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Show Years of Loss, Years of Adjustment, 1882-1933 133 be allowed to hunt in their traditional lands without proper licenses. The controversy flared closer to home in 1926. The Federation of Uintah Basin Game Clubs complained to the Utah State Department of Fish and Game that: . . . during the last two or three years, the Indians have almost entirely depleted the Uinta Basin of beaver, thus interfering seriously with the irrigation of the Basin as well as the natural and artificial propagation of trout in these streams.43 The People contended that they had a right to fish, trap, and hunt on the reservation and on lands which were formerly owned by the tribe such as the Uinta Forest Reserve.They pointed out when they had full "control of the country, game and fish were plentiful, and that it is the encroachment of the whites with their methods and customs of slaughter that has caused the depletion and near extinction of game and fish."44 The People suggested that: "... all white people should be prohibited from fishing and hunting within the boundary ... of the reservation."45 The situation has yet to be resolved. Chipeta The death of Ouray's widow, Chipeta, in 1924, initiated a strange series of events which demonstrated the guilt some whites felt about the history and conditions of the Ute People. After Ouray's death in 1880, Chipeta had been removed to the Uncompahgre Reservation in Utah with the other members of her band. Although she had lived in a well furnished house, like most of her people on the new reservation she now lived in a tipi. She had given away or left behind the many furnishings in her Colorado house â€" including the thousands of dollars worth of silver objects which had been given her on her many trips to Washington, D.C. She adopted a simpler, more traditional way of life in Utah. Chipeta continued to be a respected leader. She took care of orphaned children and was a noted artisan, maintaining the traditions of her people. She also fought for their rights. She protested the 1884 survey of the Uncompahgre Reservation which cut the People off from Colorado. She continued to travel there. Much of the livestock stolen by the posse in 1887 belonged to her. |
