Teacher Resource Set

Title Ute Indian Tribe/Northern Ute People (Uintah and Ouray Reservation)

Developed by Laura Douglas, Education ala Carte

Grade Level 3-4

Essential Question How can primary sources help us learn about mistakes from the past and not make the same ones again in the future?

What social and economic decisions caused the forced migration of the Ute people?

Contextual Paragraph The Ute Tribe lives on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Fort Duschesne, Utah. It is the second largest Indian reservation in the US, and covers over 4.5 million acres. The tribe’s membership is 3,022 people. Over half of the membership lives on the Reservation. The Ute Indian Tribe are descendants of the Tabeguache, Yamparika, Parianuche, Uintah, Cumumba, Tupanawach, San Pitch, Pah Vant and Sheberetch bands. They were a nomadic mountain people and ranged throughout this area extensively, following the cycle of the seasons. The acquisition of the horse in 1640 allowed them to travel more easily over a wider range. For food, they hunted large game; gathered berries, nuts, roots and small game; and fished. For shelter, Utes built brush dwellings known as wickiups or used tipis. The family was, and is, the center of Ute life and includes immediate and extended family members.

The decade of the 1870s brought about numerous changes in which the US Government, through a series of agreements and legislation, removed Utes from their traditional land. After the 1873 Brunot Agreement, whites interested in mining in the San Juan Mountains continued to push Utes off the land. Chief Colorow and his followers defended the traditional Ute way of life resisting the miners and others who claimed their land.

In the spring of 1879, Colorow’s followers were pressured by local Indian agent Nathan Meeker to farm in a field they had traditionally used to race horses. Meeker misunderstood how important horses were to the Ute people and he brought about a confrontation with the band. Meeker was killed in the violence that followed. The events of 1879 were used as grounds for removing the Yamparika and Uncompahgre bands from Colorado onto a reservation in Utah known as the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Colorow and his followers left Colorado reluctantly, though he never gave up resisting the invasion of the Ute homeland by white settlers.

The National Register Nomination form for the Ute Memorial Site is located at: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=cc284250-c10f-44d0-827b-dbbc72c3f9fd

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Contextual Paragraph (continued)

Perhaps the most well-known Ute was Chief Ouray. He was born in 1833. His mother was Ute and his father was a Jicarilla Apache. Chief Ouray grew up near Taos, NM, near white settlers, so he learned to speak English. Chief Ouray joined the Tabeguache band of Utes in western Colorado during his teens, and became a chief by distinguishing himself in battle against the Arapahos. Chief Ouray worked very hard to keep his people out of war and helped them preserve their tribal identity, though he could not preserve their homeland.

Chief Ouray’s second wife, Chipeta, was highly respected by both whites and Utes. Chipeta was born a Jicarilla Apache but was raised by the Utes. During her life, Chipeta used diplomacy to try to achieve peace with the white settlers in Colorado as they continued to encroach on Ute lands. Following the violence of 1879, Chipeta traveled with Chief Ouray to Washington, D.C. to testify before Congress when he worked to negotiate a treaty regarding reservation resettlement. Chipeta was respected by Ute people and was allowed to attend meetings of the council where no other Ute woman was ever accepted.

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Resource Set

Native American (Ute) women and children sit in front of a tepee, 1911

Maps of Shrinking reservations

Portrait of Native American Utes and whites in Washington, DC, 1874

Studio Portrait of Ute Chief Colorow, 1887

Ute men at Ignacio, CO, May 24, 1925

Native American Land Theft Sale, by Bureau of Indian Affairs Agents, 1911

From left to right, Mrs. John Marshall (Meadow Lark), Kate, daughter of Luke Snow, Chipeta, widow of Chief Ouray, Scoop, Mrs. John Patterson, To-wee (Emma Naylor Buck), wife of Chief Buckskin Charlie, and Lucy Thompson. Blankets and headdresses hang over the tepee entrance.

Allotment policy drastically reduced the tribes’ land ownership.

The Ute tribal lands in Colorado went from 600,000 acres to a mere 73,000, and the lands in Utah shrank from 4,000,000 to 360,000 acres.

After the 1873 Brunot Agreement was signed, Ouray, subchiefs, and white friends were brought to Washington, DC.

