Healing a History

The Utes Return to the White River Valley

By Contributing Writer, 10-28-06

	Caption: ABOVE: Bradford Longhair and Dan Cesspooch drum for Ute bear dancers at Barone Middle School in Meeker.BELOW: Alliyah Richards performs the Butterfly Dance at City Park in Meeker. Photos by Josh McDaniel

It was a "massacre" or "uprising" or "incident" depending on who is telling the story. Nevertheless, on September 30, 1879, Nathan Meeker and 10 other Bureau of Indian Affairs employees were killed by members of the White River Utes in a rebellion against Meeker's abusive authority and increasing incursions by nearby white settlers on their lands and hunting grounds. The events near the present-day town of Meeker, Colorado led to the banishment of the White River Utes to a reservation in Utah, which they were forced to share with two other bands of Utes – the Uintah and Uncompahgre. The reservation was located in a desert region of northeastern Utah that Brigham Young described as "one vast contiguity of waste … not even fit for a jack rabbit."

The displacement has been difficult, and for over a century the White River Utes have struggled to regain a foothold on the western landscape and economy. In contrast, the town of Meeker, situated next to the winding White River on the western slope of the Rockies, has developed a thriving economy based on ranching and guided hunting on the abundant elk herds that roam the surrounding public lands – the same herds that originally attracted the Utes to the valley centuries before.

Now, the civic leaders of Meeker are working to re-establish a connection with the White River Utes. This past September, on the anniversary of Nathan Meeker's death, Meeker officially invited a group of Ute leaders, dancers, and drummers to return in the spirit of reconnecting with the town and their ancestral lands.

In Meeker the project has been led by a small, but committed group of lifelong residents and community leaders that simply felt it was time. Glenn Adams, a district ranger with the US Forest Service, has helped facilitate the growing relationship between the Ute and Meeker community leaders. He became interested in the project when he found out that the Utes have lost almost all connection to sacred sites on the public lands that surround the town. "I met Clifford Duncan, a Ute tribal elder, at a pow-wow in a nearby town. He told me that many Utes were interested in coming back to visit special places, but they had a fear of coming to Meeker, and did not feel comfortable here. That made the hair stand up on the back of my neck."

The Meeker group has been working for the last couple of years to establish trust with the Ute tribal administrators on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation in Ft. Duschesne, Utah, and both sides have struggled with cross-cultural communication as they have made decisions on how to proceed.

Liz Turner, a lifelong resident of Meeker and one of the organizers of the Ute's visit, displays a quiet confidence and sincerity that immediately puts people at ease. Many in the Meeker group acknowledge that Turner's unassuming and honest demeanor has been one of their largest assets in building the relationship with the Ute leaders. On the challenges of building trust, she said, "In the past, everyone has struggled with how to embrace the Utes – what do we say? How do we make them feel welcome? Hopefully, we are moving past that."

While the Meeker officials are overwhelmingly earnest in their desire to see the connection with the Utes grow, the Utes are much more guarded in how they approach the meaning of the weekend's events. The Utes have entered into the relationship "tentatively, but with an open-mind" as Dan Cesspooch, one of the performing Ute drummers, told me. Mary Lee Longhair, one of the Ute organizers and a mother of two of the performers, spoke with me as she made frybread for the performers and spectators. "A lot of people are waiting to see how this weekend goes. After our experience here, I think next year we will see a lot more people from the reservation who want to get involved." She thought for a moment and then said, "I hope it will be like this year after year."

Dancing Again in the White River Valley

"Mique Tuh gven" or "Hello my friend," is how Gloria Thompson, a Ute tribal historian and educator, began her talk to the students at Barone Middle School. Thompson, also known as Quee Yah Gudt Mah Mahch, or Bear Woman, taught the students and teachers Ute greetings, told Ute stories about Coyote the trickster, and Bear, a revered animal in Ute religion. She also provided a Ute history of the conflicts between the Utes, Nathan Meeker, and the early settlers in the White River area. "You may call it a massacre, but I call it an incident," said Thompson, explaining the Ute version of events.

The Utes have long held that Nathan Meeker had pushed the Utes to the edge of starvation by withholding food rations, taking their horses, and trying to force them to be farmers. "He tried to change our religion and values, but he couldn't see that we already had a strong religion and had things that we valued," explained Thompson.

