Ouray (Ute leader)
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Ouray (
Following the
Early life and education
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Taospueblo001.jpg/220px-Taospueblo001.jpg)
Ouray was born in 1833 near the Taos Pueblo in Nuevo México, now in the state of New Mexico.[1][2][a][b] His father, Guera Murah, also called Salvador, was a Jicarilla Apache adopted into the Ute, and his mother was Uncompahgre Ute.[5][6]
His parents had another son named Quench, and then his mother died soon after. His father remarried and his stepmother left Ouray and his brother to live on a ranch with a Spanish-speaking couple around 1843 or 1845. His father returned to Colorado and became a leader of the Tabeguache Ute band and the boys remained in Taos. Ouray received a Catholic education[6][7] and was raised in the Catholic faith. Living in a culturally diverse location, he learned Ute and Apache languages, sign language, Spanish, and English, which he found helpful later in life in negotiating with whites and Native Americans.[5][7] He spent much of his youth working for Mexican sheepherders. He also hauled wood and packed mules that were bound for the Santa Fe Trail.[6]
In 1850, Ouray and his brother left Taos to join their father,[5][7] who died soon after.[6] Ouray was the band's best rider, hunter, and fighter,[2] and he became an enforcer (like a chief of police) and then sub-chief of the band.[6] He fought both the Kiowa and the Sioux while living among the Tabeguache.
Chief and negotiator
Chief
In 1860, Ouray became chief of the band at the age of 27.[1] That year, he engaged in a "fact-finding tour" to determine the number of whites that were settling in the Uncompahgre and Gunnison River valleys and was alarmed by the number of miners and settlers on ancestral lands of the Utes.[2][6] He understood, though, that fighting the whites would not turn back the tide of immigrants. Instead, he believed that the solution was to engage in treaty negotiations to protect their interests.[2]
Treaty negotiation
Long time ago, Utes always had plenty. On the prairie, antelope and buffalo, so many Ouray couldn't count. In the mountains, deer and bear everywhere. In the streams, trout, duck, beaver, everything… White man came, and now Utes grow hungry a heap… White man grow a heap, red man no grow—soon die all.
—Ouray, in an Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs[8]
Ouray was known as the "White man's friend," and his services were almost indispensable to the government in negotiating with his tribe, who kept in good faith all treaties that were made by him. He protected their interests as far as possible, and set them the example of living a civilized life.[3]
Although Ouray sought reconciliation between different peoples, with the belief that war with the whites likely meant the demise of the Ute tribe, other more militant Utes considered him a coward for his propensity to negotiate.[1] Disturbed by the treaties that Ouray entered into, his brother-in-law "Hot Stuff" tried to kill him with an axe during his near-daily visit to the Los Piños Indian Agency in 1874.[2][8]
Treaty of Conejos of 1863
Colorado Territory was established on February 28, 1861.
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Ouray negotiated with the U.S. government for the Treaty of Conejos (1863), which reduced their lands to 50% of what it had been, losing all lands east of the
Treaty of 1868
Around 1866, there were some Native Americans who had stolen livestock and otherwise upset new settlers.[8] Following an uprising by Chief Kaniatse, Colonel Kit Carson successfully negotiated a treaty with the Ouray and other Ute leaders in 1867.[12] In the meantime, the government became interested in obtaining some more Ute land. Since the government had not lived up to its agreement to provide provisions for the winter months, Ouray was reluctant to give the government more land. Many Native Americans, though, were "in dire straits" and he agreed to be part of a delegation.[8]
In 1868, Ouray, Nicaagat, with Kit Carson were among a delegation to negotiate a treaty that would result in the creation of a reservation for the Ute,[10][8] served by an Indian Agencies at White River and near Montrose with a school, blacksmith shop, sawmill, and warehouse. They lost a little land in the treaty, but Ouray hoped that having a government presence would mean that their lands would be protected. The treaty was signed by 47 Ute chiefs.[8]
Brunot Treaty of 1873
Silver deposits were found in the
Meeker Massacre
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/The_Meeker_tragedy.jpg/220px-The_Meeker_tragedy.jpg)
Tensions increased in the area following the Meeker Massacre (1879) at the White River Indian Agency. Not understanding the Utes' love of horses, Nathan Meeker had their race track plowed and tried to force the nomadic hunters and gatherers to farm, and Meeker sought military help. Seeking peace, a tribe of Ute men led by Chief Douglas asked Meeker for peace, but a fight ensued. This made further negotiations for peace between Native Americans and whites very difficult. Local settlers demanded that the Utes be moved.[5][2][14] When Ouray found out about the massacre, he asked, as head of the Utes, for the warriors to disperse and release hostages to him. The hostages, including Josephine Meeker, were delivered to Ouray's house at the Los Piños Indian Agency and were cared for by Chipeta.[2]
Final treaty
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Ute_delegation.jpg/220px-Ute_delegation.jpg)
The U.S. government appointed a commission to determine a reservation for the Ute and Ouray and Chipeta went to Washington, D.C. in 1880 for the final treaty for the Utes.
