"For me it has been, always, a foundation," says the 32-year-old mother of Gracie, who is nearly 2, and a son born in March.

She, her partner, David Reyes, and their children live in Ogden, where they've bought a home with down payment assistance from the Tribal Housing Authority.

Martinez learned to sew beads to deer hide at her grandmother Joanne Martinez's knee. She remembers her great-grandmother, Amy Timbimboo, bringing her barrettes and other small beaded gifts.

When a Ben Lomond High School social-studies teacher put Timbimboo's name on the blackboard one day, Martinez was stunned.

"I just realized there was some importance there," says Martinez. "I just knew her as my Little Grandma." Timbimboo - married to the first American Indian LDS bishop - was prominent in passing down Shoshone culture.

Martinez often attends the tribe's annual commemoration of the 1863 Bear River Massacre at the site in southeastern Idaho and believes her understanding grows as she ages.

"I like the deeper meanings," she says. "We walk in the names of many people [who died]. It's our duty," she says.

Martinez is sadden that her tribe lost much in its integration into the wider community. She and others of her generation did not learn the language, although they have carried on the beadwork tradition.

Martinez, who has worked as a waitress and nursing assistant, hopes to return to college and become a nurse once her children are older.

But an even bigger goal is to pass on to her children the culture she learned from a long line of strong, loving, uncomplaining women.

"I want to give them my grandmother's heart."

- Kristen Moulton