The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico [Paperback]

Virginia McConnell Simmons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Using government documents, archives, and local histories, Simmons has painstakingly separated the often repeated and often incorrect hearsay from more accurate accounts of the Ute Indians.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For the Ute Indians, who have occupied parts of the present-day Four Corners area of the United States since 1000 C.E., the traditional lifestyle was that of mobile hunter-gatherers, environmentally and seasonally sensitive to their world. Simmons (The San Luis Valley: Land of the Six-Armed Cross) carefully researched and here documents how their culture was severely disrupted with the arrival of the Spanish in the late 1500s. During the following four centuries, there were further intrusions, primarily from the mostly white population that moved in and through the area, bringing firearms, alcohol, and disease, along with entrepreneurial and exploitative land-use proposals and policies. Denied access to forest and pastureland, rebelling at the forced abandonment of their lifestyle, embroiled in dissension, the Utes saw their quality of life deteriorate. Only within the last century have some Ute Indians begun to re-experience self-sufficient lives and reinvigorate valued elements of their traditional heritage. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DSuzanne W. Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology at Alfred
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Simmons movingly and accurately relates this human tragedy [of modern Ute history] even into the cultural revitalization movements of recent times." -- Choice

"Sure to become a standard reference." -- New Mexico Magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 146 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Colorado (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870816470
• ISBN-13: 978-0870816475
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #907,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Account of Ute Culture, April 29, 2006

By 

Stephen Hyatt (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico (Paperback)

A well researched history of the Ute Indians and the areas they lived in. Virginia Simmons discusses various stereotypes made by those who first encountered the Utes and sets the record straight. The Utes were an important element in the regional history of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. I found her descriptions of the adjustments the Utes had to make in various environments most interesting. If you wish to learn about nomadic Indian ways and culture this is an excellent book to read. Well written tribute to a tribe that struggled to survive the onslaught of the whiteman's culture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In-depth detail, May 28, 2011

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jz - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico (Paperback)

Did not have as many photos as I would have liked to break it up, but the details of historical events were incredible and I was able to use much of the information found in this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The mighty giants of Utah and Colorado, September 25, 2010

By 

Efrem Sepulveda "history geek" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico (Paperback)

This book is an account of the Ute Indians who were native to what is now the southwestern United States along the border who immigrated to the area around Utah and Colorado a millenia ago. The Utes are not a unified body but rather bands of different indians who spoke a similar language based on the Uto-Aztecan dialect. The story of this book touches on various events in history such as the Dominguez-Escalante expedition which was the first Spanish expedition into Colorado and Utah, the alliance of Utes with the Pueblo Indians during the revolt of 1680, the tribal conflicts between the Utes and the Comanches, Kiowa, Pawnee and Navajoes and the eventual decline with the arrival of the American anglos shortly after the events of the Mexican War of 1846-48.

The second part of the book goes into depth on the trials and tribulations as the white man approached. Once streching from from the Wasatch Range to the Front Range around present-day Denver, Ute territory was reduced over the years via treaties and depredations from white squatters to a small area of Utah and a strip along the Colorado-New Mexico state line. The book discusses various famous Utes such as Ouray and Chepeta who were instrumental in bringing their people into modern times.

The narrative is very typical of once proud indians in America who were reduced to receiving rations and dependent on other government handouts. Such treatment of people should serve as a lesson for those who think one's salvation comes from government. It is my hope that Native Americans can break free from the overbearing hand of government. Some people on the reservations think that the BIA stands for "bossing indians around."