Historic American Indians in Utah

1
Historic American Indians in Utah

• Presented by B. Page

2
Pre-Historic Vs. Historic

• Pre-Historic peoples have no written history
• Historic peoples do have a written history

3
Native History

• Native Americans have lived in and around Utah
  for thousands of years.
• Their way of life changed dramatically when other
  groups of people entered Utah.
• These groups included
• Spanish explorers
• Catholic priests
• Fur trappers
• Pioneers

4
Native History Continued

• These people wrote about the American Indians
  they met in their journals and diaries.
• Do you think these written accounts by explorers
  or pioneers accurately represent how the Indian
  people lived and how they felt about things?
• ?

5
Who Are They?

• Ute
• Shoshone
• Goshute
• Paiute
• Navajo

6
Relationships Between Tribes

• Tribal boundaries were important and were
  usually respected. If a person from an enemy
  band or tribe came onto their land, the intruder
  might be taken prisoner or killed. Some tribes
  were more friendly to newcomers than other
  tribes, depending on the time and the situation.
• Utah A Journey of Discovery p. 53.

7
The Utes

• The word Utah comes from the Ute word for top
  of the mountains.
• The Utes were the largest tribe in Utah. Their
  tribal area covered most of the central part of
  the state.
• The Utes lived in fertile valleys near the
  mountains and lakes.

8
The Utes Survival

• Nuche Utes traveled with the seasons. They
  went to high mountains in the summer, living by
  hunting small and big game animals and birds,
  fishing and gathering a variety of berries, nuts,
  seed, and plants . . . Hunting, fishing, and
  gathering sites were not owned . . . they were
  communal shared and granted to all.
• --Larry Cesspooch, a Ute

9
The Utes Hunting

• The Utes used horses for hunting and carrying
  heavy loads.
• When they hunted buffalo, they used every part of
  the animal. Some uses are
• Fur for blankets
• Skin for tepees and clothing
• Meat for food

10
The Utes Home Life

• Utes lived in tepees of buffalo skin and tall
  poles.
• Tepees could be taken down and carried easily.
• A fire was built in the center for cooking and
  warmth. Smoke escaped through an opening in the
  top of the tepee.
• Bands of as many as 200 people lived in large
  tepee villages near streams, rivers, or lakes.

11
The Utes Families

• Finding and preparing food was the most important
  task of all members of a Ute family.
• When young women reached adulthood, they would
  participate in a Bear Dance where they would find
  their future husbands.

12
The Utes Children

• In addition to a formal name, a Ute child was
  given many nicknames during their life.
• Children were highly valued and everyone shared
  the responsibility of raising them.
• If twins were born, it was considered bad luck.
  Often, one or both twins were allowed to die.

13
The Utes Clothing

• Clothing was often made of animal skins.
  Sometimes the fur was still attached.
• Other clothing was made from woven grasses and
  bark.
• To protect their feet, the Utes wore shoes from
  animal hides or sandals of woven reeds.

14
The Utes Religion

• The Utes believed that the earth was created by a
  spirit who lived in the sky.
• They also believed that every living in the world
  had a spirit.
• The Ghost Dance represented the return of all who
  had died as a result of contact with non-Indians.
• Pictured here is a typical Ghost Dance dress.

15
The Shoshone

• The Shoshone lived in the mountains and valleys
  of northern Utah.
• The name Shoshone means valley dwellers.
• Today, many Shoshone live on the Fort Hall
  Reservation in southeastern Idaho, which they
  share with the Bannock tribe.
• Perhaps the most famous Shoshone was Sacagawea,
  the woman who led Lewis and Clark through the
  west.

16
The Shoshone Survival

• In the mountains and valleys where the Shoshone
  lived, food was all around them. However, they
  had to follow the animals, so they were called
  nomads.
• Like the Ute clans, the Shoshone hunted animals
  such as buffalo, deer, and antelope and gathered
  nuts and berries for food.
• They also raised horses for hunting and moving
  around.

17
The Shoshone Home Life

• The Shoshone also constructed tepees from animal
  hide and poles.
• This picture shows a tepee that has been painted,
  perhaps with a clan or family symbol.
• Some other Shoshone bands dug shelters out of
  hillsides.

18
The Shoshone Families

• Men and women had equally important roles. The
  men hunted and served as chiefs, or leaders, of
  the bands. Women raised children and gathered
  plants.
• Like other Native Americans, the Shoshone did not
  spank or punish their children.

19
The Shoshone Children

• Children did not have formal schooling. They
  learned by working alongside adults and by
  listening to songs and stories.
• Many children would made balls of hide and rabbit
  hair or dolls to play with.

20
The Shoshone Clothing

• The Shoshones clothing was almost identical to
  the Utes. Animal skins and woven grasses made
  most of their clothing.
• In the winter, women would often wear a special
  robe made of about forty woven rabbit skins.

21
The Shoshone Clothing Continued

• Beadwork was also an important part of Shoshone
  clothing and ceremonial items.
• Pictured here are beaded moccasins and a
  ceremonial peace pipe with beaded bag.

22
The Shoshone Religion

• The Shoshone believed in one being called Duma
  Appáh, Our Father, or the Creator.
• Each morning the Shoshone faced the sun in the
  east and sang a prayer to Appáh.
• Appáh was said to have created Earth with the
  help of the animal creatures, especially Coyote.

