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Show of Whiterocks on the east side of the Uinta River, but the settlements of the trappers and Utes who traded there extended beyond its site to surrounding areas. This locale was very important not only to the Utes who lived and traded there but also to other Utes and even Shoshones who came there to exchange skins and hides for European goods. For nearly a decade, until it was destroyed in 1844, it was a major rendezvous point in the region connecting major trails that led in all directions to other trading establishments in the West ( Appendix D. 2). 2. U. E Sites of Spiritual Significance Along the Uinta River from the site of Big Springs to the Sun Dance grounds at Hayden are a sequence of nearly uninterrupted resource patches which have important ceremonial uses ( Appendix E. 2.1; Appendix E. 3.2). The abundance and diversity of flora and fauna along its canyon and its high bench banks below make the Uinta River a symbolic embodiment of the natural world's life- giving forces and powers. This is acknowledged ceremonially in the use of the river's riparian resources for the Sun Dance and the health as well as spiritual renewal that it brings. This area is the preferred source for the Sun Dance's center pole, for willow, cottonwood, aspen, and pine saplings used in the conduct of the dance's ceremonies, for the clay paint of the dancers, for various medicines, and for the wood burned in the ceremonial fire ( Appendix E. 2.1; Appendix A. 1.11 Appendix A. 1.12; Appendix A. 2.1; Appendix A. 2.2; Appendix A. 2.4 Appendix A. 2.5; Appendix A. 2.6; Appendix A. 3.3; Appendix A. 3.8 Appendix A. 4.8; Appendix A. 5.2; Appendix A. 5.5; Appendix A. 5.11 Appendix A. 5.13; Appendix B. 3.8; Appendix B. 5.5; Appendix C. 2). Indeed, it can be argued that the entire area between Big Springs and the Sun Dance grounds constitutes a special and integral spiritual trail where various natural resources necessary to the performance of the Sun Dance are found and where the tasks involved in their procurement take place. It must also be emphasized that while many of these resources are found in other locations, they may not evoke the same kind of spiritual meaning and association as those collected along the Uinta River and its drainage systems. For this reason, it may very well be that much of the area along the river between Big Springs and the Sun Dance grounds is viewed as a zone that needs preservation in the interests of the Sun Dance. The vital significance of the Sun Dance to the Utes requires that special steps be taken before any further water development is planned in the Uinta Canyon and its high bench drainage system. At the very least, the Sun Dance chiefs and other elders involved in this ceremony need to be consulted and their consent given before any part of this area is disturbed. Disregard for the input and wishes of these Utes could have calamitous consequences for the future of any water development on the reservation, 20 |