Next, a group of Ute dancers demonstrated the traditional Bear Dance and the Round Dance while two Ute drummers sang and pounded out a beat on a traditional, handmade drum. Thompson invited students up to learn the steps. After some awkward first steps, the eager students got the hang of it, and soon the entire student body joined into the Round Dance.

Afterwards, many of the Ute performers, students themselves, spoke with the students and explained the meanings of their names and the different parts of their regalia. Glory Rholl, a music and art teacher said the students were thrilled by the performance. "We had been doing a lot of lessons about Ute culture getting ready for the visit, and after they left we went back to class and broke out the drums and did the Bear Dance all over again."

Stephen Brickey, a student at the middle school, said that he had learned about the Utes and Nathan Meeker at the White River Museum in Meeker, but he was excited to get a chance to hear in-person the Ute version of the events. "I was surprised that she called it an incident rather than a massacre. I thought they would still be mad about what happened, but they weren't. Most of all, I really enjoyed the dancing."

Revisiting a Massacre

According to the Colorado historian, Peter Decker, Nathan Meeker was the veteran of a number of failed utopian agricultural communities. Meeker wanted to guide the Utes toward "a new civilized life through a combination of firm discipline and paternal understanding." However, his arrogance and ultimately racist ideas doomed the relationship from the beginning.

The uneasy relationship between Meeker and the Ute Chiefs finally came to a head when Meeker decided to plow up some prime horse pasture. The decision provoked the Ute Chiefs to confront Meeker and an argument ensued. Afterwards, Meeker claimed falsely that he was dragged from his home and thrown to the ground by Chief Johnson. In a gross overreaction, Meeker then made the fateful call to summon the military to reservation in order to 'pacify' the Utes.

Coming just a few years after Little Big Horn, claims of rebellious Indians were taken very seriously by the US military and a number of detachments were sent to investigate. The first to arrive near the reservation was Major Thornburgh, leading a group of 175 cavalry and infantrymen from Ft. Fred Steele in Wyoming. With Meeker playing messenger, a series of miscommunications ensued, and the Utes, fearing a military invasion of their lands, ambushed the troopers about twenty miles from the agency near Milk Creek. The seven day Milk Creek battle left Major Thornburgh dead along with 23 Ute warriors and 16 other US soldiers.

During the Milk Creek Battle, the Utes also attacked the compound where Meeker, his family, and the rest of the BIA agents lived. All of the BIA agents were killed along with Meeker, who had a stake driven through his throat "so he would tell no more lies." Meeker's family was taken hostage and released unharmed a few weeks later. Colorado politicians and newspapers immediately called for the removal of the Utes. Soon afterwards, with almost no investigation of the events leading up to the battles, the Utes were forced at gunpoint to leave Colorado for a reservation in Utah.

Drawing Strength from History

Meeker is not unique in its uneasy relationship with its history. There are many small towns across America with pasts that haunt the present. In some cases, the secrets are buried with the witnesses. In others, distorted and sanitized memories are displayed in dusty town museums and historical roadside markers that punctuate the landscape, drawing attention to the deeds or misdeeds of previous generations. Most of these towns are willing to let the ghosts stay put, but Meeker has made the decision to confront its history.

Liz Turner, along with other Meeker officials, has been working with Regina George and Mary Lee Longhair of the Ute tribal administration to set the groundwork for an annual Ute pow-wow in Meeker with competitive dancing and drumming. They saw this visit as a test run for a larger event next year.

Regina George, a public affairs official for the Uintah-Ouray Ute Reservation, is a patient woman, accustomed to answering naïve questions about her culture. As we talked before the official welcoming ceremony on Friday night, I asked her what people back on the reservation thought about the return to Meeker. After a pause, she said, "Many people on the reservation are leery of visiting Meeker. They had come before and just got that feeling - ‘Oh, here come the Indians again.' But, I believe this visit has been different. I think this will be seen as beneficial for everyone."

The Meeker city officials announced that the visit has spurred them to involve Ute historians in reinterpreting the historical sites around Meeker. They are also going to revise the annual reenactment of the Ute battle with Nathan Meeker and the BIA by including the Ute perspective on the events. In the most surprising move, Bobby Gutierrez, the editor of the local newspaper, has argued that it is time to change the name of the town. "It is pretty well known now that Nathan Meeker was not a good man. I think it is time to find a better basis for the naming of this beautiful area." So far, the residents of Meeker have been supportive. Orval LaBorde, a decorated WWII veteran and an enthusiastic participant in the public Bear Dance at the opening ceremony, said simply "It's about time'" when asked about the planned changes.

