| OCR Text |
Show families not only have favorite locales for procuring particular resources, but that they protect their knowledge of these places as well. Today, the primary exceptions to communal use are reservation lands that are private allotments or tribal lands used by individuals under assignment. While many of the natural resources that Utes still depend upon are abundant and widely distributed over reservation and adjoining lands, certain locations are described by consultants as preferred or " choice" spots for gathering, hunting, and fishing. These choice habitats are determined by a number of different factors, including the accessibility and productivity of a site, the superior quality of its resources ( i. e., flavor, texture), its association with a familial pattern of usufruct, and/ or its proximity to areas of spiritual significance ( e. g., the Sun Dance grounds) ( 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 2.1; 4.1; 4.2; 4.3). In addition, rules and regulations established by the tribe's fish and game division define areas and seasons of use. From the interviews, more than twenty of these sites were reported, and in several instances, there was consistency between consultants in what these were and where they were located. Yet, given the guarded and private way in which knowledge about resource sites is often handled, even this listing is not inclusive of the places that are important to the Northern Ute people. There are probably many others within the region known to Utes who are outside the extended family networks of those interviewed. Most of the consultants were emphatic about not having important resource areas disturbed, either because the sites are productive and heavily used or because the Utes attach spiritual considerations to them. In hunting and gathering, the Utes are conscientious about showing their respect to the areas they use and the animals and plants taken there. They show their respect through prayer and offerings ( 1.2; 4.4; Stewart 1942: 318). This pattern is also confirmed for other native populations in the Great Basin ( Fowler 1986: 95- 96). Several consultants also lamented the careless disrespect of valued sites and the subsequent consequences for the Utes ( 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 2.1; 3.1; 4.1; 4.2; 4.3). Some even gave concrete examples of places needlessly destroyed by oversight and the failure of responsible parties to consult with knowledgeable Ute people. The destruction of valued berry- picking areas along Pole Creek and in Whiterocks Canyon by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are two examples of places that consultants believed were needlessly harmed ( 1.1; 1.2; 3.1). Within the areas under proposed impacted, there are lands held not only by the tribe but also private land allotments, and land assignments owned by the tribe on which some Ute families have private- use rights for farming and/ or stock- raising. Especially where impacted locations cross allotments and/ or assignments, the individual owners and users have |
