On December 30, 1849 a peace treaty was signed between the United States and the Utes at Abiquiu, New Mexico. This was the first treaty negotiated between Utes and the U.S. government, and was signed by 28 Ute leaders, primarily from the Moauche and Kapuua Bands. The treaty forced the Utes to officially recognize the sovereignty of the United States and established boundaries between the U.S. and the Ute nation. The Treaty also gave the federal government permission to set up military forts in the valley. The first, Fort Massachusetts was built on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, but in 1858 the U.S. government moved the fort to its present location at Fort Garland.

Ratified Indian Treaty 256: Utah Abiquin (Abiqui), New Mexico, December 30, 1849, Courtesy of DigiTreaties — Ratified Indian Treaty 256: Utah Abiquin (Abiqui), New Mexico, December 30, 1849
*Courtesy of DigiTreaties*

Illustration of Fort Massachusetts, undated, Courtesy of the Library of Congress — Illustration of Fort Massachusetts, undated
*Courtesy of The Library of Congress*

After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, people in New Mexico – formerly Mexican citizens and now Americans – began to move north into Ute Territory in increasingly larger numbers. This caused tensions and conflicts to rise, and both Utes and other tribes launched reprisals. The U.S. Army destroyed 50 Ute lodges in New Mexico supposedly to encourage Utes to “make peace” with settlers in the area. Utes in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado were increasingly under pressure, and the treaty included language promising protections against the depredations by American citizens on Ute People and homelands.

The treaty mandated that the United States had “lawful and exclusive jurisdiction over [the Utes] and the vast territory over which they hunted,” which was then administered as part of the territory of New Mexico. In 1855, the Governor of New Mexico negotiated a land exchange with the Utes of approximately 2,000 square miles of land north of the San Juan River and east of the Animas River for the removal of Utes from New Mexico. However, the 1855 treaty was not signed by a majority of the Ute bands and was never ratified by Congress.