Speaking at the official welcoming ceremony, Gloria Thompson said, "The Meeker tragedy had a profound impact on my Ute people. But, we have survived, we are well, and we are happy to be here. We are remembering our past, but in a good way, and we are drawing strength from that."

On a beautiful fall day next to the White River, with Ute dancers gracefully moving to the rhythm of a powerful drumbeat, it was not difficult to envision Meeker as it was over a century ago. And, while history was an ever-present topic at the events of the weekend, the talks and the performances were really about the future. The people of Meeker and the Northern Utes are shaking off the events of the past, and taking some inspiring first steps in establishing common ground and dialogue.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the names of Bobby Gutierrez and Glenn Adams.
[End of article]

Whoa..As a Known Old West Historian... Josh your Speaking of this is "Healing"... To change the name of Meeker is a good idea...Hope it happens..the persecution that was done here... I dare not say..
Gittup ahey..Were are out of here...

I'd suggest Meeker Mayor Guiterrez' name change may have more value for aesthetic reasons than because Meeker was "not a good man". Meeker WAS a good man, though naive and misguided. A civil war reporter for Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune and a utopian participant first in Illinois after the war, he moved west and founded Greeley, CO as a Utopian Colony, where he started the towns newspaper.
He understood the pressure the Ute's would face by white settlers and miners poised around the Ute Territory, just waiting to come in and take over. He tried to give the Utes an opportunity to evolve into the prevailing white cultural norms and become farmers and ranchers.
The irony is that he gave the Whites the very reason to come in and kick them out.
While it may be true that he overstated the threat from Chief Johnson's warning rifle shot at one of the young men who tired to plow up the Ute's traditional horse racing pastures, Meeker was physically pushed around and threatened by some Utes. He got scared and called in the troops.
However, to place the blame on Meeker is a copout. The prevailing white culture at the time could care less about the Utes. Most wanted them removed so prospecting and mining could commence. The road from Denver stopped just west of the Georgetown gold fields. What lay over what is now Loveland Pass, in Ute Territory could only be imagined. Whites were already infringing across the Ute Territory boundaries from every direction.
Meeker knew this and actually wanted to find a way to save the Utes by showing that they could farm and ranch themselves, be productive on their own lands and thus be able to keep it.
Tensions were already so high between the Whites and Utes that Meeker couldn’t find anyone to come work on the agency and he settled for some teenagers and perhaps some disreputable types.

Mr. White understated what was assumed at the time to be the rape of his 19 year old daughter and his wife at the hands of the Utes who captured them. The two women would not disclose details of their capture to the press and all was speculation. Meeker’s daughter was a school teacher on the reservation with little success, but was well liked by the Utes. In her later years she championed for Utes rights.

The “march of history” was not kind to Native American peoples. Admitting the Whites past mistakes is a good thing, but it is far from enough. What is a disgrace is how little our government continues to do to help elevate the American Indians life and economic opportunities.
The last irony of course is that the desolate, rabbit weed and sage brush desert given the Utes to settle on has turned into a gold mine. Oil has been discovered all across their reservations, making them a very rich tribe.

The renaming of the City of Meeker is long overdue. To commemorate Nathan Meeker is to honor a vicious racist whose actions started the process of Ute removal from Colorado. No wonder Utes today are reluctant to return to the land of their ancestors. Whites who honor Meeker do themselves a great disservice. They insult the Utes(past and present) while carrying forward into the 21st century, Meeker's racism of the 19th century. Meeker may have called himself a "reformer," but we now know that his stubborn arrogance and self-rightous actions resulted in the removal of the Utes from their home.
Peter R. Decker, author of "'The Utes Must Go:' American Expansion and the Removal of a People."

