History Colorado

Explore information about the Ute Bear Dance.

We Are Still Here-Bear Dance

Each of the three Ute tribes has its own seal with images and icons that are important to the Tribes. The government of each tribe is elected by the members of the tribe.

We Are Still Here-Government

The government established two boarding schools for Ute children, including one at Ignacio in 1902 and one at Towaoc in 1906.

Reservation Life-Boarding Schools

By the 1880s, the white settlers had caused the Ute bands to separate and live on three reservations. 

Reservation Life

The Ute Indian Tribe lives on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Fort Duschesne, Utah. It is the second largest Indian reservation in the U.S., and covers over 4.5 million acres. The tribe oversees 1.3 million acres of land. The tribe’s membership is 3,022 people. Over half of the membership lives on the Reservation. The Ute Indian Tribe are descendants of the Tabeguache, Yamparica, Parianuche, Uintah, Cumumba, Tupanawach, San Pitch, Pah Vant and Sheberetch bands.

We Are Still Here-Uintah and Ouray Reservation

Horses were important for trade. Ute bands were connected to each other through a trade network that stretched to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Southwest, the Great Basin, and the plains.

Hides for Horses

Ute Timeline after European Contact

We Are Still Here-Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

The Ute people have oral traditions going back thousands of years—that explain that their origin was possibly right here in Colorado. 

Ute Creation Story and Origins

Draw and label where the 3 Ute tribes are located.

Many Bands, One People: Ute Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Southern Ute Tribe

Ute people are the longest continuous residents of Colorado and are still here today. Explore the history of the Ute people-CO's oldest inhabitants.

Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation

Utah American Indians: Curriculum and Digital Archive    

Ute Indian Tribe - Uintah & Ouray Reservation

Ute Tribal Paths

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U.S. History

Since they were no longer allowed to leave the reservation to hunt game and gather plants, most Utes relied on rations of food and supplies provided by the US Government. This ration ticket from 1870 would have been redeemed at an Indian Agency or warehouse for things like flour, beef, and sugar.

This ration ticket is made of a beige piece of heavy rectangular shaped paper, with the top two corners cut off. There is black printing in various fonts on one side of the ticket. There is a brass eyelet at the center top.

This item was found in Chief Ouray's desk (H.5830.1) in the second drawer.

Ration Ticket, Ute

This pouch, made between 1880 and 1890, shows traditional beadwork patterns. It also shows the materials that Utes were able to trade or collect on the reservation. Tokens and jinglers, made from the rolled up pieces of Tobacco tins, decorate the pouch. This pouch was used to store ration tickets.

This is a beaded leather pouch made from commercially-tanned leather and buckskin. The flap is sewn on separate. The front is fully beaded in blue and red opaque beads. The sides have two bands of yellow transparent beads. And the back is bordered in the blue and yellow beads. The beads are sewn on using lazy stitch.

On March 16, 2015 during a NAGPRA collections review, designated tribal representatives from the three Ute tribes informed History Colorado staff that this pouch may have been used to carry ration tickets, tobacco or sage, money, or other small items. This pouch may have been worn by attaching it to a belt.

Pouch, Beaded leather

Despite being confined to reservations, Ute families still cherished their traditions. Most lived in tipis or wickiups rather than in the log cabins provided by the government. Some used bows and arrows to “hunt” the cattle provided by the government instead of slaughtering them with knives.

Outdoor portrait of an unidentified Ute policeman standing with a woman and child in front of a tipi. Man wears a police badge and holds a beaded pipe bag. Woman wears a plaid dress and shawl, while boy is wrapped in a blanket. Photographed by H. S. Poley, circa 1892-1901.

Photograph, Ute Policeman

Many Utes continued to tan their own hides for clothes and gather plants they could find on the reservation for medicine. They continued to hold the Bear Dance and other traditional ceremonies. Some bands, risking punishment or armed conflict, continued to leave the reservation to visit traditional hunting grounds and hot springs throughout Colorado.

Outdoor portrait of a Southern Ute man standing next to his horse. He wears a fringed and beaded hide shirt and leggings and his horse wears a bridle, saddle, and blanket. Photographed by Horace S. Poley in 1899.

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