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Show the Government could not or would not, stop the trespassers. The history of the San Juan Cession ( 1874) is indicative of the Utes' mistaken trust of the Government to enforce the treaty of 1868. The failure to do so produced the subsequent distrust the Utes had toward future negotiations. The reduction of the land base had another effect on the Southern Utes- the fragmentation of leadership, and with it the separation of the Ute communities. As a result of disagreement among the bands over the Government's attempt to remove them to Utah, Ignacio and his followers moved to the western portion of the Reservation. Ignacio wanted to be relocated in Utah, an area well known by his band. The other leaders, Buckskin Charley, Tapoche and Severo, did not favor removal. The result was a split among the three bands. The Weeminuches refused allotment and occupied the commonly held land. The Capotes and the Muaches remained on the eastern portion of the old reservation and took allotments. This fragmentation of the leadership deeply affected the Southern Utes and the Government's relation to them. ( Three agencies- one agency and two sub- agnecies, had to be established to care for their needs.) The Southern Ute people were no longer considered as one group but rather as two, the allotted Utes and the reservation Utes. This effectively reduced their power base for dealing with the Government. There were several groups who came to the aid of the Indians. This support was part of the national reform movement of the 1880' s and 1890' s, the strugg's for better government, better leadership and more effective administration of government policy; a struggle which was able to gain public support. One of the areas attacked in this movement was Indian administration. The coincidence of the reform movement, shaped in part by Helen Hunt Jackson and her book A Century of Dishonor, with the Ute removal issue made the issue a cause celebre for these reformers. The Indian Rights Association led the battle for recognition of Ute Rights. Eastern money, an effective political lobbying force and highly placed, sympathetic Government personnel enabled the Association to have an impact on Government Indian policy. The fight was well directed, well supported and successful in achieving their goal- Ute allotments on the old reservation lands. The Government was the one force that stood between the Utes and the pressures of the Colorado delegation and the Indian Rights Association. The administration of Indian policy was the responsibility of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Yet, only occasionally was the policy formulated in that branch of the Government. Delegates in Congress and the lobbying of outside groups influenced this policy. The Bureau had the responsibility of administering that policy. Because Congress was constantly being influenced by these forces, a considerable length of time was spent before the Ute question was answered. Opposing forces often made Government policy inaccurate and ineffective. Not even such people as Carl Schurz with his tremendous skill and influence could find a solution to the Ute problem. Eventually a compromise was worked out, but not before considerable time and effort had been expended. In the final analysis the Southern Utes were the victims. They were the victims of the concept of the effective and exploitive use of Western lands. They were affected by the industrialization of the United States following the Civil War and the need for wealth in gold and silver. They were the victims of ineffective, inaccurate and, at times, corrupt actions by Government representatives towards the American Indians in general and the Southern Utes in particular. Despite these pressures, the Southern Utes managed to retain land in Colorado when the other Utes did not. Had they resorted to armed conflict and rebellion as some Indian tribes did during this period, the Southern Utes too would have been moved out of the state, probably to land more isolated and desolate. Only endurance and wise leadership allowed them to remain in southwest Colorado. - 59- |