<P> They traditionally speak the Shoshoni language, part of the Numic languages branch of the large Uto - Aztecan language family . The Shoshone were sometimes called the Snake Indians by neighboring tribes and early American explorers . </P> <P> Their peoples have become members of federally recognized tribes throughout their traditional areas of settlement, often colocated with the Paiute and Washoe peoples of the Great Basin . </P> <P> The name "Shoshone" comes from Sosoni, a Shoshone word for high - growing grasses . Some neighboring tribes call the Shoshone "Grass House People," based on their traditional homes made from soshoni . Shoshones call themselves Newe, meaning "People ." </P> <P> Meriwether Lewis recorded the tribe as the "Sosonees or snake Indians" in 1805 . </P>

What kind of home did the shoshone live in