Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre Ute

 

Ouray was chief of the Uncompaghre Ute Band.  He was also chosen by the United States Government as being the lead person with whom to negotiate in terms of treaties.  The Uncompaghre generally lived in the mountains of central Colorado.  They would also venture onto the plains to hunt buffalo.  They saw there territory decreased on a couple of occasions, but still held most of western Colorado.  However an incident occurred in which the White River Utes attacked the BIA agency and killed the agent and several workers.  They also kidnapped several women.  Ouray and the Uncompaghre were not involved.  In fact Ouray arranged for the return of the women.  For whatever reason, this incident put into play a move to remove all the Utes from Colorado.  Ouray negotiated with the government to make the best deal he could.  There was some hesitance on the Native American part because Ouray received a stipend for his efforts from the government.  A deal was struck to remove the Uncompaghre to Utah.  However signatures were needed to ratify the treaty.  After obtaining the signatures from his own band, he traveled to the Southern Band to get signatures, and died en route, August 1880.  A negotiator bribed Utes for the remaining signatures and the Uncompaghre were removed to the Uintah Ouray Reservation in 1881.   Ouray never lived on the reservation that bears his name.

Chipeta wife of Ouray

 Chipeta is the wife of the Ute Chief Ouray.  She was his confidant and adviser.  She was born Kiowa APache but was raised with the Utes in Colorado.  She was always an advocate for peace in negotiations between the Utes and the U.S. government.  She influenced her husband a great deal.  She attended many tribal councils with her husband.  Women were usually not accepted at tribal councils but Chipeta was always welcome.  She also attended a peace conference in Washington D.C.  After the negotiations of 1880 the Uncompahgre Utes were forced to leave Colorado by the U.S. Army.  They had not taken part in the Nathan Meeker affair but were caught up in it anyway.  Ouray passed away before they were forced to move, but Chipeta was forced to Utah.  She felt betrayed by the government.  They had promised her a house like what she had in Colorado with Ouray.  She was given an unfinished home so returned to living in a teepee.  

1880 peace commission to Washington, Chipeta on right next to Ouray.  Carl Schurz is also seated.  This peace commission resulted in the removal of the Tabeguachi/ Uncompahgre Utes and the White River Utes from Colorado.

Ute Elder: Unca Sam

 Unca Sam visited Washington D.C. as a Native American representative when the White River were forced out of Colorado after the Meeker affair.  Unca Sam was instrumental in getting $1,000,000 from the federal government for their loss.  He was a hunter, warrior, fur trader and diplomat.  His bust in on display at the Utah State Capitol Building.  The bust was done by Millard F. Malin.  After traveling to Washington he lived a long and peaceful like on the Uintah Ouray Indian Reservation where he passed away at 106 in 1938.  

Ute Legend: Skinwalker

The Ute legend or myth of the Skinwalker is shared with the Navajo Tribe.  The skinwalker is a half man half animal (wolf, coyote fox or bear).  They may be shape shifters, changing their form.  I assume I heard this story from George Glines, a coworker in Roosevelt and native to the basin.  It seems sightings of the Skinwalker were quite frequent.  These would generally start in the north, White Rocks, follow the White Rocks highway, Fort Duchesne, Randlett, and then Ouray.  The sightings would vary in time making it seem like the Skinwalker was on the move.  I never heard stories of their attacking anyone.  

As I look online it indicates the Skinwalker is a Navajo phenomena.  However there is talk of the Navajo putting a curse on the land, or the Utes placing a curse.  At any rate there were bad feeling between the two groups.  This may have been how Skinwalker Ranch was started.  They say the Utes avoid this area.

Ute Legend: The Basket Lady and the Man with the Hat

When working in Duckwater, I worked some with the school kids to physical education and other activities.  We presented the story of the Basket Lady and the Man with the Hat.  This was a Ute legend.  The story was a precautionary one about minding your manners and not being too loud.  Mom and grandma have to be away and tell the children that they should be good and not make too much noise or the Basket Lady will get them.  Of course they are too loud, and the woman with a basket gathers them all and puts them in the basket.  Apparently she is taking them home for a nice dinner.  However the man with the hat rescues them.  He tosses his hat at the witch which captures her.  He rescues the kids and they return home much better mannered.  This is the picture of the Basket Lady.  

Native American Biography: Black Hawk: Ute

Black Hawk-Ute Indian Chief

When the Ute Indian Chief, Black Hawk, died on September 27, 1870 near Spring Lake and was buried by his tribe in a nearby ravine, there was laid to test a man designated by Brigham Young as “The most formidable foe amongst the Redman” that the pioneers had encountered in many years.  These words were prompted by the memory of Chief Black Hawk’s part in Utah’s worst Indian war which ended in 1867.

