Plants & Places

“As Native peoples we are stewards of the land. We take care not to use more resources than we need and acknowledge and respect the ancestors who were here before us.”

Alden B. Naranjo Jr. (1941-2020), Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Former NAGPRA Coordinator, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Plants

Traditionally, women were responsible for plant gathering and teaching what they knew. Today, both women and men pass down Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to younger generations about which plants are edible and medicinal and when they are ready to be gathered. Important and ongoing gathering sites in the Pikes Peak region are Tava Kavvi (Pikes Peak) Jimmy Camp, mineral springs, Paint Mines, Pulpit Rock, Garden of the Gods, and the grounds of the Air Force Academy among others.

“Nuuchiu (Ute) to me is this land right here, this Pikes Peak, the places my people lived, and hunted, and picked, and they prayed. Tava Kaavi (Pikes Peak) meant something to us and to my people. It’s special for the things that it contains from all the way where the sun comes up to where it sets. We are connected, we don’t know how to separate the air from the water from the land or any of the elements. The seasons mean something to us, our seasons and our skyscape taught us things about when to move, what to do, and how to pray. We are connected forever and we will always be here. Our connection has never left us.”

Cassandra J. Atencio, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Former THPO, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Aspen

Bearberry/Kinnikinnick

* Note that this is just a selection of plants.

Places

We developed and used profound and systematic knowledge that revolved around the seasonality of plants and animals, as well as our relationship with weather patterns, seasonal changes, mineral springs, vapor caves, skyscapes, lunar calendar, waterways, and placement of the sun. Although bands had traditional use areas, we would not return to the same place two years in a row to not deplete the resources.

“There were Ute scientists before there was science. And Ute astronomers before there was astronomy. Knowledge encoded in the Ute language, Núu 'apaghapi—passed down generationally, from elder to youth.”

Garrett W. Briggs, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Former NAGPRA Coordinator and THPO, Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Tava Kaavi (Pikes Peak)
Ute Pass
Cathedral Rock on USAFA Grounds
Paint Mines Interpretive Park
Jimmy Camp Creek Park

Palmer Park
Pulpit Rock
Garden of the Gods
Manitou Springs
Cheyenne Cañon

1) Tava Kaavi (Pikes Peak)

2) Ute Pass

3) Cathedral Rock at USAFA

4) Paint Mines

5) Jimmy Camp Creek Park

6) Palmer Park

7) Pulpit Rock

8) Garden of the Gods

9) Manitou Springs

10) Cheyenne Cañon