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Show Intertribal Relations About 1640 the Utes were traditionally at war with the Navajo tribe to the south and the Great Plains tribes to the east. The enmity among these tribes was basically due to their location. During the summer the heat forced the Plains tribes to retreat to the foothills of the Rockies, which was an ideal location for hunting and camping, so year after year the Utes had to fight for its possession. As the Utes joined forces against the Plains tribes trespassing on their land, a dislike was established which prevented any peaceful relationships between these tribes. The Utes would not allow the Plains Indians to trespass, and the Plains tribes attacked them outside of their territory, especially on the eastern plains. The combined forces of Ute bands traveled on foot in 1600 when they went eastward into the plains to hunt buffalo. A large group was necessary for protection against enemies, and for greater safety the men, carrying large shields of hide, walked on either side of the women and children. Differences of opinion among the leaders of the Ute bands led to conflicts within the tribe itself, but such differences seemed to be of little importance since bands usually were ready to unite against the enemy. The Utes were a warlike people in the sense that they fought continually for their territorial land. Even the women sometimes played an important part in the warfare. They kept the camp equipment ready for a fast withdrawal during enemy raids. In home territory fights, some of the older women armed themselves, wore headdresses, and followed the men into battle. They scalped and took clothing and other loot from the bodies of the fallen enemy. After this they could then take part in the scalp dance to celebrate the victory. But not all the Utes' fighting was in full scale battles. They sometimes raided and then made a quick retreat to avoid involvement in a large war and thereby the risk of losing their loot and endangering their lives. These raids were usually against camps of the Plains tribes during the Ute buffalo hunts. The relationships with the Shoshone, Bannock, Paiute and Jicar-illa Apache were usually peaceful because the Utes had intermarried |