Sondra Jones traces the metamorphosis of the Ute people from a society of small, interrelated bands of mobile hunter-gatherers to sovereign, dependent nations-modern tribes who run extensive business enterprises and government services. Weaving together the history of all Ute groups-in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico-the narrative describes their traditional culture, including the many facets that have continued to define them as a people. Jones emphasizes how the Utes adapted over four centuries and details events, conflicts, trade, and social interactions with non-Utes and non-Indians. Being and Becoming Ute examines the effects of boarding-and public-school education; colonial wars and commerce with Hispanic and American settlers; modern world wars and other international conflicts; battles over federally instigated termination, tribal identity, and membership; and the development of economic enterprises and political power. The book also explores the concerns of the modern Ute world, including social and medical issues, transformed religion, and the fight to perpetuate Ute identity in the twenty-first century.

Neither a portrait of a people frozen in a past time and place nor a tragedy in which vanishing Indians sank into oppressed oblivion, the history of the Ute people is dynamic and evolving. While it includes misfortune, injustice, and struggle, it reveals the adaptability and resilience of an American Indian people.

Out of the desert : the Nã⁰u-ci [or Nooche] -- First encounters : commerce and colonialism, to 1846 -- Americans among the Utes : trade, trapping, and trails -- Colonization : Utah Territory -- Conciliation and defeat : Western Utes, 1851-1855 -- Colonization : Kansas/Colorado Territory -- Containment : Colorado, 1855-1873 -- Conflict and removal : Utah, 1855-1879 -- Conflict and removal : Colorado, 1873-1881 -- The land divided: Southern Ute and Ute Mountain reservations -- The land divided : Uintah and Ouray reservations, 1881-1906 -- Religion and the perseverance of identity : 1890-present -- Travail : 1895-1940 -- The struggle for rebirth and identity: 1940-1970 -- The quest for self-determination and sovereignty -- Uintah-Ouray Utes: 1960 to a new century -- Southern and Ute Mountain Utes : 1960 to a new century -- Appendix: historical nomenclature for Ute bands -- Bibliography.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 523-548) and index.

"Sondra Jones traces the metamorphosis of the Ute people from a society of small, interrelated bands of mobile hunter-gatherers to sovereign, dependent nations, modern tribes who run extensive business enterprises and government services. Weaving together the history of all Ute groups in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. the narrative describes their traditional culture, including all the facets that have continued to define them as a people. Jones emphasizes how the Utes adapted over four centuries and details events, conflicts, trade, and social interactions with non-Utes and non-Indians. Being and Becoming Ute examines the effects of boarding and public school education; colonial wars and commerce with Hispanic and American settlers; modern world wars and other international conflicts; battles over federally instigated termination, tribal identity, and membership; and the development of economic enterprises and political power. The book also explores the concerns of the modern Ute world, including social and medical issues, transformed religion, and the fight to perpetuate Ute identity in the twenty-first century"--Provided by publisher.