On the Ethnology of the Ute
The Ute were among the first Indians to get horses from the Spanish. Subsequently they moved about rather freely and were rather quick to adopt the white man’s culture whenever this was present in their area. There are almost no early accounts of the Ute. They had neither the spectacular aspects of the true Plains Indians, nor lands close to the trails frequented by pioneers and early explorers. On the other hand, they did not enjoy the isolation of many of the Great Basin tribes which preserved their ways of life into comparatively recent times. Thus ethnography of the Ute is relatively scant except for a few accounts and short articles. There are three principal works. The first is Robert Lowie’s Notes on Shoshonean Ethnography (1924), based primarily on observations at Ignacio, Navajo Springs and White Rock. The second is Omer Stewart’s “Culture Element Distribution: XVIII, Ute, Southern Paiute”, (1942), while the third is Edward Gifford’s Culture Element Distribution XII: Apache-Pueblo (1940). Another short paper by Ralph Beals (1935) on the ethnology of Rocky Mountain National Park adds to the picture, though he draws heavily on Lowie’s work. Finally there is a collection of articles gathered by the Durango Public Library and edited by H. S. Daniels (1941). This is composed of a series of interesting papers by people intimately connected with the area surrounding the present Ute reservation. J. Alden Mason’s article “Myths of the Uintah Utes” (1940) contains numerous myths which may yield scraps of ethnographic material if care is used in selection. Other short works can be found in the bibliography and will be referred to in the text.
Subsistence Pattern
One of the greatest problems facing the Ute and Shoshone on mountain fringes was adaptation to several different ecological biomes. Their success is attested to by the fact that the Ute spread all over Colorado and southern Wyoming except the Plains.
The adoption of the horse resulted in significant changes in Ute culture. In general, the use of horses affected hunting methods and locomotion. Where it brought the Ute into intimate contact with Plains Indian cultures, many of their old Basin traits were replaced by borrowed artifacts and techniques. For example, articles of rawhide replaced basketry in most cases (Steward, 1940, p. 422). However, very little is known about the quasi-Plains Ute, as mountain lands were quickly appropriated by whites. Buffalo were exterminated from mountain parks in Colorado by 1870. The works cited refer to isolated groups on the western fringe which retained an essentially pre-horse culture.
The people we deal with then have the “gathering small game” traits of Steward’s Western Subarea of the Intermontane Region. In addition, uplands and mountain regions afforded some larger game. This dual economy was probably a great factor in their adaptability, and it was undoubtedly a close approximation of that of protohistoric and prehistoric inhabitants of the area.
Except for the ecologic variation cited above, Ute culture was fairly uniform over a wide area. Because of this and the general limitation of data, it will be treated as a whole.
Hunting and Gathering
Seeds and berries of almost every description were gathered, mainly by the women of the camps. According to Lowie, among the neighboring Paviotso, men often participated in gathering piñon nuts, a fundamental element in the diet. Stewart’s data suggests that this was probably true of the Ute. Sunflower seeds were boiled; acorns were gathered and treated to render them edible. Fruits were exploited where available. These products were gathered in large baskets, certain of them being reserved for storage. Edible roots were dug up with the aid of a digging stick. Other gathering devices included notched poles, throwing sticks, and seed beaters.
Among the animals hunted, Lowie mentions buffalo, elk, deer, and rabbits; eagles were snared from pits. In Mason’s Myths moose and bear are mentioned particularly. Possibly mountain sheep and antelope should be included in this list. Small game was important, such as quail and rodents, i.e., prairie dogs and squirrels. Stewart lists a number of insects eaten as part of the diet, which were roasted and parched then often stored.
Buffalo were surrounded by a circle of men and shot. Deer were often driven into a deep pit between converging arms of a sagebrush enclosure. Deer, antelope and buffalo decoy masks were often used. Rabbits and other small game were hunted by driving them into nets of bark fiber. Rodents were smudged out, and special blunt arrows were often used in shooting prairie dogs. Mountain sheep were pursued until cornered and then shot with arrows.
Fish were also undoubtedly a common article of diet. John Dewey, a Ute, told Mason about taking fish by means of arrows and fish lines, while Lowie mentions fish shooting and describes grass rafts for the Uintah, and Ute fish weirs.
For all hunting and fishing, ritual observances and purification were important. Gifford mentions ceremonial sweat houses in this connection, while Stewart lists a number of important taboos.
Food Preparation
Hand stones and grinding slabs were employed for preparing seeds and berries. Some pounding was done. Seeds could be roasted underground or could be made into a kind of gruel. Meat, according to McCall (Daniels, ed., 1941), was roasted over the fire or jerked. In this connection some statements of E. G. Palmer concerning the Paiute are of interest. The Paiute were very similar in culture to the Ute and before 1700 were probably indistinguishable from them (Schroeder, 1953). In particular Palmer mentions cooking by heating rocks, covering the desired edibles with wet grass and sprinkling them with water to create a kind of steam bake. About their food in general Palmer says, “As to food the Pah Utes will eat anything that will not prove absolutely poisonous soon after being swallowed.”
Gifford notes roasting and eating of both yucca and cacti. He also lists the use of surface salt and clay for flavoring. Small animals were pounded up whole and cooked. Bone was cracked for marrow or ground up and eaten if possible.
Shelter
Prior to the use of small skin tepees, the Eastern Ute used a conical or domed-shaped shelter of brush. These were used even after white contact, but usually only for summer habitation. The door faced east. Gifford and Stewart both note that the Ute used available rockshelters and lean-tos on hunting trips. C. T. Hurst in 1943 excavated an overhang containing evidence of Ute habitation. According to several sources, sweat houses were built.
