The Ute tribe, originally from New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, consisted of seven groups and were nomadic forest dwellers. The tribe was forced to relocate to a reservation in Utah in the late 1800s after conflicts with Mormon settlers. Today, the Ute tribe is found on three different reservations and has its own government, raising cattle, operating casinos, and extracting oil and natural gas.
The Ute tribe is a group of Native American Indians who originally lived in portions of what are now the US states of New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The Utes originally consisted of seven groups: Mouache, Capote, Weeminuche, Tabeguache, Grand River Utes, Yamparicas, and Uintah Utes. The Mouache and Capote groups comprise the modern Ute tribe. In the late 1800s, after a series of wars with Mormon settlers in the area, the tribe was forced by the US government to leave their ancestral lands and relocate to a reservation in Utah.
These Native American Indians were a band of nomadic forest dwellers. Since they were constantly moving, the tribe did not farm, but rather lived off whatever was available to them at the time. Ute men hunted buffalo, elk, and deer, while women gathered nuts, fruits, and insects for food. When travelling, the tribe used dog sleds to transport their belongings and mobile homes.
In the early 1600s, Spanish explorers arrived, bringing with them horses, which the Indians called “magic dogs”. The acquisition of horses meant that the Utes could travel farther and faster than before. The Indians also became more prolific hunters, resulting in the near-extinction of the buffalo in that region. The Spaniards taught the natives to raise cattle and to enslave even conquered enemies.
In the 1800s, Mormon settlers arrived in Ute territory and immediately began conflicts with the tribe. Settlers preferred to found communities and cultivate the surrounding land, while the Indians had always moved from one place to another and made use of the available resources. Mormons also wanted to call the territory Deseret rather than Utah. The only thing the two had in common was the practice of polygamy.
As the number of Mormon settlements began to increase, the hunting and grazing lands of the Ute tribe began to decline. The Indians eventually found themselves without sufficient food or clothing and began raiding settlements in an attempt to preserve their lives. These raids became known as the Blackhawk War and the Walker War. In 1861, at the request of Mormon settlers, United States President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order establishing a reservation for the Ute tribe on 2 million acres (8,094 square kilometers) of land in Utah’s Uintah Basin.
Today, the Ute tribe is found on three different reservations. The Uintah-Ouray Reservation, the second largest Indian reservation in the United States, is located in northeastern Utah and is home to 3,500 members. The Ute Mountain Reservation is found in parts of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico and is home to 2,000 members. The Southern Ute Reservation is located in Colorado, with 1,500 members.
In an effort to preserve their heritage, Indians hold two annual festivals. One, held in the spring, is called the “Beardance” because their ancestors believed the Ute tribe to be a close relative of the bear. The other, held in the summer, is known as ‘Sundance’ as the tribe’s name literally means ‘land of the sun’.
The Ute tribe also has its own government, which oversees over a million acres of land. The Utes raise cattle, operate casinos, and extract oil and natural gas. The tribe claims assets of nearly $3 billion US dollars.
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