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Show Editor's Note In 1967, the University of Utah began working with the Southern Ute Tribe in the documentation of some of the memories of the oldest residents of the tribe. This pleasant relationship has blossomed into a full-blown effort to document the history of the Utes from their own point of view, using not only their own testimony but also gathering together a massive collection of documents relating to their history. In 1971, the Southern Ute Tribal Council applied to the Boettcher Foundation of Denver, Colorado, the Donner Foundation of New York City, and to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Research and Cultural Studies Development Section, for money to create a tribal history that would be of general interest, as well as a useable textbook for the schools serving the children of the Southern Utes. To write the history, the Southern Ute Tribal Council chose James Jefferson, a member of the tribe and their public relations director; Dr. Robert Delaney, of Fort Lewis College, a long time friend of the tribe and a scholar who has researched their history deeply; and Gregory C. Thompson, originally of Durango, Colorado, a Research Associate in American Indian History for the Center for the Studies of the American West at the University of Utah. I was chosen to coordinate the efforts of the group, to be responsible to report to the tribe, to assist in documentation, and to serve in an editorial capacity. I am grateful for the assignment given to me by Mr. Burch and the Tribal Council. Because Dr. Delaney and Mr. Thompson are not Indian, and are trained in the traditional disciplines of history, their writings are clearly separated from those of Mr. Jefferson who represents a more traditional tribal point of view. The first forty-five pages are the work of Delaney and Thompson. The following forty pages are the work of Mr. Jefferson. Within the section which begins with story telling on page 77, a group of sample stories illustrating the Ute Indian view of life is included. This collection of stories and legends is by no means to be considered complete or definitive, but is included as a sampling to show the spirit and type of material which forms the traditional body of Ute oral tradition. A series of maps are included to illustrate clearly and succinctly what has happened to the Southern Ute lands. The photo- iii i |