That's it.... run out and change the town name and then all past misdeeds will be corrected. The idea is almost laughable..... almost. Has it occurred to anyone that the people that first named the town might have held Nathan Meeker in high regard? He is being harshly judged today, but maybe he was viewed favorably in the 1880's. Maybe the survivors of the "incident" saw him as someone they wanted to memorialize. Mr. Horowitz, I commend you for a well thought out commentary. Thank you for your insights and knowledge on the topic. Mr. Decker, why do you call Meeker a vicious racist? Is this based on solid fact, or are you failing to take into account that Meeker and Johnson lived under much different circumstances than we do today. Could Meeker have had the best interest of the Utes at heart, as Mr. Horowitz suggests? Seems to me, Mr. Decker, you will never be able to prove your racist allegations because you have no concrete proof one way or the other. There are no living participants from either side. We have heard historical perspectives from some Ute family descendants. I wonder if there are any descendants of survivors of the "massacre" still living in the White River area? It would be interesting to do some research on their oral tradition and written history. My feeling is that the emotional rhetoric is nonproductive! There is no need to walk on a dead man's bones. It's too bad Mr. Meeker is unable to stand before us and explain why he did what he did. Maybe we'd see things in a different light. I believe it would be the same way with Chief Johnson. Afterall, he didn't just kill Meeker, he was responsible for a number of other deaths.
I think a debt of gratitude is owed to Mr. Adams of the USFS, and all the others mentioned, for helping facilitate the gathering of descendants from the White River band of Utes and the people of the Meeker area. Nothing but good will come from it.

I sent this letter to Mr. Decker who has very impressive credentials as a Ph.d, speechwriter for Robert Kennedy, rancher, and former college professor at Duke University. I suspect the cultural correctness has gotten the best of him.
Hi Peter,

It's been a while since I studied the Meeker Massacre. I thought that the best unbiased source was a book by Marshall Sprague, The Meeker Massacre. I also found some of Meekers letters to his daughter prior to her coming up to the agency. Although these letters in particular showed a paternalistic, and yes, "racist" view of the Utes, I thought that his heart was in the right place. He was in some ways a failure in life, having never achieved the utopian success he had hoped for. His newspaper barely gave him a living. Perhaps, his assignment at the White River Agency may have been a desperate attempt to carve something out of a failed life. The Utes were not receptive to his ideas. Instead of him bending to better understand their cultural viewpoint, he pushed even harder that they accept his (and prevailing white culture's).

My impression is that he wanted to help the Utes keep their lands by showing the whites who wanted them removed that they could be productive on it and thus should be allowed to keep it. In your view, this last sentence is naive and wrong?

However, as I stated in my original post, if it wasn't Meeker, it would have been something else. The Utes were being accused of starting range fires, stealing livestock, and marauding outside their boundaries. The whites wanted in and as the title to your book states, "The Utes Must Go". Why blame Meeker and make him into a criminal. If he was a vicious racist, then that same charge could be leveled against the most of the entire population of the US at the time.

As I also stated in my original comment, what's done is done. I don't think the farmers and ranchers along the White River, the Colorado River, in southern Colorado, and wherever else the Utes once lived are going to give back the land that was stolen from the Utes. It's the same story across the Indian Reservations in the western US. For the past 3 years I've working on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana. It's criminal that our government continues to do little to fund education, sports or after school programs to help the next generation of youngsters on these reservations.

However, as you know, its a complex two sided relationship in which (in the case that I am most familiar with)the Blackfeet have their own internal issues, structures, clans, vendettas, corruption, (much the result of alcohol and poverty)that make it a very complex issue, not one that will be solved with a few paragraphs or cocktail party chitchat.

My work was mostly with business mentoring and economic development. I am convinced that the Indians problems will someday be solved by Indians themselves with community leaders committed to making positive changes. Our government can help with capital, education, technical assistance, to name three.

The Blackfeet continue to stumble, although they make progress along the way. They recently lost $2M on a failed Katrina cleanup effort and now have opened a "Vegas Style" casino on the reservation that the night I attended had only locals sitting at the slot machines. It did not bode well.

I'll Amazon a copy of your book. My fear is that it is "culturally correct" in our 2006 era. I hope to see your "new uncovered" research that shows Meeker was such a bad guy to be valid.

kind regards,

Steve




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After reading the comments recieved so far, I feel complelled to clarify some errors with the intrepretation of the article.

First, Mr. Gutierrez is not the Mayor of Meeker, but the editor of the local newspaper, the Rio Blanco Herald Times.

Second, he was misquoted as to a desire to change the name of the Town of Meeker, and

Third, we are not working on changing the name of Meeker and never has been.

