Descendants of the Ute people control three reservations in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The 1.2 million-acre Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in northeastern Utah is the second-largest American Indian reservation. The Southern Ute Reservation in southwestern Colorado accounts for another 681,000 acres, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has 553,000 acres.
The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, headquartered in Fort Duchesne, Utah, is the homeland of the federally recognized Ute Tribe. The reservation is in parts of seven counties: Uintah, Duchesne, Wasatch, Grand, Carbon, Utah, and Emery counties. Its reservation land is split between Ute Indian allottees, the Ute Indian Tribe, and the Ute Distribution Corporation.
Some parts of the reservation are owned by non-Ute, as the tribe lost control of some of the land during the allotment process. Approximately 20,000 people reside on the reservation, although the majority of them are not American Indians.
Communities within the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation include Altamont, Altonah, Arcadia, Avalon, Ballard, Bennett, Bluebell, Bonanza, Boneta, Bridgeland, Cedarview, Crescent, Duchesne, Fort Duchesne, Fruitland, Gusher, Hanna, Hayden, Ioka, Lapoint, Leeton, Leota, Monarch, Mountain Home, Mount Emmons, Myton, Neola, Ouray, Randlett, Roosevelt, Soldier Creek Estates, Stockmore, Strawberry, Tabiona, Talmage, Tridell, Upalco, Utahn, and Whiterocks.
In southwestern Colorado, near the New Mexico line, the Southern Ute Indian Reservation (Kapuuta-wa Moghwachi Núuchi-u) is situated in La Plata, Archuleta, and Montezuma counties. The federally recognized Southern Ute Indian Tribes are made up of the Mouache, Capote, and Weeminuche bands, which were considered the Southern Utes.
Communities within the Southern Ute Indian Reservation are Ignacio, Arboles, and Southern Ute.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Wʉgama Núuchi) is a federally recognized tribe of. the Ute Nation. Headquartered at Towaoc, Colorado, the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation is in southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and a small section of Utah. Enrolled members are mostly descendants of the historic Weeminuche Band, who moved to the reservation in 1897.
Reservation lands include parts of Montezuma and La Plata counties in Colorado and San Juan County in both New Mexico and Utah. Most of the people who reside on the reservation live in Towaoc, which is the site of the Ute Mountain Indian Agency.
Historically, the Ute people inhabited an area that stretched from the Great Basin of Utah through the Colorado Plateau and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and northern New Mexico, and into the Great Plains. The Utes were known as fierce warriors who fought hard to defend their territory from hostile tribes, the Spanish and, later, the Americans.
Like many other American Indian tribes, they lived in family groupings or larger bands, and moved seasonally around a large territory. Each group of Utes had a headman, but the Utes were unstructured politically, and it was not uncommon for people to move among the bands.
Some Utes grew gardens of corn, beans, squash, or melons, but they depended more on hunting and gathering than on agriculture.
For shelter, the Utes traditionally built wickiups made of brush and supported by four poles, which were effective in providing shade and ventilation during the summer, and bark and hide were often added for insulation in the winter. In the 1700s, the use of teepees was borrowed from the Plains Indians by some Utes, although their teepees were made from elk and deer hides rather than the buffalo hides used by the Plains Indians.
The first Europeans to interact with the Utes were the Spanish, who colonized what they referred to as Nuevo México in 1598. Several Spanish accounts speak of the Utes as a warlike people. Initially, the Spanish were interested in converting and exploiting the settled Pueblo people, so it wasn't until 1765 that the first Spanish expedition to explore the land in what is now southwestern Colorado was mounted. The Utes acquired horses when some Utes took horses while escaping from Spanish captivity in Santa Fe.
By the early 19th century, American trappers and traders were coming into the area in search of the remaining beavers and other fur-bearing animals. Some, including the famous frontiersman Jim Bridger, took Ute wives.
The Utes signed their first treaty with the United States government in 1849, which was a treaty of peace that ensured free passage through Ute lands and allowed for the establishment of military posts. Although presented as a treaty of peace, it would be the means through which the removal of Utes from their land would begin. As a result, conflicts began shortly thereafter, involving the Utes, white settlers, the U.S. military, and Mormon settlers. Reservations were the end result.
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One of several component companies of the Southern Use Growth Fund, a diversified investment and business management organization owned by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, GF Private Equity Group manages private equity funds, growth equity, special situations, and venture capital funds, with a focus on those headquartered in the United States and Europe. Its management team, investment portfolio, career opportunities, and contacts are posted on the website.
https://www.gfprivateequity.com/
Created through funding from the U.S. government's Bureau of Indian Affairs as its Tiwahe Initiative, the program serves as a network hub for collaboration and coordination of tribal programs, such as public safety, health and human services, education, workforce development, and judicial service, as well as services to children, youth, and families. Thus far, it has helped to break down silos on the reservation and to fund broadband, highway safety, water, and solar services.
https://www.growingute.org/
The Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation are a federally recognized tribal group situated primarily in northern Mendocino Couty, California. The community is a confederation of people from several tribes, including the Yuki, Concow Maidu, Pomo, Nomlaki, Cahto, Wailaki, and Pit River peoples. Its governmental structure, member programs and services, enterprises, and a calendar of events are set forth, along with job opportunities, forms, and contact data.