The war commenced in April 1865 at Manti, Sanpete County.  Three years later, when the Indians were finally brought to terms, 51 settlers had been killed and 25 settlements abandoned in 5 counties.  The seriousness of the Indian depredations was such that during the three-year war, over 4700 men of the territorial militia were called into service.  Expenses incurred during the war were in excess of one and one half million dollars.  Although scattered Indian raids continued into the summer of 1868, theBlack Hawk War was regarded as officially closed in 1867.

The years 1865 to 1867 were by far the most intense of the conflict. Latter-day Saints considered themselves in a state of open warfare. They built scores of forts and deserted dozens of settlements while hundreds of Mormon militiamen chased their elusive adversaries through the wilderness with little success. Requests for federal troops went unheeded for eight years. Unable to distinguish “guilty” from “friendly” tribesmen, frustrated Mormons at times indiscriminately killed Indians, including women and children.   Utah State Division of State History, https://heritage.utah.gov/history/uhg-black-hawk-war

Book Review: The Great Basin Indians

The Great Basin Indians: Daily Life in the 1700s, Karen Bush Gibson, Bridgestone Books, Mankato, MN, 2006.

My only complaint about this book is I was wanting more, but when you read a children's history book there isn't more.  However a quick review of what there is.  A map shows five nations. The Goshutes are not included.  Shoshone have two groups, mostly in Utah and then in Wyoming.  Bannock are in Utah.  Paiute have two areas as well, northern Nevada and Oregon and southern Utah.  Utes are mostly in Colorado.  Washoes are in western Nevada.  

Those who lived on the desert were much influenced by the environment.  They were unable to farm due to the environment. They gathered grass seeds, nuts, berries, insects and small game. They were nomadic, and formed small groups of a few families.  Some traveled form area to area with the gathering.  Others travelled form the valleys in winter to the mountains in summer to avoid the heat. Some formed larger groups, tribes which were run by a chief or council. The decisions made included where to gather or hunt, and when to go to war.  The more eastern groups had access to buffalo, and lived in tepees.  The more western groups built wickiups from branches bark and grass.

The piñon hunt in the fall was important. There were also rabbit round ups.  Netting would be used to entrap the rabbits.  They also fished.  Some groups would smoke salmon.  Milkweed fibers were used for clothing.  Rabbit skins and buck skin would also make nice clothing.  Buffalo was often too heavy for clothing, but good for ground cover and tepees.  

This book mentions a game called kill the bone. Also round dance in Autumn with the piñon harvest and bear dance in spring.

Native American Biographies: Chief Walkara (Shoshone or Ute)

Chief Walkara was chief of the Sanpete, Timpanogos band of Indians.  There is some confusion as to whether this group was Shoshone or Ute.  Walkara means hawk in Shoshone.  This group spoke a mixture of both languages.
Walkara lead his people on a very wide migration.  He was referred to as the greatest horse thief in history.  This was a great honor among Indian people based on a society of stealing horses from one another.  Walkara's travels put him in contact with Spaniards, California Indians, Apache, Navajo and many other groups.  He gained his fame as a great horse theif by stealing many horses from the Spaniards.
With the advent of the Mormon pioneers Walkara favored driving them out of the area.  However the views of his brother, Sowiette won out.  Walkara met with Brigham Young and they negotiated a peace.  Walkara was baptized.
However, subsequent to this there was a disagreement and Walkara was involved in Walker's War.  This name refers to James Walker Ivie who killed several members of Walkara's tribe in a conflict.  This war involved raiding of several Mormon settlements.  Brigham Young asked members to move from outlying farms into forts.  However the War was short lived, and after the war, 120 members of Walkara's band were baptized into the Mormon Church.  Walkara was likely rebaptized.
Walkara died of a lingering illness, likely pneumonia, in 1855.

Sanpitch was a brother of Walkara.  He was also the father of Black Hawk.  His murder in 1866 was one of the things which sparked the Black hawk War.

