White River Utes are a Native American band, made of two earlier bands, the Yampa from the Yampa River Valley and the ParianucheUtes[1] who lived along theGrand Valley in Colorado and Utah.[1][2]
The Yampa (Yapudttka,Yampadttka,Yamparka,Yamparika)[citation needed] lived in theYampa River Valley area and north ofWhite River of the present-day state of Colorado[1][2] near the Parianuche who lived to the south. They were called "root eaters".[2] The tribe was relocated to theUintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.[1]
The Parianuche (Pahdteeahnooch,Pahdteechnooch,Parianuc)[citation needed] lived in theColorado River valley (orGrand Valley) in western Colorado and eastern Utah. They are called "elk people" and Grand River Utes.[2] The tribe was relocated to theUintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.[3]
The White River Utes were pressured to give up theirhunter-gatherer lifestyle and take up farming in 1879. This was pressed upon them by an Indian agent,Nathan Meeker, through a number of means, destruction of Ute ponies, starvation, and sending for the military. The Utes took a defensive stand against the military and the agent, killing the agent and U.S. Army Commander Thomas Thornburgh in two separate conflicts. There were also Utes and other whites killed in what was called theMeeker Massacre and the Thornburgh ambush. This ultimately led to the White River Utes being moved to theUintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah.[4]
A small number of White River Utes were resettled on theCheyenne River Reservation,South Dakota, in 1906 and 1907, being allocated 4 townships totalling 92,160 acres.[5] That land remains in the former northern part of the Cheyenne River Reservation. Their communities are Iron Lightning andThunder Butte.
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| Contemporary peoples native to Colorado |
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| Precontact cultures in Colorado |
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| Contemporary peoples native to Arizona | |
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| Prehistoric cultures in Arizona | |
