In the
early 19th century, the Ute occupied
W Colorado
and
E Utah
. They were fierce, nomadic warriors, who,
after the introduction of the horse, ranged into
New Mexico
and
Arizona
, menacing and sometimes destroying the
villages of the
Pueblo
. Once the Ute discovered that the Spanish were
conducting slave raids against Native Americans, they entered the market, taking
their captives to sell in
New Mexico
. Early in 1855 the Ute began to attack Mexican
settlements in the San Luis Valley of Colorado; they were put down by
U.S.
troops, and a treaty was extracted. Retaining
their hatred for their traditional enemies, some of the Ute fought with Kit
Carson during the American Civil War in campaigns against the Navajo. In 1868
they were placed on a large reservation in
Colorado
. A group of Ute killed (1879) the Indian agent
Nathan Meeker and several employees of his agency, but serious repercussions
were avoided, mainly through the peaceful efforts of Chief Ouray. By a treaty
signed in 1880 the Ute were moved from rich mineral and agricultural lands to
areas less desirable to white settlers. Today, although some Ute own land
individually, most live on reservations in
Colorado
and
Utah
; their income is derived largely from oil and
gas leases, farming, and raising livestock. In 1990 there were over 7,500 Ute in
the
United States
. Ute culture was typical of the western part
of the Plains culture area; they lived in tepees, which were frequently
decorated with brilliantly colored paintings, or in brush or sod shelters. The
bear dance and the sun dance were important features of their culture; the Ute
also became adherents of peyotism.
See W.
Rockwell, The Utes: A Forgotten People (1956); L. Tyler, The Ute
People (1964); G. Fay, Land Cessions in
Utah
and
Colorado
, by the Ute Indians,
1861—1899 (1970).