Book review: Native American Scientists

Capstone Short Biographies: Native American Scientists: Fred Begay, Wilfred F. Denetclaw Jr., Frank C. Dukepoo, Clifton Poodry, Jerrel Yakel, by Jetty st. John, Capstone Press, Mankato, MN 1996.
This book may be a bit too young for my taste, but I was interested in the topic.  The five scientist presented all have some similarities, a struggle to get where they are.  Often this struggle was against their own culture, but more often against their own attitude towards education.  Wilfred F. Detenclaw Jr. had to overcome a cultural issue in his education, he was assigned to dissect a cat.  However disturbing a dead animal is taboo to the Navajo, because it will effect the animal's spirit.  Only after talking to a medicine man did he feel comfortable going ahead with the assign, because he had to learn about animals and how they work.  He is a Navajo zoologist.
Frank C. Dukepoo was the victim of a bully.  However he is Hopi, a peaceful people so he didn't fight back, but got even in the classroom.  He received five scholarships, but wasted them away with his lifestyle of non-study.  He then didn't know what to do, but a mento advised him to earn the money he needed and start over.  That he did, and he now teacher biology at a university.
Fred Begay is mixed heritage, Ute and navajo.  He didn't attend school until he was nine, a government school, where he wasn't allowed to use his language or ceremonies, nor go home for two years.  He served in the Korean War flying on rescue missions.  He became a physicists and works at the Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.  He is working on fusion.
Clifton Poodry is a member of the Seneca Tribe who was thinking of becoming a teacher, but he became so interested in genetics this became his life long pursuit.  He is a bioligist.  He works with Native American youth on pursuing science.
Jerrel Yakel is a California Indian from the Luiseno tribe.  His 8th grade science teacher sparked his interest in science when he was challenged to collect 50 bugs.  He is now a neuroscientist and studies the brain and how it works.  These studies lead to the development of medications for mental and other disorders.

Native American Biographies: Colorado Ute Chiefs: Colorow and Ouray

Colorow was chief of the Yampa Band of the Ute Nation.  The occupied the area around the Yampa River in northwest Colorado.  Colorow was large sized.  He could also be belligerent.  He had signed a couple early treaties, but was passed over when the government searched for a more conciliatory chief with whom to negotiate the removal of the Utes from Colorado.  The Yampa were combined with the White River near Meeker, Colorado.  Troops were coming to the reservation and Colorow felt their intent was to forcibly remove them.  The negotiated a halt, but the troops came anyway and were ambushed.  At the same time the agency was attacked, workers killed and women taken captive.  As a punishment the White River Band was ordered to Utah.  Colorow changed his allegiance to the Uncompaghre.  However the too were removed.  In a show of defiance Colorow and his men charged the federal line as they prepared to leave. The federal strength convinced them to pull up short.  As allows in the 1873 agreement Colorow and his month would annually return to the Yampa River area to hunt.  Colorado passed a law saying all must abide by local laws, including game laws.  Game wardens met them.  Shots were fired and a squaw camp burned with hides.  Judge before reaching Utah they were caught by the wardens and locals and a pitched battle took place.  Colorow was wounded.  Troops from Fort Duchesne arrived to escort the Indians home.  Fifteen had been killed.  Colorow would die from his wound a year later.
Ouray was chief of the Uncompaghre Ute Band.  He was also chosen by the United States Government as being the lead person with whom to negotiate in terms of treaties.  The Uncompaghre generally lived in the mountains of central Colorado.  they would also venture onto the plains to hun buffalo.  They saw there territory decreased on a couple of occasions, but still held most of western Colorado.  However and incident occurred in which the White River Utes attacked the BIA agency and killed the agent and several worker.  They also kidnapped several women.  Ouray and the Uncompaghre were not involved.  In fact Ouray arranged for the return of the women.  For whatever reason, this incident put into play a move to remove all the Utes from Colorado.  Ouray negotiated with the government to make the best deal he could.  There was some hesitance on the Native American part because Ouray received a stipend for his efforts from the government.  A deal was struck to remove the Uncompaghre to Utah.  However signatures were needed to ratify the treaty.  After obtaining the signatures from his own band, he traveled to the Southern Band to get signatures, and died enroute, August 1880.  A negotiator bribed Utes for the remaining signatures and the Uncompaghre were removed to the Uintah Ouray Reservation in 1881.   Ouray never lived on the reservation that bears his name.
Ignacio was leader of the Southern Utea.  He was a member of the Wiminuche Ute Band.  They were a semi nomadic tribe, venturing into San Juan, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.  During several treaties their area was reduced.  they first accepted a large reservation in western Colorado, which was later reduced.  Gold had been found in the area.  They finally accepted a smaller reservation in southwestern Colorado.  Ignacio's father was a medicine man.  He was killed by a man's family he had been treating when he died.  Ignacio took revenge on the family, killing all twelve members.  The southern Utes recognized Ignacio as their leader and not Ouray.  Ouray deferred to Ignacio in matters dealing with the southern Utes.  When Ouray died Ignacio was recognized as the chief for the southern Utes by the government.  They were able to stay in Colorado.