Dimick Baker Huntington was a leading Indian

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 interpreter

Interpreting

Language interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...

 in early Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

. He also commissioned the Church History Panorama of C. C. A. Christensen to use in his presentations of the gospel to the Native Americans.

Huntington was the son of William

William Huntington (Mormon)

William Huntington was an early leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , most prominently during the time the Mormon pioneers were moving from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City....

 and Zina Baker Huntington. He was born at Watertown, Jefferson County, New York

Jefferson County, New York

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 116,229. It is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America, and president at the time the county was created in 1805...

. Huntington married Fanny Marie Allen in 1830, they eventually had seven children. Huntington joined the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1835, the same year as his parents.

Huntington first enters the annals of Mormon history as the first to see Joseph Smith land in Illinois after his escape from jail in Missouri. Huntington also took Smith the four miles distance to the house where Emma Smith was staying. In March 1841, Huntington was appointed one of the constables of Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...

. In October 1841, Huntington brought the testimony that led to the excommunication of John A. Hicks, the elders quorum president in Nauvoo, for falsehood and schismatic conversation.

In 1842, Huntington was made coroner

Coroner

A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...

 of Nauvoo. After Joseph Smith's death, Huntington was among those who prepared Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Hyrum Smith

Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....

's bodies for burial and buried them in a secret location underneath the Nauvoo House

Nauvoo House

The Nauvoo House in Nauvoo, Illinois is a boarding house that Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, began constructing in the 1840s. The boarding house was never completed, but the structure was later converted into a residential home and renamed the Riverside Mansion...

.

Huntington was a member of the Mormon Battalion

Mormon Battalion

The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...

. His family had come with him and they went to Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....

. One of Fanny's children was born there on January 1, 1847.

Huntington was one of the members of Parley P. Pratt

Parley P. Pratt

Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt...

's company that explored southern Utah in 1849. Huntington was also among the first settlers of Provo, Utah

Provo, Utah

Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...

.

Huntington was the first Indian interpreter in Utah Territory. In 1855, he negotiated a peace with the Utes

Utes

Utes may refer to:*The fictional island in ARMA 2*Ute tribe, indigenous people of North America*Students of the University of Utah*Utah Utes, athletics team of the University of Utah, named after the Ute tribe...

 in the vicinity of Fillmore, Utah

Fillmore, Utah

Fillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....

.

In 1857, Huntington was closely associated with teaching the gospel to many Native Americans, and kept a journal of his activities. Among other things he recorded Brigham Young

Brigham Young

Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 ordaining Tutsegabit

Tutsegabit

Tutsegabit was a 19th century leader of the Piedes bands of the Paiute tribe.In 1857 Tutsegabit was the chief of six bands of Piedes.Some have accused Tutsegabit of being one of the people behind the Mountain Meadows massacre. However there is no evidence that he was anywhere close to Mountain...

 and elder on September 10, 1857. In 1868, Huntington was among those who negotiated the end of Utah's Black Hawk War

Black Hawk War (Utah)

The Black Hawk War, or Black Hawk's War, from 1865 to 1872, is the name of the estimated 150 military engagement between Mormon settlers in the Four Corners region and members of the Ute, Paiute, Apache and Navajo tribes, led by a local Ute chief, Antonga Black Hawk...

.

In 1874, Huntington ordained Kanosh an elder in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Huntington worked as a blacksmith and was also drum-major of the Nauvoo Legion

Nauvoo Legion

The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...

 band. He later held a similar position with a band in Salt Lake City.

For the last several years of his life, Huntington served as patriarch of the Salt Lake Stake.