Ute people
Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau
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The Utes call themselves Núuchi-u, meaning “the people.” The word “Ute” first appears in Spanish documents as Yuta, though its original source is unknown. They are an Indigenous people whose traditional lands span the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau across present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico, and historically included parts of Wyoming, eastern Nevada, and Arizona. Their language is the Ute dialect of Colorado River Numic, a branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family closely related to Shoshone.
By 1500 CE, the Utes had settled in the Four Corners region. They lived in nearly a dozen nomadic bands that gathered for ceremonies and trade, exchanging goods with neighboring tribes such as the Pueblo peoples. The Utes first encountered Europeans in the 18th century with the Spanish, though they had already obtained horses from other tribes by the late 1600s. Direct contact with the Spanish was limited, but the Utes took part in regional trade networks.
Sustained interaction with Euro-Americans began in 1847, when Mormons arrived in the American West, followed by the gold rushes of the 1850s. The Utes fought to defend their homelands from encroachment.
In 1864, Brigham Young persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to forcibly remove Utes in Utah to a reservation. Colorado Utes were forced onto a reservation in 1881. Today, three federally recognized tribes exist: the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado.
Territory
Ancestral Utes lived in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah by 1300, following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. By the 1600s, they occupied much of what is now Colorado. The Comanches joined them in eastern Colorado in the early 1700s, and in the 19th century, the Arapaho and Cheyenne moved south into the region.
Ute territory eventually covered most of Utah, western and central Colorado, and south into the San Juan River watershed of New Mexico. Some bands stayed close to their home domains, while others ranged seasonally into Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Winter camps were set up along rivers near present-day Provo and Fort Duchesne in Utah, and Pueblo, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs in Colorado.
Colorado
Sacred sites in Colorado include Pikes Peak, called Tavakiev (sun mountain) by the Tabeguache Ute, who spent summers there and considered it a ceremonial area. The mineral springs at Manitou Springs were also sacred, where Utes and other tribes wintered and shared the waters without conflict.
Artifacts like grinding stones from Garden of the Gods suggest groups gathered after hunts to process hides and meat. The old Ute Pass Trail ran east from Monument Creek through Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs into the Rockies, allowing Utes to hunt buffalo on the plains. They wintered in sheltered mountain valleys, with North and Middle Parks in Colorado being favored hunting grounds due to abundant game.
Utah
Cañon Pintado (painted canyon) in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, holds rock art from both the Fremont people (650–1200 CE) and the Utes. Fremont carvings show corn stalks and a planting calendar using seasonal light, while later Ute images depict shields, battle victims, spears, and—by the 1800s—firearms and horses. The Crook’s Brand Site includes a horse branded by George Crook’s regiment during the Indian Wars of the 1870s. In Utah, the Bears Ears buttes and surrounding public land were designated Bears Ears National Monument in 2016, recognizing their ancestral and cultural importance to the Utes and other Native tribes.
Lore & Background
The origin of the word Ute is unknown; it is first attested as Yuta in Spanish documents. The Utes' self-designation is Núuchi-u, meaning 'the people'. Ute people speak the Ute dialect of the Colorado River Numic language, which is closely related to the Shoshone language.
Their language is from the Southern subdivision of the Numic language branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. This language family is found almost entirely in the Western United States and Mexico, stretching from southeastern California, along the Colorado River to Colorado and extending south to the Nahuan languages in central Mexico. The Numic language group likely originated near the present-day border of Nevada and California, then spread north and east. By about 1000 CE, hunters and gatherers in the Great Basin spoke Uto-Aztecan.
They are the likely ancestors of the Ute, Shoshone, Paiute, and Chemehuevi peoples. Linguists believe that the Southern Numic speakers (Ute and Southern Paiute) left the Numic homeland first and that the Central and then the Western subgroups later migrated east and north. The Southern Numic-speaking tribes, the Ute, Southern Paiute, and Chemehuevi, all share many cultural, genetic, and linguistic characteristics.
Reader's Guide
There were ancestral Utes in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah by 1300, living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Utes occupied much of the present state of Colorado by the 1600s. The Comanches from the north joined them in eastern Colorado in the early 1700s. In the 19th century, the Arapaho and Cheyenne invaded southward into eastern Colorado.
The Utes came to inhabit a large area including most of Utah, western and central Colorado, and south into the San Juan River watershed of New Mexico. Some Ute bands stayed near their home domains, while others ranged further away seasonally. Hunting grounds extended further into Utah and Colorado, as well as into Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Winter camps were established along rivers near the present-day cities of Provo and Fort Duchesne in Utah and Pueblo, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs of Colorado.
Aside from their home domain, there were sacred places in present-day Colorado. The Tabeguache Ute's name for Pikes Peak is Tavakiev, meaning sun mountain. Living a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, summers were spent in the Pikes Peak area mountains, which was considered by other tribes to be the domain of the Utes.
Pikes Peak was a sacred ceremonial area for the band. The mineral springs at Manitou Springs were also sacred and Utes and other tribes came to the area, spent winters there, and 'share[d] in the gifts of the waters without worry of conflict.' Artifacts found from the nearby Garden of the Gods, such as grinding stones, 'suggest the groups would gather together after their hunt to complete the tanning of hides and processing of meat.' The old Ute Pass Trail went eastward from Monument Creek (near Roswell) to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs to the Rocky Mountains. From Ute Pass, Utes journeyed eastward to hunt buffalo. They spent winters in mountain valleys where they were protected from the weather.
The North and Middle Parks of present-day Colorado were among favored hunting grounds, due to the abundance of game. Cañon Pintado, or painted canyon, is a prehistoric site with rock art from Fremont people (650 to 1200) and Utes. The Fremont art reflect an interest in agriculture, including corn stalks and use of light at different times of the year to show a planting calendar. Then there are images of figures holding shields, what appear to be battle victims, and spears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the Ute historically live?
By around 1500 CE they had settled in the Four Corners area, with their territory stretching across parts of present-day Utah, western Colorado, northern New Mexico, Wyoming, eastern Nevada, and Arizona.
When and where were the Utes forcibly removed?
Euro-American authorities carried out a forced removal of the Utes from Utah in 1864, followed by another removal from Colorado in 1881.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ute people (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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