Fire Making and Other Technologies
Lowie reports that the Ute used fire drills only rarely though an informant told Mason that they did not use such devices. Obviously every effort was made to keep the fire going but apparently if one’s fire went out, one borrowed a light from a neighbor. Perhaps in an emergency fire tools could have been made.
Concerning the stone technology of the Ute we will quote a section from Powell (1875; noted in Lowie, 1924). “Obsidian or other stone of which the implement is to be made is first selected by breaking up larger masses of the rock and choosing those which exhibited the fracture desired; then the pieces are baked or steamed—perhaps I might say annealed—by placing them in a damp earth covered with a brush fire for twenty-four hours, then with sharp blows they are still further broken down into flakes approximately the shape desired. For more complete fashioning a tool of ... horn is used.” He also states that a small skin cushion was employed in the hand, and that often a few especially skilled people would exchange their products for other items. Barber (1876) notes that a Ute hunter could differentiate between the types of stone projectile points used by various tribes. This is of special interest to the archaeologist for it indicates that point styles for such a group were intentional and fairly consistent over a period of time. Stone knives, scrapers, rough flakes and drills are listed by Gifford and Stewart in addition. According to Gifford’s informant, stone axes were polished. Arrowheads were stemmed or stemless, while the shafts were marked by rills engraved along the length. These were feathered and painted.
Pottery
Lowie reports that the Ute made some pottery, and Opler (1941) found further evidence to support the claim. However, the production appears largely limited to cooking vessels, and stone boiling was popular. Stewart notes the occurrence of unfired figurines made for children.
Skin Preparation and Other Technology
In skin preparation, the flesh was first removed with a serrated scraper. For especially tough hides an adze-shaped scraper was used. Hair was removed with a split bone, the skin then moistened, stretched and smoked. According to Stewart this was done by the women. Some skins were painted with designs. Gifford and Stewart both report the use of skin shields.
Before white contact, an informant told Mason, the Ute used juniper bark and sagebrush fiber for blankets. Sinew was employed for thread, while pine pitch and horn served for glue. Baskets made by coiling were manufactured, as were twined mats. Important types were conical gathering baskets, water bottles, flat trays and dippers. Willow was the principal material used.
Dress
The Ute used rabbitskin and deerskin blankets as well as those of fiber. Men wore moccasins, a loincloth and some kind of garment for the upper part of the body, and possibly leggings in the winter. Women wore a type of skirt, moccasins, and possibly a shirt. Some Shoshones, probably including the Ute, wore sandals. However, these would be less suitable in rocky uplands than in mesa country. Various carrying devices such as bags or blankets were used. Cradles of two types were listed by Gifford.
Barber (1876) notes the extensive use by both sexes of ornaments and charm bags of red powder, possibly hematite. Gifford and Stewart both mention the use of paints and list beads, feather decoration and bone ornaments. Some people were tattooed and some had their ears pierced.
Games and Dances
Lowie mentions one game played by the Ute. This is a hand game with guessing sticks and counters. Douglas and Jeancon (1930) cite others such as a hoop and stuffed ball game. Juggling games seem to have been popular also. Stewart lists a number of additional games. There were dances for both sexes accompanied by drums and notch-stick vibrators. Other musical instruments used may have included rattles of deer hooves, whistles, and possibly musical bows.
Social Organization
Society was probably arranged in bilateral exogamus kin groups. Inheritance may have been patrilineal. Marriage was a rather casual arrangement, the ceremony simple. Immediate residence was patrilocal, or at the father’s hut. Later, the couple built their own shelter. There was some polygamy, Steward (1938) notes that society was organized bilaterally in most places in the Intermontane Area. Relative equality of the sexes resulted from their approximately equal economic importance. If bison hunting and warfare tended to give northern Shoshone and Ute men an advantage, no formal institutions had developed to indicate it. Social organization was Neo-Hawaiian (Murdock, 1949) according to Stewart’s kin term list.
Religion
Some Ute recognized one especially powerful god represented by the sun, and many lesser gods and spirits. Individuals attempted to win their favor through magic. Myths and legends which featured these beings were told at night around low camp fires, but only during the winter according to Gifford. He also notes the naming of the sky as female, the earth as male, while various constellations were also designated. There was some development of the culture-hero idea in the person of Coyote among the Uintah Ute. Various tales of how Coyote obtained fire for man and helped him in other ways were related to Mason (1940). Ceremonies or rituals were probably held in open places, most likely in the form of dances. Medicine men or shamans were important figures. They were learned in the myths, and practiced as healers, using charms and herbs, some of which had true medicinal value. In addition the shamans were skilled at setting bones. They may have gotten their power from dreams or trances. During certain of what are termed life crises, birth, puberty, marriage, death, there were taboo observances. Certain foods were not eaten during pregnancy, while both Gifford and Stewart mention a special hut where girls were secluded during the first menses.
The Ute considered certain deeds to be “right or wrong” but there was no formal set of laws or authority to support moral judgment.
Language
The Ute language forms part of the Ute-Chemehuevi division, the southernmost of three divisions constituting the Plateau Branch of the Shoshonean stock of the Uto-Aztecan family. This northern orientation of language agrees well with certain cultural traits. There is very little structural resemblance with neighboring groups such as would be of interest in cultural interpretation. The language is characterized by an impression of phonetic softness rather than harshness; but of vagueness and lack of distinctness. ([See Kroeber, 1910; Sapir, 1931; Stewart, 1957]).
Disposal of the Dead
The dead were usually buried in rock crevices or were cremated. Supposedly their possessions were destroyed at this time, and their name became taboo in common usage.