https://rvit.org/
Published bi-weekly, the Southern Ute Drum is a community newspaper owned and operated by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado. It serves as a source of information for tribal members and the broader community, covering a wide range of topics, such as tribal news, cultural events, community updates, and other information, including stories about tribal traditions, tribal achievements, classifieds, and advertising opportunities.
https://www.sudrum.com/
The Southern Ute Indian Growth Fund operates and manages the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's businesses and investments. It oversees a portfolio of companies and investments in energy, real estate, construction, and private equity, with operations and assets spread out over fourteen states and the Gulf of Mexico. The Growth Fund, which was created in 2000, is headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado. Its business areas, management team, career opportunities, and contacts are provided.
https://www.sugf.com/
SUSS provides information technology services to support the vision, mission, and business outcomes for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and its business and governmental entities, which include the Southern Ute Growth Fund, Permanent Fund, Sky Ute Casino, and their affiliated business units, departments, and divisions. Its services and products include client and peripherals, network and infrastructure, enterprise applications, and project management. Career opportunities are posted.
https://www.southernute.com/
The Southern Ute Tribe is headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado, on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Colorado. Its address and map are provided, and its tribal council is introduced. The tribe's governmental structure and an overview of its history and culture are set forth, along with member services and programs, tribal educational and cultural programs and facilities, recreational programs, and enterprises. Visitation policies are included.
https://www.southernute-nsn.gov/
Situated on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation in Fort Duchesne, Utah, Uintah River High School provides an education compliant with state standards while remaining in touch with the traditions and culture of the Ute people. The URS board, enrollment policies, administrative and teaching staff, and parent and student resources are provided, along with an overview of its academic programs, graduation requirements, school newspaper, and contact data.
https://www.uintahriverwarriors.org/
Founded in 2015 as a division of Ute Tribal Enterprises to help reduce the Ute Tribe's overpopulated bison herd in a manner that is culturally respectful and honors the significance of American Bison heritage, the company produces meat products that are available for purchase through the website and wholesale. Bison jerky sticks, bison robes, and bison skulls are available online, with other meat products available through its wholesale program. A video gallery is included.
https://www.utebison.com/
Serving the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, the tribal court system was created to deliver impartial and efficient justice, safeguard the tribal community and its customs, values, traditions, and resources, and promote harmony among the tribal membership, strengthening the sovereign government of the Ute Indian Tribe. Its values, powers, and staff are highlighted, along with the Ute law and order code, court programs, contacts, and other information.
https://www.utetribalcourts.org/
Situated on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in northeastern Utah, the Ute Tribe has a membership of just under three thousand, more than half of whom reside on the Reservation. There, they operate their own tribal government and oversee about 1.3 million acres of trust lands, as well as several tribal businesses. Administrative and departmental contacts are provided, along with tribal enterprises, job opportunities, informational bulletins, and contacts.
http://www.utetribe.com/
Ute Indian Tribe Education Department
Focused on Ute education, culture, and community within the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Education Department provides, facilitates, or arranges tutoring and mentoring services, adult education, higher education, high school, and the revitalization of the Ute language. Each of these is featured here, along with contacts and its partnership with the University of Utah to create enrichment and educational opportunities for tribal member youth on the reservation and the UofU campus.
https://www.utetribeeducation.org/
The ULT was created by the Business Committee of the Ute Indian Tribe in 2018 to assist in the deep wounds left by the violent removal of the Ute Indian Tribe from its ancestral lands in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and its objective is to reconnect the people of these lands through engagement with other tribes, federal, state, and local governments, and traditional conservation efforts. Historical information, contacts, and reports on lands that have been restored are included.
https://www.utelandtrust.org/
UMLC is the service headquarters of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe's higher education department, which provides tribal members and other Native Americans in its service area with adult literacy programs and GED programming, vocational training, tribal scholarships, community learning projects, workforce grant initiatives and internships, career and technical education options, WIOA programs, and college coaching, each of which is highlighted, along with contact data.
http://www.utelearning.org/
Tribally owned and operated by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for more than forty years, the park is preserved with several original pictographs and petroglyphs from historical and pre-historical times. Designated as a Historical District in 1972, the site was previously occupied by various peoples, including ancestral Puebloans, Fremonts, Utes, pioneers, and ranchers. Maps of the area are displayed, and tour information, a gallery of photographs, and camping information are included.
http://utemountaintribalpark.info/
One of three federally recognized tribes of the Ute Nation, the Ute Mountain Tribe in southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and a small section in Utah, is made up of mostly descendants of the Weeminuche Band. Headquartered in Towaoc, Colorado, its tribal government, administrative offices, courts, and departments are set forth, along with member services and programs, tribal enterprises, employment opportunities, educational programs, and contact information.
https://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Environmental Programs Department
The Ute Mountain EPD is responsible for administering public health and environmental protection programs on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal lands and has developed several programs to address environmental health concerns on the reservation. Its programs and issues relating to brownfields, water, air, land, climate change, and people are highlighted, along with educational resources, biology programs, renewable energy, and emergency resources. Contacts are included.
https://www.utemountainuteenvironmental.org/
Established in 1998 with funds from the Ute Tribe's water settlement fund, the Ute Plaza Supermarket, the Plaza contains the Ute Bison Café and Deli, the Ute Crossing Trading Post, and the Tru Value Hardware Section. Its meat department features premium Ute Bison, and its produce department offers a fine local organic section. The store is managed by Ute Tribal Enterprises, the tribe's economic arm. Its location, hours, and contacts are provided.
https://www.uteplazasupermarket.com/
