Ute Mountain Casino

Ute people are Native Americans of the Ute tribe and culture and are among the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. They have lived in the regions of present-day Utah and Colorado for centuries, hunting, fishing and gathering food. In addition to their home regions within Colorado and Utah, their hunting grounds extended into Wyoming, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. They had sacred grounds outside of their home domain that were also visited seasonally. Spiritual and ceremonial practices were observed by the Utes. There were twelve historic bands of Utes whose culture was influenced by neighboring Native Americans. Although they generally operated in family groups for hunting and gathering, they came together for ceremonies and trading. The Utes also traded with other Native American tribes and Puebloans. When they made contact with early Euro-Americans, such as the Spanish, they also traded with them. After they acquired horses from the Spanish, their lifestyle changed dramatically, affecting their mobility, hunting practices, and tribal organization. Once primarily defensive warriors, they became adept horsemen and warriors, raiding other Native Americans and Puebloans. Their prestige was based upon the number of horses they owned and their horsemanship, which was tested during horse races. Once the American West began to be inhabited by gold prospectors and settlers in the mid-1800s, the Utes were increasingly pressured off their ancestral lands. They entered into treaties to hold on to some of their land and were eventually relocated to reservations. A few of the key conflicts during this period include the Walker War , Black Hawk War , and the Meeker Massacre . They are now living primarily in Utah and Colorado, within three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The majority of Ute are believed to live on one of these reservations. Utah is named after these people.
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