When he had returned to Colorado, and while dying with Bright's disease, Ouray traveled to the Ignacio Indian Agency office to have the treaty signed by the Southern Utes.[2]
Utes were later put on a reservation in Utah, Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation,[5] as well as two reservations in Colorado: Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Southern Ute Indian Reservation.[15]
Personal life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Chipeta_%28Ute_Tribe%29.jpg/220px-Chipeta_%28Ute_Tribe%29.jpg)
Ouray's first wife, Black Mare, died after the birth of their only child, a boy named Queashegut, also known as Pahlone, and called Paron (apple) by his father because of his round, dimpled face. In 1859, Ouray married the sixteen-year old
When Queashegut was five years old, Ouray took him along on a buffalo hunt with a total party of 31 men in 1860 or 1863. Their hunting camp, near Fort Lupton, was attacked by 300 Sioux warriors and Queashegut left the tepee where he sought shelter with Chipeta to follow Ute warriors. After the fight, they were unable to find him.[1][2][8] He had been captured and traded to an Arapaho band.[8] Ouray never saw his son again and remained in deep grief. He tried to find his son for the rest of his life and feared "he was raised to fight against his own."[1][2] While visiting Kit Carson at Fort Garland in 1866, Ouray and Chipeta met and adopted two girls and two boys.[8]
Ouray's sister, Shawsheen (also Tsashin and Susan), was in Big Thompson Canyon in 1861 or 1863 when she was abducted by the Arapaho. Soldiers from Fort Collins found her two years later in 1863 or 1865, but she was afraid of them and escaped. She was later found by Utes and returned to Ouray's tribe.[1][8]
He had several homes in Colorado, one of them by the town of Ouray.[5] For twenty years, Ouray lived with Chipeta on a farm on the Uncompahgre River near Montrose. The 300-acre farm had pasture land and 50 acres of irrigated farm land. The six-room adobe house was well-furnished, including a piano and fine china.[2] The Ute Indian Museum is located on their original 8.65 acre homestead in Montrose.[16] Chipeta was a member of a Methodist church; Ouray was an Episcopalian.[2] Ouray never cut his long Ute-fashion hair, though he often dressed in the European-American style.[5]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Ouray_bones.jpg/220px-Ouray_bones.jpg)
Ouray died on August 24, 1880, near the Los Piños Indian Agency in Colorado. His people secretly buried him near
A 1928 article in the Denver Post reads in part, "He saw the shadow of doom on his people" and a 2012 article writes, "He sought peace among tribes and whites, and a fair shake for his people, though Ouray was dealt a sad task of liquidating a once-mighty force that ruled nearly 23 million acres of the Rocky Mountains."[1]
Legacy and honors
Ouray's obituary in The Denver Tribune stated:
In the death of Ouray, one of the historical characters passes away. He has figured for many years as the greatest Indian of his time, and during his life has figured quite prominently. Ouray is in many respects...a remarkable Indian...pure instincts and keen perception. A friend to the white man and protector to the Indians alike.
Places named for Ouray
- Camp Chief Ouray, located in Granby, Colorado.
- Mount Ouray in the Sawatch Mountain Range and Ouray Peak in Chaffee County, both in Colorado, were named for him.
- Ouray County and its county seat, the town of Ouray in Colorado, as well as the community of Ouray, Utahare named for him.
- SS Chief Ouray, a World War II liberty ship, now named USS Deimos
Notes
- ^ His year of birth is also given as 1820.[3]
- ^ The Pikes Peak Historical Society created an endowment fund in 2001 so that Utes could return to sacred places on Pikes Peak, including the ancient scarred trees that has been using for various ceremonial purposes, prayer, burial, and medicine or healing trees. Some of the "living artifacts" of the Utes are about 800 years old.[11]
- ^ His date of death was also stated to have been August 20, 1880.[17]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Joey Bunch (August 13, 2012). "Chief Ouray's broken heart helped shape the West". Denver Post: The Archive.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55566-214-1.
- ^ a b Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- ISBN 978-0-87108-967-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kathryn R. Burke. "Chief Ouray". San Juan Silver Stage. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87004-391-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4671-1937-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-62585-693-7.
- ^ Hiram Pitt Bennet (1863). Colorado Territory: Speech of Hon. H. P. Bennett in the House of Representatives, Feb. 28, 1863. p. 1.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85109-818-7.
- ^ "Ute Indians". Pikes Peak Historical Society. 17 May 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ "The Story of Fort Garland: 1858-1883". San Luis Valley Museum Association. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-61784-899-5.
- ^ "White River Indian Agency". Colorado Encyclopedia. 29 April 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-55566-262-2.
- ^ "Ute Indian Museum". City of Montrose Office of Business and Tourism. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-87108-323-4.
- ISBN 978-1-938486-24-1.
Further reading
- Bueler, Gladys R. Colorado's Colorful Characters Pruett Publishing Company: Boulder, Colorado, 1981.
- Grant, Bruce. The Concise Encyclopedia of the American Indian 3rd ed., Wings Books: New York, 2000.
- Jenson, H. Bert. Chipeta: Glory and Heartache", The Outlaw Trail Journal, n.d., Salt Lake City, Utah, on Utah State University, Unintah Basin Education Center Website
- Schurz, Carl (September 23, 1897). "Some Experiences with Indians". The Youth's Companion. Retrieved 2018-06-14 – via Wikisource. See "Danger of Bloody Collisions", "Chief Ouray, the Statesman", and "The Gift to the Great Father"
- Smith, P. David. Ouray Chief of the Utes Wayfinder Press: Ouray, Colorado, 1990.
- Wyss, Thelma Hatch. Bear Dancer the Story of a Ute Girl Margaret K. McElderry Books: New York, 2010.
External links
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- Ouray at Find a Grave
- "Chief Ouray", Southern Ute
- "Chief Ouray", History to Go, Utah State Website
- "Ouray´s son... or not?", American-Tribes.com
- "Old Photos - Ute", American-Tribes.com