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Show Hundreds of prospectors and miners moved into the San Luis Park area which was the center of the Taviwach ( Uncompahgre) hunting grounds. There were several skirmishes between the whites and the Utes. Whites agitated for relocation of all the Colorado Utes onto one reservation to be located on the lands occupied by the Taviwach and Kapota, with headquarters in the San Juan Mountains. In 1863 a major treaty council was held at Conejos with the Utes in order to convince them to move into the Four Corners area and take up farming. The largest group present was from the Taviwach band; as a result, the treaty was negotiated with them. To set the proper mood for negotiations, gifts were lavishly distributed to the Indians, and 500 soldiers were conspicuously present. The Taviwach signed the treaty. One chief noted, " Our Father in Washington has power to do what he wishes; we will obey whatever he commands." 24 The Taviwach agreed to give up lands and mineral rights in exchange for livestock, goods, and provisions. The land they gave up- most of western Colorado which included all of the mineral sites thus far discovered and most of the white settlements- they did not even occupy. A provision was also made that " any citizen of the U. S. may mine, without interference or molestation, in any part of the country hereby reserved to said Indians, where gold or other metals or minerals may be found." 25 Some of the Utes moved onto the defined reservation; most continued to travel to traditional hunting and gathering grounds as they had always done. The government failed to fulfill any of its obligations to provide supplies and education. In 1865 gold, silver, and coal were discovered in western Colorado. Miners again poured onto Ute lands. They were followed by ranchers and farmers who had heard and read the reports of rich Colorado lands. Conflicts continued between the whites and the Utes. The whites pressured the government for another treaty in which the Utes would give additional land. The Utes themselves expressed dissatisfaction with the 1863 Treaty. A preliminary treaty council was held in 1866. It failed to resolve the issues. However, in 1868 after sending a delegation to Washington D. C., the Utes agreed to a treaty. The March 2, 1868 Treaty ( also known as the Kit Carson Treaty) provided that all of the Colorado Utes would be placed on about 1,500,000 acres of land in western Colorado, known as the Confederated Ute Reservation, for their " absolute and undisturbed use and occupation." The rest of their traditional lands were to be ceded. 26 The Utes were as reluctant to sign this treaty as they had been the Treaty of 1863, but they did sign. An Indian interpreter quoted Chief Ouray as saying that the Utes signed the treaty only with the understanding that the " Government should strike out all that relates to mills, machinery, farming, schools, and going onto a reservation...." 27The Utes were opposed to settling down in one place. Tradition had taught them that to remain in one place 10 |