We are working towards building a relationship of trust with the White River Utes that will foster not only the sharing of cultures and common history, but given the opportunity, the healing of wounds that are real. We hope to create an environment where members of the Nortern Ute Tribes will feel safe and welcome to visit thier anchestral homeland with its natural beauty and scared sites.

mique tuh gvens,


i learned that from my friend gloria thompson a few weeks ago when she came to meeker with many of her family and friends to share her culture with us, she is a very nice lady.

i made quite a few new friends that weekend, including josh mcdaniel, who wrote this story and also wrote one for the rio blanco herald times, published in our oct. 5 edition. (he didn't quote me in that article, i'm sure he knew it wouldn't get in.)

anyway, a friend recently reminded me that "in the big picture, God sees no man as "good"--hence the need for a savior."

so though the quote would be true, i remember saying "from what i have read (both books mentioned and others) meeker was not a nice man."

i have said before (to my wife, a friend or two and to josh) that i would like to see the name of the town i was born in, changed.

as mr. hunt wrote--"the idea is almost laughable," no "almost" about it when i mentioned it to my wife and friends and i believe josh even smiled when i said it. i have not taken any steps towards changing the name of my hometown but i will now research, as mr. hunt suggested, when, why and who named our town.

i'm with mr. adams, gloria and liz, i want to see the utes be able to come back to this beautiful valley and feel welcome.

i know i can't change the past but if changing a name could help heal some wounds...

As a resident of the town of Meeker, and after numerous hours of research on the events that occurred at White River between 1878 and 1879, I applaud the efforts of Mr. Adams, Mrs. Turner, and everyone who helped make this event take place.

I am appalled at the idea of renaming the town. Nathan Cook Meeker was not a "vicious racist," as Mr. Decker calls him, and his name does not carry on racist principles of the 19th century. He was a racist in 19th century terms, as many Americans were at the time. There is no denying the fact that he looked down upon the Utes as inferiors, but that attitude was prevalent among many white Americans. The name of the town does not carry on that idea of racism.

Also, his actions did not initiate the Ute removal from Colorado. That process had already begun. Much of the San Juan Mountains were already ceded to the state of Colorado from the Ute reservation. Also, racist editorials by William Vickers called for the Ute removal from Colorado. Thus, to Governor Frederick Pitkin, the murder of Nathan Meeker was just icing on the cake. One must also not forget Major Thomas T. Thornburg's actions. Had he not illegally entered the Ute reservation with the bulk of his troops, the whole incident might have been avoided because his entry into the reservation ignited the Milk Creek battle, and the murder of Meeker and his workers was in reaction to this battle.

Mr. Meeker did not understand the pressure the Ute's faced from white encroachment. He could have cared less about the Utes as a people, because he completely disregarded their ways of life. The only reason Meeker went to White River Indian Agency, a "Siberia" as Marshall Sprague calls it, was to get out of debt, due to his failed endeavor in creating a great western “utopia:” the failed “utopia” which is the town of Greeley, Colorado. He was a staunch, and failed, idealist. This is seen with his involvement in communal, religious communities. His grave mistake was applying these utopian and Christian moral ideals upon the White River Utes.

With this being said, however, it is absolutely impossible and improper to place the blame entirely upon the shoulders of Nathan C. Meeker. Meeker was a naïve and misguided man. When he arrived in White River, he met a headstrong people in the White River Utes. Meeker introduced foreign ideas of farming, religion, and education and many White River Utes resisted and refused to give ground. The result of this confrontation of ideologies was a "massacre," an "incident," a "homicide," or whatever one might want to call it. Many White River Utes were willing to die to protect their beliefs, and they paid a price: the forced removal from their homeland. The events that occurred could have been avoided. But the fact remains that both sides absolutely refused to give, and violence resulted.

In sum, in explaining the events that occurred at White River from 1878 to 1879, both sides are to blame. By looking at these events and examining the sources, I see a dangerous trend. Looking at the sources immediately following the events, the blame is placed primarily on the Utes. Poems were written romanticizing the death of Nathan and the "plight of the Meeker family." Historiographical works like Marshall Sprague’s The Meeker Massacre examine the events through the lens of Frederick Jackson Turner’s “The Frontier in American History.” They support the notion that the forced removal of the Utes was inevitable and was, essentially, “progress.” Sadly, Sprague’s work remains the definitive piece of scholarship on the massacre. It is tremendously outdated.

Now, in today’s quest for political correctness, it seems that people, including Mr. Decker, are placing the blame entirely on Nathan Meeker primarily because he was a "vicious racist." Many events contributed to the infamous massacre, not just the ideas of Nathan C. Meeker. One must approach the subject with this in mind.

