Southern Ute Indian Tribe
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe are descendants of the Mouache and Kapuuta Ute bands, and we have over 1,500 members.
Sovereignty
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe is a sovereign and will remain a sovereign. The Mouache and Kaputa bands have retained their sovereignty through European settlement, the formation of the United States, the establishment of the Reservation, and the creation of the State of Colorado. The Tribe’s sovereign authority was not conferred on it by the federal government; rather, its authority is inherent, having always existed and having never been extinguished. The Tribe exercises its sovereignty daily by operating the tribal government; exercising jurisdiction within the exterior boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation; overseeing its current territory; regulating and providing for the tribal membership; and acting on a government-to-government basis with other sovereigns, including the United States, the State of Colorado, and other tribal nations.
The Statement on Sovereignty, which will be incorporated into the Tribe’s living governance manual, goes on to prescribe expectations for protecting tribal sovereignty:
Operating as a government, the Tribe is exercising its sovereignty; the Tribe must also be resolute about protecting its sovereignty from infringement. Protecting sovereignty requires vigilance by Tribal Council Members, tribal officials, and tribal employees. To protect against infringement on tribal sovereignty by other governments, the Tribe monitors federal and state legislation; enacts tribal codes, analyzes federal authority before acquiescing to federal regulations, requirements, and inspections; and is strategic in its interactions with other tribal nations, local and state governments, and the federal government.
“As a sovereign nation, we will continue to enhance the Tribe’s economic development and preserve our culture as we have in the past by working with our neighbors, solely on a government-to-government basis, not as a subordinate party.”
The Statement on Sovereignty is part of a larger effort by the Tribal Council to establish a living governance document that is designed to define roles and responsibilities, oversight functions, and the decision-making process for the benefit of the Tribe, its tribal members, tribal officials, tribal employees, and delegates.
Courtesy of and Copyright: Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Southern Ute Tribal Chairman Melvin J. Baker
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Southern Ute Tribal Vice Chairman Marvin Pinnecoose
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Lindsay Box, Executive Officer, Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Photo By Drew Semel
Outgoing Chairman Frost and Family
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Lake Capote Ice Fishing
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Indian Tribe Natural Resources
Courtesy of Jeremy Wade Shockley | Southern Ute Drum
Membership & Location
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe are descendants of the Mouache and Kapuuta Ute bands, and we have over 1,500 members.
Our tribal government is headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado and our elected seven-member tribal council, including the chairperson, governs the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Our reservation has over 300,000 acres in Colorado, but land ownership is split up among Utes and non-Utes with both the state and federal government owning parcels as well.
Enterprises & Resources
Our economic enterprises include: Sky Ute Casino and the Southern Ute Museum and Cultural Center. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Growth Fund supports tribal members through investments in energy, private equity, and real estate including Red Willow Production; Red Cedar Gathering, and Kava Equity Partners among others.
KSUT Tribal Radio, Eddie Box and Sheila
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Utilities Division
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
Southern Ute Utilities Water Program
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
The long-awaited promise of water brings hope for continued economic growth, page 1
Courtesy of the Water Education Colorado
The long-awaited promise of water brings hope for continued economic growth, page 2
Courtesy of the Water Education Colorado
Tribes to Administer Their Own Clean Water Programs, page 1
Courtesy of the Water Education Colorado
Tribes to Administer Their Own Clean Water Programs, page 2
Courtesy of the Water Education Colorado
Southern Ute Thanksgiving Dinner
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Christmas Program
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Gourd Dance
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Tribal Fair and Powwow
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Singing in the New Year
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Colorado College honors Ute ancestral homelands
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
The Southern Ute Education Department’s Director, Dr. Joseph at the Ignacio Elementary School
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
LaTitia Taylor, Education Director from the Southern Ute tribe, and members of the tribe's "Nuu-ciu Strong"
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy Students with Tribal Council
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Youth Basketballers at SunUte Community Center
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy students fishing on Scott’s Pond
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Ice Fishing at Lake Capote
Courtesy of the Southern Ute Indian Drum
Education & Culture
Young people gather at the SunUte Recreation Center, the boys and Girls Club, and the Piinu Nuuchi Skate Park.
Our Southern Ute Indian Montessori School provides, “…a strong educational foundation to preserve and share the Southern Ute Indian culture and language within a Montessori environment…that creates future tribal and world leaders who appreciate and support their culture, language, family, and lifelong learning.”
Creation Story
As told by Alden Naranjo Jr., (1941-2020) Southern Ute Elder and a member of the Mouache and Kapuuta Bands (as told by Naranjo in Ute Indian Art and Culture, From Prehistory to the New Millennium, edited by Will Wroth)
In the ancient times only Sinawav (Sinaevi) the Creator and Coyote lived on the earth. They had come out of the light so long ago that no one remembered when or how. The Earth was young and the time had come to increase the people. Sinawav gave a bag of sticks to Coyote and said, “Carry these over the far hills to the valleys beyond.” He gave specific directions Coyote was to follow and told him what to do when he got there. “You must remember, this is a great responsibility. The bag must not be opened under any circumstances until you reach the sacred grounds.”
“What is this I carry?” asked Coyote.
“I will say no more. Now be about your task,” Sinawav answered.
Coyote was young and foolish, consumed with curiosity. “What is this I carry?” he kept asking himself.
As soon as he was over the first hill and out of sight, he stopped. He was just going to peek in the bag. “That could hurt nothing.” He thought. Just as he untied the bag and opened a small slit they rushed for the opening. They were people. These people yelled and hollered in strange languages of all kinds. He tried to catch them and get them back into the bag. But they ran away in all different directions. From how full the bag was after he had gotten it closed he could tell there was only a fraction of what he had started out with. He went to the sacred valley and dumped them out there. There was a small number of these people. But those few ones were the Utes, the real Utes from around here.
Coyote then returned and told Sinawav that he had completed the task. Sinawav searched Coyote’s face. “I know,” Sinawav sighed. “You foolish thing, you do not know what a fearful thing you have done.”
Coyote finally confessed. “I tried to catch them. I was frightened. They spoke in strange tongues that I could not understand.”
“Those you let escape will forever war with the chosen ones. They will be tribes which will always be a thorn in the sides of the Utes,” said Sinawav.
“The Utes, even though they are few in number, will be the mightiest and most valiant of heart.”
Sinawav then cursed the Coyote, “You are an irresponsible meddler. From this time on you are doomed to wander this earth on all fours forever as a night crawler.”
Creation Story painting by Cassandra Atencio