23
The Goshutes

• The Goshutes lived in the central Great Basin
  area of Utah.

24
The Goshutes Survival

• The Goshutes lived in a very dry land with little
  rain. They were able to find uses for more than
  100 desert plants.
• The Goshutes were hunter/gatherers. They also
  ate roasted crickets.
• The Goshute often dug for roots. For this
  reason, white men often called them root
  diggers.

25
The Goshutes Home Life

• The Goshutes lived in wiki-ups, small brush
  covered shelters, during the warmer months.
• However, in the winter, they would often move to
  caves or more sturdy shelter.

26
The Goshutes Families

• The Goshutes hunted together in family groups and
  would often cooperate with other family groups
  that usually made up a village.
• Men usually did the hunting, while women gathered
  plants and seeds.

27
The Goshutes Children

• Goshute children helped their mothers gather
  plants, seeds, and insects.

28
The Goshutes Clothing

• In the winter months, rabbit skin blankets were
  used for warmth.
• Because the Goshute lived in the desert, they did
  not need much clothing during the summer months.
• Men wore breechcloths
• Women wore aprons or grass skirts
• Twig sunshades often worn on heads

29
The Goshutes Religion

• Like all Indian tribes, the Goshute held a great
  respect for the earth, the spirits, and their
  fellow living beings.

30
The Paiutes

• The Paiutes lived in the southwest corner of Utah.

31
The Paiutes Survival

• Like the Goshutes, the Paiutes lived in a very
  dry region with little rain.
• Like all Utah Indian tribes, the Paiute were also
  hunter/gatherers.
• Some Paiutes irrigated some crops including corn,
  beans, squash, and wheat.

32
The Paiutes Home Life

• The Paiutes also lived in brush wiki-ups in the
  summer and caves during the winter.
• They lived in large family groups found in small
  villages.

33
The Paiutes Families

• Small family groups would travel separately
  collecting seeds, berries, roots, and hunting
  small animals, deer, mountain sheep, elk, and
  fish.
• These groups met and intermarried with other
  Paiutes, as well as other Indian tribes.

34
The Paiutes Children

• Children helped their parents gather food goods
  to be stored for the winter.
• Children learned from their parents and
  grandparents about animals, plants, and
  storytelling.

35
The Paiutes Clothing

• Similar to the Goshute people, the Paiutes had
  very little use for clothing in warm weather.
  Often during the summer, Paiute children would
  wear no clothes at all.
• During the colder winter months, everyone wore
  shirts and used blankets made of rabbit skin.

36
The Paiutes Religion

• A Paiute man named Wovoka introduced the Ghost
  Dance, a religious movement that spread
  throughout the nation.
• The Ghost dance represented the return of all
  Indians who had died as a result of contact with
  non-Indians.

37
Ghost Dance Continued
38
The Navajo

• The Navajo called themselves the Dinè, or the
  people.
• The Navajo lived in the southeastern corner of
  Utah, below the San Juan River.
• Many Navajo today live on a reservation in that
  same area.

39
The Navajo Survival

• The Navajo used horses for hunting and carrying
  heavy loads.
• They also raised sheep and goats.
• Some clans closer to the San Juan River practiced
  irrigation and farming.

40
The Navajo Home Life

• The Navajo lived in hogans. They considered
  their homes to be a symbol of spiritual
  connection to Mother Earth.
• Hogan doors always face east to meet the morning
  sun.
• Hogans were placed far apart there were no
  villages.

41
The Navajo Families

• The most important person in a Navajo family is
  the mother.
• Women own the house, the sheep, the goats, and
  any wages earned from weaving.
• Men own the horses, the wages earned from their
  jobs, and any items or money they brought into
  the marriage.
• Navajo men and their mothers-in-law are not
  allowed to talk to-or even look at-each other.
  This custom probably reduces the number of family
  arguments!

42
The Navajo Children

• Children play an important role in a Navajo
  family. Even when they are very young, Navajo
  children care for some of the familys sheep or
  help with grown-up chores.
• Each Navajo child is given a secret war name by
  the parents, used only for special religious
  ceremonies.

43
The Navajo Clothing

• The Navajos sheered wool from their sheep and
  made it into yarn.
• The yarn was then dyed from plants to make
  colors.
• The dyed yarn was woven into rugs, blankets, and
  cloth.

44
The Navajo Religion

• Navajo religion is sometimes called The Way.
• It is a code of behavior for everyday life, not
  just weekly worship.
• Ceremonies are called ways.
• One of the most important ceremonies is called
  the Nightway.
• Nightways are nine day healing ceremonies. Sand
  paintings are made as part of the Nightway.

45
Navajo Sand Paintings
46
Native Languages

• American Indian groups spoke many different
  languages.
• When trappers and explorers met them, none of the
  tribes had written alphabets. Many Indian
  languages have become extinct because they were
  not written down or passed on.

47
Native Language Continued

• Each tribe had legends and myths that were passed
  down through an oral tradition of storytelling.
• Many myths were about animals
• Others were called creation myths

48
End of an Era

• The coming of white men forever changed the life
  of American Indians in Utah.
• The new people brought new tools and ideas, as
  well as new diseases.
• The Indians and settlers worked to get along,
  although they did not always succeed.
• Today, American Indians, like this Ute Medicine
  Man, strive to keep the traditions of their past
  alive.