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Show Utes have had about the various locations. With the cultural and historical prefaces in mind, the details of particular areas under impact are reported. A. Cultural Context When one elder consultant was asked about whether a particular area was " sacred," the response was that " All land, property is sacred. All should be shown respect" ( 2.1). The sense of the sacred as pervasiveness in the landscape, or the absence of a distinction between a sacred and secular geographic terrain, is an idea that is pervasive among American Indian peoples throughout the Great Basin ( Fowler 1986: 95- 97). Although all land and water is considered sacred, some locations are considered more special than others, places where extra respect and care need to be taken. Respect for a place is tied to many different things. A. l Environmental Concerns Respect is given to all natural resources which are a source of life for the people ( Jorgensen 1972: 175- 190; Conetah 1982: 21; Fowler 1986: 95- 97; Hultkranz 1986: 630- 631). The Uinta mountains, along with their rivers, their high bench sagebrush, grassland and riparian environments, and their downstream basins are important to the Utes as the origin of water and life, and as sources for foods, medicines and other natural materials. They are the home to deer, elk, moose, and beaver and the habitat for berries, roots, and other vegetation. The rich ecosystem of the southern Uintas has provided many different Ute bands a source of livelihood for several generations, either directly through the natural food chain or indirectly through the provision of resources that sustain stock-raising and farming ( Sloane 1950; Smith 1974a: 46- 67; Conetah 1982: 20- 26, 132- 133, 140- 151). When the encroachment of Euro- Americans threatened Ute territories, the Utes struggled to hold onto and preserve the land and resources which had sustained them for centuries. And since the formation of the Uintah- Ouray Reservation in 1861, the bands which originally resided in the Uinta Basin and those which were later brought there have fought hard to maintain their sovereignty and jurisdiction over the lands and resources contained within its boundaries ( Jorgensen 1964; O'Neil 1968, 1971, 1973, 1979; Lyman and Denver 1970; Conetah 1982). Today, Utes still use their land and its resources to support themselves in practical ways, but they rely on it for spiritual reasons as well. Traditionally areas relied upon for hunting and gathering were not privately owned ( Steward n. d.: 45- 46; Jones 1955: 234), even though certain families by custom and continual use were associated with particular places. This is still the practice. In fact, two consultants ( 1.1; 4.1) indicated that |
