Utes: The Mountain People

by Jan Pettit

Moving with the seasons, the Utes covered vast areas of Colorado and surrounding states. Summer would find the tribes in the high country of the Rockies. In the fall, attention turned to gathering food and supplies and preparing for the harsh season ahead. Winters were spent in the semi-arid country of northern New Mexico and Utah, trading with neighbors. Springtime would find the various groups heading back to the high country of the Rockies. The traditional Ute food gathering and hunting lifestyle brought the Utes into inevitable, tragic and absolute conflict with incoming settlers, soldiers, and miners, who wanted to divide up the Ute homeland into privately owned parcels. The heart of Ute history lies in the oral tradition and is slowly fading away. "Utes: The Mountain People" presents the rich panorama of Ute history, from the archaeological features of prehistoric Ute cultures to elements of present-day Ute culture. A wealth of rare and historic photographs of early Utes and important leaders, and an abundance of information on tepee culture, Ute artwork, stories, songs, dances, and religious ceremonies, hunting and horsemanship, wars, skirmishes, and treaties make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in Native American cultures.

Genres: History, Native American, American History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Native Americans

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 1990

Reviews

[Claudia Putnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised that the few others who have commented on this book have given it lower ratings. I own several books on the Utes and can barely get through most of them due to the bias of the authors--even when they mean to be friendly, they are patronizing, referring to the pre-contact Utes as primitive--and using that term in a demeaning way that fails to recognize the sophistication of this people in adapting to their environment.

This is a slim but comprehensive treatment of Ute history from pre-conquest times to about 1990. The style is serviceable and the tone is respectful. It's very well done and provides a number of entry points that a reader interested in learning more can use to go deeper later.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my introduction to the Utes. I've had the book for years but feared that it would give me more detail than I wanted/needed. Actually, it was a wonderful introduction ... and it's motivated me to read more current books on the subject.

Here are a few of the many passages I noted.

p 31: Strips of dried meat were stored in a folded rawhide bag called a parfleche. Berries were never added to the stored meat. They were dried, mashed, and formed into balls for separate storage.
I appreciate the many details of everyday life that Pettit has included in this book.

p 35: Water baskets were made during the winter when the women were sitting around and talking. These baskets were sturdy and waterproof. For waterproofing the baskets, a certain kind of sap was boiled until it was very sticky. Small round pebbles from the river bed were added when the sap was poured into the basket, and the basket was rolled around and shaken so the pebbles would work the sap into the grooves of the basket.

p 81, a quote from John Wesley Powell's report
Aged people are held in a great deal of reverence, though I have known instances of their being treated with much cruelty. Very old women are not found among the Utes. They believe a woman who lives much beyond her period of bearing children will turn into a witch and be doomed to live in a snake-skin. They believe it better to die than meet such a fate. It is quite common for old women to voluntarily starve.

Overall, her chapters about the treatment of the Utes by white settlers and the Fed'l govt seems honest and fair (read that as 'painful'). For example, on p 119:
Feelings of concern, hopelessness, and bitterness ran like strong currents between the Indians, settlers, and the gov't officials. "They had a national pride and Patriotism," Powell noted of the Utes. "His peace with other tribes, his home and livelihood for his family are his interests, everything that is dear to him is associated with his country." Many white men had little understanding of these Indian values. The Utes could hardly be expected to feel friendly toward the men fencing and farming land that had been theirs.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Jan Petit accomplished here was no easy task. Written for the layman, this book is accessible yet authoritative. It is also endorsed by tribal elders. Petit writes of the near genocide of these people in frank, objective language that plainly describes what happened without resorting to emotionalism but without glossing over anything either. I also appreciate that she did not dehumanize the Utes by romanticizing them or minimizing aspects of their culture that might seem shocking to her general audience. I'm not sure how she managed to get so much information into such a slim volume, but she did so without the book feeling crowded or dense. Flowing through the volume are magnificent photographs from the finest collections. Even if one were to only view the photos and read the captions, they would get a good, balanced, summary of the Mountain People. But do yourself a favor and read the whole book. You'll come away with an enormous respect for the Utes and you'll probably wish you could go back in time and join them.

[Nancy Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in an area that was part of the original lands of the Ute people but never learned much about them, either in school or from other sources. Although I no longer live in that part of the country, I recently decided to address my deficit of knowledge and purchased this book while on a vacation in my hometown. It did leave me more informed about the past and present of this tribe, although the last chapter or two, dealing with the present, is only a small portion of the book. I appreciated the numerous photos. Other books may provide more detail by focusing on specific eras or individuals, but as an overview, this works.

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very broad overview of the history and culture of the Ute tribe, this slim volume was greatly enhanced by numerous historic photographs of key people, places, tribal celebrations and artifacts. I feel like I know at least a little about these people who in earlier centuries inhabited Colorado where I now live. I read this in preparation for visiting the newly expanded Ute Museum in Montrose.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

problematic portrayal of the Ute peoples. It is not a super well written, formal or educational book in general. I am not sure if the $2.99 I spent at the thrift store to buy it was even worth my time or money.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a fantastic little primer on the Utes in Colorado and Utah. I found it very informative and genuinely fascinating in parts. As others have stated, the photos in the book are great and there's a lot of them. Great place to start when trying to understand the Utes as a people.

[RuBisCO Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated and a relic of ethnography of the time. Very much apologetic for the wrongs done to the Utes. Until a better modern work is done it's likely the best out there.

[Brad Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a textbook that is entirely from white man's point of view. Did not find it respectful at all.

[Pam Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well documented and sensitive history of the Ute tribe with facts, stories and photographs I had never seen before. Information I hoped was in the book, is in the book. I read the Third Edition, 2012.
2012.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Important information about the horrific treatment of the Ute population. Despite the compelling subject, I kept falling asleep. (Maybe it was timing.)

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that bradly covers the Utes. Not indepth, but an overview that gives the reader a passable basic understanding of this Native American Nation.

[timv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I refer everyone's to Claudia's review. She summed it up well!

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, brief look at many aspects of Ute life.