lesser Priesthood, 1851–1883,” BYU Studies Quarterly 16, no. 3 (1976); and William G. Hartley, “‘Brethren, It’s the Last Day of the Month’: A History of Ward Teaching, 1912–1963,” Journal of Mormon History 44, no. 4 (Oct. 2018): 90–111.

      25. [25]Washakie Ward Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association Minutes and Records, 1910–20, 1931, 1935–37, 1947–49, vol. 1, p. 63, 12 Apr. 1914, CHL; Washakie Ward General Minutes, 1902–33, 1943–62, vol. 6, p. 129, 22 July 1923, CHL; Washakie Ward Historical Record and Minutes, 1930, image 7, 5 Oct. 1930, CHL; Washakie Ward General Minutes, 1902–33, 1943–62, vol. 8, p. 93, CHL.

      26. [26]Elva Roma Neaman Schramm, interview by Odessa Neaman, 9 Jan. 1990, transcript, p. 10, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.

      27. [27]Kreitzer, Washakie Letters of Willie Ottogary, 114, 166, 205, 218; see also “MIA Dance Festival Attracts Many Thousands,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), 19 June 1948, [7].

      28. [28]Washakie Ward Relief Society Minutes and Records, 1926–37, 1959–61, vol. 3, image 171, 16 Mar. 1937, CHL.

      29. [29]Schramm, interview, Sept. 2001, p. 5; Schramm, interview, 23 Mar. 2015, p. 87.

      30. [30]Lamelangi, interview, 5 Sept. 2013, p. 59; Washakie Ward General Minutes, vol. 7, p. 173, 1 Dec. 1929, CHL.

      31. [31]Washakie Ward clerk Henry Woonsook recorded the altercation in Washakie Ward General Minutes, vol. 7, image 190, 1 Dec. 1929, CHL; “Joseph Parry,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      32. [32]Lamelangi, interview, 5 Sept. 2013, p. 59.

      33. [33]Schramm, interview, 23 Mar. 2015, pp. 85–86; “Lee Allen Neaman,” Church History Biographical Database, history.churchofjesuschrist.org.

      34. [34]“The Washakie Ward”; Grant Morgan Parry, interview by Paula B. Watkins, 18 June 2013, transcript, p. 62, CHL; Lamelangi, interview, 5 Sept. 2013, p. 62; Schramm, interview, 9 Jan. 1990, p. 11. The US Department of the Interior defines trust land as “territory, whereby one party agrees to hold title to the property for the benefit of another party. Placing tribal land into a trust is the process where the Department of the Interior acquires the title to a land and holds it for the benefit of a tribe or individual tribal members.” For more information, see “Benefits of Trust Land Acquisition (Fee to Trust),” U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs, https://www.bia.gov/service/trust-land-acquisition/benefits-trust-land-acquisition.

      35. [35]Washakie Branch, part 2, image 468, Record of Members Collection, CHL.

      36. [36]Utah Death Certificates, 1904–51, DGS 4120952, file no. 51-020049, 20 June 1951, familysearch.org.