“Front row, left to right: Guero, Chipeta, Ouray, Piah, second row: Uriah M. Curtis, Major J. B. Thompson, Gen. Charles Adams, Otto Mears; back row: Washington, Susan, (Ouray's sister) Johnson, Jack and John.”

Chief Colorow, a Native American (Ute) man is wrapped in a woven blanket and wears a decorative necklace.

Photographed by William Henry Jackson.

Photograph of eight Ute men in traditional dress on horseback in front of a frame building on the Consolidate Ute Indian Agency at the reburial of Chief Ouray.

The men who served as pallbearers are identified on the verso of the photograph as, left to right, Nanees (George Norris), Joseph Prince, Buckskin Charlie (Charley), McCook, Pevaga, Pegary, and Antonio Buck.

United States Department of the Interior advertisement offering 'Indian Land for Sale.’ The man pictured is a Yankton Sioux named Not Afraid Of Pawnee.

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Note: Photographer's stamp embossed on print.; Title inked on back of print.; Vintage photographic print.; Written on back of print: "Indians-Utes Biog.-Group Chipeta etc."; R7001701112

Prior to the arrival of the horse, Ute people were more nomadic and lived in structures like the wickiup. After the horse arrived, the Utes used horses to carry their belongings. They could carry more trade goods on horses than on foot. The Utes also could live in larger, more comfortable dwellings—tipis (like the one seen here), which were too heavy to carry before they had horses.

The original Ute domain (prior to westward expansion) stretched across Colorado and Utah, and into New Mexico and Arizona. The Treaty of 1868 was signed by all seven Ute bands and created a protected reservation covering 20 million acres in western Colorado In exchange for all the land ceded to the United States, the Ute people received food in the form of rations, trade goods, and livestock.

The 1873 Brunot Agreement took the San Juan Mountain mining area and other traditional Ute homeland. By 1972, Ute reservations covered only 433,000 acres.

The Brunot Agreement of 1873 was between the Ute people and the US government. This agreement took 3.7 million acres of land from the Ute Reservation in western Colorado and opened it up to mining the San Juan Mountains. As expansion into Colorado continued, Utes and white Coloradans continued to disagree and in 1881, most of the northern Ute bands were forced to move to Utah.

Colorow was a leader among the White River (or Yamparika) band of Utes. He and his followers defended the traditional Ute way of life and resisted miners and other white settlers who claimed their land.

Among the items of traditional ceremonial attire they wear are feather headdresses, hair pipe chokers and breast plates, a squash blossom necklace, medals, a staff, and rings.

The sign on the building behind them reads: "Consolidated Ute Indian Agency." Two Euro-American women stand behind them on the porch of the building.

The Dawes Allotment Act of 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into sections of 160 acres (called allotments) for individual Indians.After assigning 160-acre allotments to each Ute family, the US government placed the remainder of the reservation in the public domain for sale and settlement. White settlers snapped up most of the acreage.

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http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/20053/rec/31

http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/utes/utes_home.html#reservationlife

under Allotment

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/19793/rec/159

http://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal/Portal.aspx?component=BasicSearchResults&record=e16a07b2-956a-4c43-a22d-ee460c2c9a2f

http://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal/Portal.aspx?component=BasicSearchResults&record=2e1d53e7-64f7-4b91-9827-b9ddd3aed0f3

http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/utes/utes_home.html#reservationlife

under Allotment

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Group performing Bear Dance c. 1900

Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation

Reservation Life Ouray and wife (Chipeta) 1870-1880

Dawes Act or General Allotment Act

Bridle

Group of Ute men and women performing the Bear Dance on the Uintah Reservation, Utah. Two lines face one another with men on one side and women on the other. Clothing includes blankets, hats, beaded belts, leggings, and moccasins. Photographed by Hall circa 1900. Call #:2000.129.246.

This flag illustrates the Great Seal of the Ute Indian Tribe.

A complete description of the flag can be accessed below.

Traditional Ute wickiups had freestanding conical frames and were covered with skins, brush or bark. After the Utes acquired the horse, they began building more elaborate structures including larger bison hide-covered tipis.

History Colorado collection, Call #: HC 10027426

Studio portrait of Native American (Ute) Chief Ouray and his wife Chipeta.

Approved on February 8, 1887, "An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations," known as the Dawes Act, emphasized severalty, the treatment of Native Americans as individuals rather than as members of tribes.

