UTE INDIANS
The state of Utah is named after the Ute Indians. The name Ute means “sun/land of the sun”. It is the second largest Indian reservation in the United States and covers over four point five million acres. At first there were originally seven Ute clans including the Mouche, Capote, the Weeminuche, Tabaguache Parianuche Yampa or Yamparicas and the Uintah. The Ute Indians survived pretty much on wild game and fish, where as the Ute’s more near the desert would travel to find food and resources. The Ute tribe’s adapted well to their environments, always flexible and fast learners. They made baskets and skin bags for carrying their goods, as well as implements of bone, stone, and wood Extended family groups moved through known hunting and gathering territories on a seasonal basis, taking advantage of the periodic abundance of food and material resources in different places. Men and woman usually kept their hair long and braided. Their clothing however sometimes depended on the region and season. However it usually consisted of woven skirts, sandals, rabbit skin robes and leather shirts and leggings. In 1680 however the Ute tribes acquired horses from the Spanish, which increased mobility, and how they got big game. During the early twentieth century, Ute’s worked or leased their land, performed wage labor for area whites or the Indian agency, The Ute Tribes began to depend on agriculture and ranching. The Ute tribes began to lack water they needed to sustain themselves because the federal government. did not uphold their rights. Corruption of Indian Agents and their abuses caused the Ute’s to seek recourse through the courts.
