Ouray (chief)

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Chief Ouray with Chipela

Chief Ouray (* 1833 in Taos , New Mexico ; † August 24, 1880 on the east bank of the Los Pinos River ) was the leader of the Uncompahgre tribe from the Ute people in what is now Utah and Colorado in the southwestern United States . Chief Ouray, a Tabeguache-Ute led the tribe of the Southern Ute in the mid-19th century, he was one of the most important chiefs of the Ute, who was positive towards the whites.

Childhood, youth and family

Ouray was born in Taos in what is now New Mexico in 1833 . His mother belonged to the Uncompahgre-Ute tribe and his father "Guera Murah" was half Jicarilla - Apache . Ouray learned English, Spanish and various indigenous languages in his youth in Taos .

Until the age of 18 he was a shepherd and took part in battles against the rival Sioux and Kiowa . Then he moved to what is now Colorado, where he became an independent member of the Tabeaguche clan of the Ute, in which his father had become chief despite his descent from the Apaches. Like all Utes, he lived on the hunt until 1860, took part in meetings with other tribes and fought against the Indian tribes of the Great Plains . Ouray was married to Black Mare, with whom he had a son named Paron. After the death of his first wife in 1859, he married Chipeta, an Indian from the Kiowa Apache tribe who had been adopted by the Uncompahgre as a toddler. His son was kidnapped by Sioux in a raid in 1863 and went missing.

Political career

Ouray, who became chief of the Ute after the death of his father in 1860, was one of their most important leaders. He used all his skills and energy to solve the problems posed by the advancement of the whites west. In 1863 he was involved in negotiations with the government over a treaty in which the Ute ceded all of their territory east of the continental divide to the whites. From 1868 he traveled with his wife several times to Washington, DC to represent the interests of his people. He also met President Ulysses S. Grant on one such occasion . Ouray always tried to negotiate the best terms for his people without jeopardizing his good relations with the whites. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in avoiding further land losses by the Indians.

Ouray's friendship with the whites and the resulting benefits for him were viewed critically by militant Indians. The gold discoveries in Colorado and the resulting influx of gold diggers worsened relations between whites and Indians. With the signing of the Brunot Treaty, Ouray ceded the area of ​​the San Juan Mountains to the government. He received a farm with a house from the government south of Montrose, Colorado , where he and his wife lived for several years.

In the spring of 1878, Nathan Meeker, an Indian agent, tried to force the White River Ute to give up their traditional way of life and settle down as farmers. When he encountered considerable resistance from the Indians, he called federal troops to support him. Even before these troops even arrived, Chief Douglas attacked the Indian agency with several warriors on September 29, 1879, killed Meeker along with seven other whites and kidnapped several women and children. This attack became known as the "Meeker Massacre". Ouray and his wife Chipeta managed to free the hostages. The effects of this event were devastating to the Indians. In 1880 Ouray traveled to Washington for the last time, where he signed the treaty that forced the White River Ute and Uncompahgre to go to Utah in the Uintah Reservation , or the newly established Ouray Reservation named after him .

Death and remembrance

Ouray fell ill while visiting the Southern Ute . He died on August 24, 1880 on the east bank of the Los Pinos River. Chipeta, her brother John McCook, Chief Colorow , Naneese, Chief Buckskin Charlie and a few warriors buried him in a secret location in the mountains two miles south of the town of Ignacio, according to the tradition of the Ute . In 1925, the US government decided to set up a memorial for Ouray. Chief Colorow, remembering the burial site, informed the Indian Affairs Bureau. The US government had the remains recovered and Christian buried in Ignacio in the presence of many dignitaries.

In 1956, the Ute Indian Memorial Park was established on the farm two miles south of Montrose that once belonged to Ouray and Chipeta. There is a monument to Ouray and Chipeta, who were also buried there.

The city of Ouray in Colorado and Ouray County in the San Juan Mountains were named after him.

literature

  • Diane Shaughnessy, Jack Carpenter: Chief Ouray: Ute Peacemaker. The Rosen Publishing Group, 1998, ISBN 0823951081 .
  • Robert B Houston Jr., Robert B. Houston: Two Colorado Odysseys: Chief Ouray, Porter Nelson. iUniverse, 2005, ISBN 0595358608 .

Web links

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