This is a headstall (bridle) for a horse. This belonged to Chipeta.

A complete description can be accessed at the URL below. Call #: E.1853.1

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In Ute, the Bear Dance is mama-kwa-nhká-pú, or the “woman-step dance,” because women choose their partners. The couples dance to Ute songs sung by the men, who accompany themselves by rubbing notched sticks called moraches, or “growlers.” Moraches are supposed to resemble the sound of bear claws scratching a tree. Music, gambling, sporting contests, and feasts complement the dance.

The twelve feathers symbolize the twelve original Ute bands. Mountain peaks outlined in brown symbolize the original Uintah Valley reservation boundaries.

The sports teams of the University of Utah are named in honor of the Ute Tribe. During Native American Heritage Month, the University of Utah football team wears the seal of the Ute Tribe on their helmets to acknowledge the history of the Ute Tribe.

Despite being confined to reservations, Ute families still cherished their traditions. Most lived in tipis or wickiups, like the one seen in this photo, rather than in the log cabins provided by the government. Some used bows and arrows to “hunt” the cattle provided by the government instead of slaughtering them with knives.

Chief Ouray wears braids, a choker necklace, a fringed buckskin shirt with probably beaded details, pants, leather boots, and a woven blanket attached at the waist. Chipeta wears a buckskin dress with fringe at the sleeves and hem, possibly a leather cummerbund, and moccasins.

American Indians who accepted allotments of 160 acres per family and lived separately from the tribe would be granted United States citizenship. The US government encouraged American Indians to give up tribal life and assimilate.

The Muache and Capote accepted allotment and lived on lands in the eastern half of the Southern Ute Reservation. The Weeminuche retained the western half --renamed the Ute Mountain Reservation--as a tribally owned entity.

Horses were the most important part of Ute economy and, were the most valuable trade item. Horses were also prized possessions and companions. Ute people often adorned their horses in beads, woven cloth, silver and paint, and decorative saddle, reins and other tack.Horse racing became an important endeavor among Ute bands; the faster the horse, the greater its trade value. Men owned the horses, and a man who had fast race horses was able to provide well for his family.

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http://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal/Portal.aspx?component=BasicSearchResults&record=e7abe6e1-9da0-4cf2-8abb-767ad847396b

http://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal/Portal.aspx?component=BasicSearchResults&record=b10b5290-343c-438c-b8b9-be74c6c73dc4

http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/utes/utes_home.html#reservationlife

under Reservation Life

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15330coll22/id/67541/rec/13

https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=208

http://5008.sydneyplus.com/HistoryColorado_ArgusNet_Final/Portal/Portal.aspx?component=BasicSearchResults&record=18e1b559-b35e-49bb-8159-56d3b605597d

Foundations Annotations

Curriculum Connections

History

Geography

Economics

Civics

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Curriculum Standards

CO State History Standard 2: People in the past influence the development and interaction of different communities or regions. (Third Grade)a. Describe the history, interaction, and contribution of the various peoples and cultures that have lived in or migrated to a community or

region.

CO State Geography Standard 2: The concept of regions is developed through an understanding of similarities and differences in places. (Third Grade)

a. Observe and describe the physical characteristics and human features of a region.b. Identify the factors that make a region unique including cultural diversity, industry and agriculture, and land forms.c. Give examples of places that are similar and different from a local region.

CO State History Standard 1:  Organize and sequence events to understand the concepts of chronology and cause and effect in the history of Colorado. (Fourth Grade)

a. Construct a timeline of events showing the relationship of events in Colorado history with events in United States and world history.c. Explain the cause-and-effect relationships in the interactions among people and cultures that have lived in or migrated to Colorado.d. Identify and describe how major political and cultural groups have affected the development of the region.

CO State History Standard 2: The historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas and themes in Colorado history and their relationships to key events in the United States. (Fourth Grade)

b. Describe interactions among people and cultures that have lived in Colorado.

CO State Geography Standard 2: Connections within and across human and physical systems are developed. (Fourth Grade)a. Describe how the physical environment provides opportunities for and places constraints on human activities.b. Explain how physical environments influenced and limited migration into the state.c. Analyze how people use geographic factors in creating settlements and have adapted to and modified the local physical environment.

CO State Economics Standard 1: People respond to positive and negative incentives. (Fourth Grade)b. Give examples of the kinds of goods and services produced in Colorado in different historical periods and their connection to

economic incentives.

