Healing a History

The Utes Return to the White River Valley

By Josh McDaniel, 10-28-06

	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.

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