Before Mormon settlement, the Shoshone,
Ute, and Paiute had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At
the time of the founding of Salt Lake City, the valley was within the territory
of the Northwestern Shoshone; however, occupation was seasonal, near streams
emptying from Canyons into the Salt Lake Valley. The land was treated by the
United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern
Shoshone was ever recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty
with the United States. The first US explorer in the Salt Lake area is believed
to be Jim Bridger in
