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Show D. Sites of Social Significance There were two major kinds of sites of social significance. On the one hand, there are places associated with older settlements of Utes that have cultural value. And on the other hand, there is the general location of a fort with social importance in the history of the Uinta Basin at large. D. l Settlement Areas One Ute consultant ( 4.4) suggested that people could receive knowledge from the places where their ancestors had once settled, and for this reason, these places should not be disturbed, and another ( 3.1) was concerned about old settlement areas because unmarked burial grounds were sometimes found in their vicinity. One of the settlement areas of special concern is where the cabins and remains of the White River band's old village are located along the west banks of the Whiterocks River north of the bridge that connects the towns of Whiterocks and Tridell ( 3.1; 4.1; 4.2). Again, the considerations about this place involve not only the historical memories that the place evokes but also spiritual concerns about the burials located in its immediate surroundings ( Appendix E. l). Although none of the consultants mentioned any special considerations about settlements along the Uinta River, there may very well be specific locations of importance among members of the Uintah band. This is deduced from the fact that the Uinta- ats name derives from this river and their heavy dependence on the fisheries associated with it ( Smith 1974a: 331; Conetah 1982: 76). Indeed, some of the oldest and continuous settlements of Utes in the Uinta Basin, reported in historic documents, are associated with the higher benches of this river ( Auerbach 1941: 40; Creer 1947: 74- 76). Another area is the Cottonwood Creek canyon area and below the cliffs along the Yellowstone Feeder Canal. This is an area where certain Ute families camped and grazed cattle in the early reservation years, and where some of their ancestors are buried ( 1.2; 3.1). In the 1930s, this area of the reservation also became the location of a large CCC camp ( 1.2; 4.2). And finally, there is an area just west of the confluence of the Yellowstone and Lake Fork rivers that has long been a favorite camping site for the Utes. In the first half of the twentieth century, this was a favorite location for some Utes to establish base camps and spend their summers. The main camps were set up on the river bottoms where women, children, and the elderly spent time gathering the prolific supplies of berries in the region, while men herded cattle and other stock on higher ranges along the Yellowstone and at Towanta Flats ( 1.3; 3.1; 4.3). In more 98 |