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| Utes on
horses |
Courtesy, Library
of Congress
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San Juan Skyway
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Segment 3: The Uncompahgre Utes
Standards-Based Themes: Check chart
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Summary
Archaeological records show that
people lived in the San Juan Mountain region for as many as 11,000
years before the arrival of the Caucasians. When white miners and
settlers arrived in the area in the 1800s, a group of indigenous
people known as the Utes inhabited the mountain valleys. Seeking
to conquer and transform the land, the miners and settlers had little
appreciation for the Utes and their desire to live harmoniously
with the land. The invasion of whites in the San Juan Mountains
created rapid and tumultuous changes for the Utes which eventually
led to their removal from their San Juan Mountain homeland. |
| The removal of the Uncompahgre Utes formally began
in 1868 when Chief Ouray, determined to do what he could to keep
Ute homelands in the San Juans, signed a treaty with the U.S. government.
The treaty ceded all Ute lands in what was later to become the state
of Colorado, except a portion in the west. However, eager settlers
and gold- and silver-fevered miners, desired control of the San
Juans which were not ceded under the treaty. They wanted all Ute
lands, especially the San Juans, and looked for any excuse to take
them. |
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Culture clashes and tensions between
the Utes and Caucasians finally boiled over on September 29, 1879.
In the White River region of northwestern Colorado, a group of
Ute warriors killed Indian Agent Nathan Meeker and ten male civilian
employees. It was soon known throughout the region as the “Meeker
Massacre,” and the cry of “the Utes must go” echoed
throughout Colorado.
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| With immense pressure from white settlers, the U.
S. government sought to remove the Ute people from Colorado once
and for all. In 1881, the Utes signed a treaty banishing them from
Colorado. The Treaty Commission, on which Otto Mears served, is
said to have offered $1 to each Ute who would sign on behalf of
the treaty. Mears was later charged with bribery. However, in the
company of Colorado's two senators, Mears appeared before the Secretary
of the Interior who, after hearing the explanation, told Mears to
bill the government for his “out-of-pocket” expenses. |
| With the signing of the treaty of 1881, hardship
descended on the Uncompahgre Utes when the majority of them were
moved to the Ouray Reservation in the Utah desert. Chief Ouray,
who had always believed that the Utes could accommodate the intrusion
of the white people, died in 1880. |
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Chief
Ouray and wife Chipeta
Courtesy, National Archives
Chief Ouray
was leader of the Tabeguache Band of the Ute Tribe in the mid-1800s.
Considered one of the greatest Ute leaders, he was patient, diplomatic,and
steadfast.
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Ute
woman and baby
Courtesy, Library of Congress
Chief Ouray’s
legacy is found in his deep love for his people and his ever-present
concern for their welfare.
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Chief
Ouray
Courtesy, National Archives
Ouray always
believed that problems could be solved and harmony maintained. He
counseled his large and powerful tribe to seek accomodation with
the white people.
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