CO State Civics Standard 1: Analyze and debate multiple perspectives on an issue. (Fourth Grade)b. Provide supportive arguments for both sides of a current public policy debate.

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Content and Thinking Objectives

Students will be able to:● use primary sources to learn about the past.● consider social and economic reasons that led to the forced migration of the Ute people.● compare information from a variety of sources about the same topic.● present information to classmates orally and visually.

Inquiry Questions, Activities and Strategies

Inquiry ActivitiesLook at the different types of shelter found in the resource set. Discuss the evolution of these shelters from the wickiup, to the tipi, and finally to the housing on the reservations. Discuss the importance of the materials used to build them, the role the horse played in shelter and how the Ute people kept their cultural traditions while living on the reservation.

Explore the geographic locations of Ute peoples prior to westward expansion. Discuss their seasonal migration, the importance of the land and water, travel for food gathering and replenishing of game and plants, and the changes brought about with the introduction of the horse. Use the resource set, this website (http://exhibits.historycolorado.org/utes/utes_home.html) and other research to provide evidence.

Assessment Strategies

Depending upon how one uses the resources and which standards are chosen, assessment can take many forms. For example:

CO State History Standard 2 (a) (Third Grade) Research and discuss historically significant Ute peoples and the contributions/impacts they have made.

CO State Economics Standard 1 (b) (Fourth Grade) Trade was a key component in the lives of the Ute people prior to European colonization. Divide into small groups to research produced and traded goods and technology. Include the importance of the horse and domesticated animals, the well-developed system of trails, including widespread transcontinental intertribal trade routes, and cultural practices such as the Bear Dance.

CO State Civics Standard 1 (b) (Fourth Grade) Divide the class into small groups of three to four students and ask them to debate with other groups on sensitive issues from different perspectives that relate to the Ute people both today and in the past. Topics could include: westward expansion and manifest destiny; school mascots; warfare and treaties; and forced assimilation policies, reservations and boarding schools.

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Other Resources

Web Resources

National Register of Historic Places Homepage: http://wwww.nps.gov/nr

Rocky Mountain PBS Colorado Experience “The Original Coloradans”: http://video.rmpbs.org/show/colorado-experience/episodes/?page=4

Colorado Encyclopedia: https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/northern-ute-people-uintah-and-ouray-reservation

YouTube video of “The Original Coloradans” (29 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWLdijamdcQ&feature=youtu.be&t=21m40s

Ute Indian Tribe Homepage: http://www.utetribe.com/

Ute Indian Tribe Political Action Committee: http://utepac.com/

Ouray’s History Timeline: http://www.ouraycolorado.com/about-ouray/history

Utah State Historical Markers and Monuments Database: https://heritage.utah.gov/apps/history/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=1607

Secondary Sources

Joey Bunch, “Meeker Massacre forced Utes from most of Colorado, but the attack was a backlash,” Denver Post (Denver, CO), Oct. 15, 2012. http://blogs.denverpost.com/library/2012/10/15/meeker-massacre-forced-utes-colorado-attack-backlash/4274/

Fred A. Conetah, A History of the Northern Ute People, ed. Kathryn L. MacKay and Floyd A. O’Neil (Fort Duchesne and Salt Lake City: Uintah-Ouray Ute Tribe, 1982).

Jan Pettit, Utes: The Mountain People, 3rd ed. (Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 2012).

The Ute Indian Museum: A Capsule History and Guide (Denver: History Colorado, 2009).

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Preservation Connection

Ute Memorial SiteUS Hwy. 550, two miles south of MontroseNational Register 2/26/1970, 5MN.1841 https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=cc284250-c10f-44d0-827b-dbbc72c3f9fd

The site includes approximately thirteen acres of Ute Chief Ouray’s original ranch lands. The area is grassy and planted with gardens. A small state museum operated by History Colorado (formerly the Colorado Historical Society) is located on the site. Within the museum are exhibits and articles pertaining to the Ute Indians, and specifically Chief Ouray. Also located on the site, near the museum, is the grave of Ouray's second wife, Chipeta, and her brother. Near these is the spring which Ouray and Chipeta drew their domestic water. A concrete teepee, erected by the Colonial Dames, marks the springs.

Why is it important to preserve historic Native American lands, buildings, and artifacts?

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