Southern Ute Museum
Some of you may know the past two months have been quite hectic and I've been slowly sharing some of my experiences on Steemit.
Well, I had nearly a month to adventure out into the four corners area, and I had yet to really figure out what I wanted to do. One night while I was staying in my small efficiency with no internet, nope couldn't really blog either, I came up with the idea of making this moment in time worthwhile.
If you know anything about me, you know that I love to explore and really experience life and that means gain knowledge in some way, shape, or form. So, I started thinking about my ancestors and that meant I wanted to learn more about them: how they lived, what they ate, where did they really go?
I won't go into the full terms but my ancestry is one quarter Apache and one quarter Hopi, my ancestors are called the Hisatsinom. To begin, I felt at that moment I had to get to know the current landowners of the area known as the Southern Ute Tribe. Most interesting to me is that I have gotten to know a couple of elders and chiefs belonging to the tribe, and even though we are All One, I still had a yearning to get to know my ancestors a little bit more.
This post kicks off step-by-step the road I traveled to get to know more about my people. I started with the Museum of The Southern Ute Tribe.
So, let's go ...
As we walk inside the museum the walls were made of stone and very tastefully done. A sturdy feel of design, architecture, and materials were evident. While the day was very hot, hitting about 90 degrees Fahrenheit the place was very cool and inviting.
The natural wood, rock, and stone were cool to the touch with bathrooms everywhere. What I found comforting was how many bathrooms there were and not many people. This place definitely deserves more visitors, but I was thankful I came on a day there wasn't many people around.
Original photography of the Southern Ute tribe is a welcome greeting into the museum and shows off the beautiful tribal members during special celebrations.
A welcoming smile is there at the front desk and explains the viewing options along with a detailed map. The cost, FREE!
The atrium signifies the tee pee life the Ute tribe experienced throughout their existence and the four colors are explained by The Denver Post with these words:
The main skylight terminates in a circle of glass, quartered into four shades: yellow (which represents east, springtime and infancy), red (south, summer and youth), black (west, fall and adulthood) and white (north, winter and old age).
I looked up in awe at out how lovely this building was made. It was obvious great love and attention was given to this wondrous sight.
To walk into the main doorway to the exhibits there is a circular shape and around the circle there are a few glass encased items. In this particular glass case there were dolls of a Bear Dance couple, which goes to show how important this dance is to the Ute tribe in general. The dates of all Bear dances in the area are engraved on the small placard. How cute is that?
From my attendance at the Southern Ute Bear Dance, it pretty much is a way for men and women to meet and get married. There are rules to abide by and if you haven't seen my post on my experience check it out here.
Now let's get to the exciting part, Eagle Spirit had to go to the Gift Shop to see what was for sale! A girl has to shop okay ... if you don't know that by now then you just do not know girls. Isn't this blanket lovely?
Look at all these goodies, and yes they are all handmade and very expensive. What do I mean by expensive? Well, one of the above necklaces goes for the average price of $250 USD.
Let me spare you more photos of the gift shop but these beauties certainly caught my eye. Bracelets run about $175 USD, the time and attention it takes to bead are from years of learning from generation to generation. The size of the beads are similar to tiny seeds.
I was able to refrain from spending money, besides I have friends that will get me family pricing. Grins from ear to ear.
Now that I had my girl fun, let's continue to the museum ...
Every tribe has their story as to their origination and here is the Ute tribe’s Creation story.
This sweet booklet is meant to assist children in learning and an easy way to remember. The Ute believe as many tribes do today that their story and culture is dying.
The urgency to share the stories with the tribal youth is imperative. This museum was created for that purpose.
I found the wolf and fox creation story of the Ute very interesting, I hope you liked the GIF I made for this presentation. It also saved some space since I took quite a bit of photos. Each tribal story is sweet to my eyes and ears, especially when a storyteller is present.
An interesting explanation of the petroglyphs was presented by the Ute tribe and it is a foretelling of what is to come in my next blogs. The Ute feel that when a person sees a horse petroglyph then this is someone from their tribe telling a story.
Arrowheads, Southern Ute Museum. Photos taken by
Arrowheads were an essential tool and used for hunting, fishing, and war. They’re fairly easy to find all over Colorado and very special. If or when you find one they feel like you are touching a piece of history.
My uncle found one in California and gave it to me years ago. It’s one of my sacred pieces I wear around my neck during special occasions.
The way of life for most Northern Native American tribes was nomadic. Loving in a Ti Pi and moving camp to camp depending on the season. Here are a few photos of original belongings from the Ute tribe.
Ti Pi life was and still is, by some tribes is the way to live. It’s a form of freedom, culture, and social structure. Driving through Apache land almost ever house had a beautiful tipi right in front of the house. To me, this is something I will have on my land someday as it is a way to honor my ancestors and a great place to be One with earth and nature.
Oftentimes, I felt that the Apache were considered “horse people,” but the more I looked into the background of the four corners I found that the Spanish brought the horse to the Ute. Everyone seems to squabble a bit about who are better, or who came first but either way I find it may not really matter.
The horse came to the area and were honored as warriors, cared for and loved.
The sculpture above was immense in size, intricately detailed, and simply beautiful to see. This was one of my favorite pieces in the museum to behold.
Since Northern Native Americans didn’t have paper they used hides to tell their stories. Many of these have been preserved and are either kept by famil members or were taken by thieves. You may even see some at the Smithsonian or The Met.
We will go into how those establishments obtained those treasures in a future post. For now, I’ll just say many were stolen by people who worked for them at the time and thankfully some were fired, but not before horrible misdeeds were done.
On a more positive note, if you haven't fallen in love with the Southern Ute tribe yet then at least you may have a newfound respect. Personally, after spending quite a bit of time with them, I have grown very fond of these Colorado conquerors. A fighting tribe that has survived many obstacles and come out the richer for it.
My favorite part of the museum was getting to know the Ute beadwork, family life, and sharing of the tribe's unity with Mother Earth.
Exploring the museum on this particular day only brought more of a "need to know" about my own ancestors, and I was going to find out one way or another.
Come back for more information as I share my adventure into the four corners of America in my upcoming blog posts.
A'OO,
Eagle Spirit
Greetings,
Thank you for stopping by to read my blog. I’m a First Nation member of the Hopi & Apache Native American tribes, Medicine woman in-training, first time blogger since November 2017, (right here on Steemit), paralegal, researcher, and writer based in the Mountains of Colorado, USA. I work closely with fellow planktons and minnows in a few groups by helping them adjust to Steemit and curate quality content. I’m especially interested in finding others who love natural medicine originating from ancient practices, gold and silver, energy work, and the spirit world. Additionally, I'm the creator of #MedicineCardMonday, so if you are interested in receiving a Native American blessing stop by my blog every Monday, or just say hello!