Finally, by renaming the town, the town of Meeker would be opening a huge can of worms. For example, since Governor Pitkin endorsed legislation to remove the Utes from Colorado, should we "rename" Pitkin County? Colonel John Chivington commanded men who committed numerous atrocities at Sand Creek in eastern Colorado. Yet, there is a town in eastern Colorado named after the colonel. The issue of renaming does not just center on white/Native American relations. David Moffat, the railroad baron, is synonymous with the poor treatment of his workers. Yet, should we rename "Moffat" County or the town of Moffat? Where would it end? All of these people were products of their respective times, just like we are products of our time. For this reason, we should not remove Nathan C. Meeker's name from the Colorado map.

By all means, history is a story. A simple renaming of a town is not “confronting” our history. It is running away from it. The massacre happened, whether we like it or not. We must do all that we can to learn from it and to understand it. An event like the Northern Utes returning to the White River Valley is a great step in that direction. Renaming the town would be a step backwards.

Sincerely,

Matthew A. Pearce

Well said Matt

Considering the content of this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to share this new info:

The White River National Forest is proud to announce the next step in re-establishing a connection with the White River Utes. This July 27 and 28, the inaugural Smoking River Pow Wow will take place in Meeker at Ute Park.

The White River Ute Tribe, which was removed from northwest Colorado in the 1800s to a reservation in Utah, has recently begun the process of reconnecting with the community. This past September, the Utes were officially invited to return for a series of cultural events. Civic and tribal leaders then began planning an even larger event, and the idea for the Pow Wow was born.

The Pow Wow is a gathering and a time for Indian peoples to come together to sing and dance as well as honor the heritage that has been passed down to them from their ancestors. The highlight of the Pow Wow is competitive dancing that involves a variety of styles. The Smoking River Pow Wow will also include crafts and food vendors, as well as guest speakers discussing Ute culture and Pow Wow etiquette.

Civic leaders in Meeker are helping to make the Ute’s Pow Wow a success. A planning committee is made up of representatives from the Meeker Chamber of Commerce, the Bureau of Land Management, the Rio Blanco County Historical Society and the White River National Forest.

For more information on donating, becoming a local vendor at the event or volunteering, contact Lynn Lockwood with the White River National Forest at 970-878-4039, or Aaron Grimes, 970-878-3801, at the Bureau of Land Management.

I'm very happy to learn that efforts are being made to reconnect the White River Utes with their former home in northwest Colorado.

If I can assist in any way, I'd be more than happy to do so.

Peter Decker
Ridgway, Co.

Please visit our website:
http://www.smokingriverpowwow.com

On a recent trip to CO in June '07, I heard a story about a battle between the Utes and the US Army during the 1870s at the location of Saguache,CO. Does anyone have details of this event? It seems there's still some restless spirits around that need closure. Thanks for your interest.

Organizers of the Smoking River Pow Wow have decided that more time is needed to plan for the event, and have postponed the Pow Wow until 2008. Please visit the website in my previous posting for current information...and Thank you, Mr. Decker, for the help you've given us!

To Ms.Lockwood and smoking River people: the last re-inactment of the Meeker Massacre I witnessed was Fourth of July,1979 . As a descendant of Danforth Hills homesteaders, I am proud of the shift in attitude towards the original people of the White river valley and the prospect of an annual powwow. It is a fact that rural German herbalists and folk healers in this country used to be known as powwows. I find all this sort of stuff facinating. I am looking foreward to paying tribute to my ancestors buried in Meeker Cemetary this August, as well as visiting the town museum, which used to bore the heck out of me as a kid.

I LOVE UTE INDIANS!

Smoking River Pow Wow is in the process of updating our website.
The Pow Wow will be July 25-26,2008 at Meeker's Ute Park. We've posted an online newsletter with a photo of the pow wow site.

I've been researching the Meeker 'Incident' for about two years and I've reached the point of attempting to determine just where the captives were released. The many books, I've read on the subject do not provide sufficient information nor does the testemony of the ladies and Adams. Spragues book provides the most detail but I have serious doubts about the accuracy. Local history has the location at the "Meeker Tree" a short distance southe of the village of Mesa. I can find nothing to substantiate this as the location. At the recent First Annual Smoking River Pow Wow July 25 - 26 I was told Clifford Duncan was a Ute Historian and may provide some information. I left my name and phone number hoping he will contact me. I'd appreciate speaking with anyone with information on the subject.... Stay
Cool, Hal Leach