Ute Indians Essay, Research Paper

Brief History

The Ute Indian tribes are the oldest residents of Colorado. They are members of the Shoshonean family. (1)The Ute s roamed over a large areas in the Southwest. The Ute mostly lived off hunting and fishing with little farming. However they could not go that far off their territory to hunt because of other tribes who inhabited the areas and who would fight to drive them out. Their traditional enemies were the Navajo Indians who they did not get along with. (2)They speak Shashonean, which is a branch of Uto-Aztecan. The Ute s used to be one big tribe but then formed seven different bands that only met up once a year in winter.

Location

The Ute s came from the north and inhabited the mountainous areas. They are spread out all through Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. They eventually broke off into seven bands, they are the Mouache band, who lived on the eastern slopes of the Rockies and then from Denver south to New Mexico. The Capote band lived in the San Luis Valley near the headwaters of the Rio Grande and in the region of where Chama and Tierra Amarilla are today. The Weeminuche band was in the San Juan River area while the Taegauache lived in the Gunnison and Uncompahgre valleys. The Yamparicas band inhabited the Yampa River Valley. Lastly the Uintah Utes lived in the Uintah Basin, which included the Great Salt Lake Basin.

Government

For their government, since the Ute s each had their own band of people each band had their own group leader. But later on when they began to come together into larger groups they had one tribal leader or chief. They also have people in charge of things like hunting and gathering food.

Traditions, Dances, Food

Every year in the winter the tribal families would all come together and hold big festivities. At this time of the year is when most of their marriages would take place. (3)Every year four days into the early spring they would all come together and hold the Bear Dance. It was the most cultural and ancient of all the dances of the Ute. After this all the bands would prepare to go there separate ways again until the next winter when they would come together again. The meat they eat includes antelope, deer, elk, and other animals. They also eat wild berries and fruits, corn, and squash.

Culture

The culture for the Ute s involved many dances and celebrations. There most popular one was the Bear Dance where all the bands came together to enjoy it. It started after they heard the first thunder of the spring. People danced and sang like they had been waiting to do all winter. (4) The women s job was to prepare the clothes for the family for the dance. They also had the Sundance, which took place in the summer. This dance is the most spiritual dance for the Ute s. During the dance the dancers must perform a dance of a vision that came to them during a dream. (5) The Ute s also have pow-wows, which is another time when they come together and have festivities.

Work Cited

(1). Encyclopedia, Wonderful World of Knowledge, Volume XI.

(2). Internet, SouthernUteIndianTribe.com

(3) Internet, SouthernUteIndianTribe.com

(4) Encyclopedia, Wonderful World of Knowledge, Volume XI

(5) Internet, SouthernUteIndianTribe.com