"In 1868, a treaty was signed with the Shoshone people establishing for them a reservation in the west central part of Wyoming Territory. In 1878, they would be joined by their longtime adversaries the Arapaho on what would become the Wind River Indian Reservation. Also in 1868, the new American president Ulysses S. Grant made a surprising move by putting religious denominations in charge of overseeing new reservations throughout the West. On April 10, 1869, “Grant’s Peace Policy” went into effect. It was also known as the “Quaker Policy” because the Quakers influenced its enactment. This new policy rewarded those tribes that settled down, took up agriculture and stayed out of the way of encroaching white settlements. Indian people who continued to live away from the reservations would be considered “hostile.” Most importantly, the policy stated, “The church groups were to aid in the intellectual, moral and religious culture and thus assist in the humanity and benevolence which the peace policy meant.” In Wyoming, The Episcopal Church received responsibility for the new Shoshone Indian Reservation. The church was never properly prepared to look after the 1,500 Shoshones who would live there. In the 1870s, the church was poor and lacked clergy. It wasn’t until 1883 that the first missionary clergyman was sent to the reservation. John Roberts was born on March 31, 1853, in Wales. His interest was serving the church in the missionary field, and he was sent to Nassau in the Bahama Islands. It was there that he was ordained to the priesthood. However, Roberts yearned for a greater challenge. His opportunity came when he met Episcopal Bishop John F. Spalding who served Colorado and Wyoming. Spalding assigned him to work with the Shoshone in Wyoming." Learn more about "The Reverend John Roberts, Missionary to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes" in the following article by Warren Murphy https://www.wyohistory.org/encycloped…/reverend-john-roberts