Come Along With Me ---> To The Southern Ute Tribe North Native American Museum!!
Southern Ute Museum
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Some of you may know the past two months have been quite hectic and I've been slowly sharing some of my experiences on Steemit.
Well, I had nearly a month to adventure out into the four corners area, and I had yet to really figure out what I wanted to do. One night while I was staying in my small efficiency with no internet, nope couldn't really blog either, I came up with the idea of making this moment in time worthwhile.
If you know anything about me, you know that I love to explore and really experience life and that means gain knowledge in some way, shape, or form. So, I started thinking about my ancestors and that meant I wanted to learn more about them: how they lived, what they ate, where did they really go?
I won't go into the full terms but my ancestry is one quarter Apache and one quarter Hopi, my ancestors are called the Hisatsinom. To begin, I felt at that moment I had to get to know the current landowners of the area known as the Southern Ute Tribe. Most interesting to me is that I have gotten to know a couple of elders and chiefs belonging to the tribe, and even though we are All One, I still had a yearning to get to know my ancestors a little bit more.
This post kicks off step-by-step the road I traveled to get to know more about my people. I started with the Museum of The Southern Ute Tribe.
So, let's go ...
Entryway, Southern Ute Museum. Photo taken by @eaglespirit
As we walk inside the museum the walls were made of stone and very tastefully done. A sturdy feel of design, architecture, and materials were evident. While the day was very hot, hitting about 90 degrees Fahrenheit the place was very cool and inviting.
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The natural wood, rock, and stone were cool to the touch with bathrooms everywhere. What I found comforting was how many bathrooms there were and not many people. This place definitely deserves more visitors, but I was thankful I came on a day there wasn't many people around.
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Original photography of the Southern Ute tribe is a welcome greeting into the museum and shows off the beautiful tribal members during special celebrations.
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A welcoming smile is there at the front desk and explains the viewing options along with a detailed map. The cost, FREE!
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The atrium signifies the tee pee life the Ute tribe experienced throughout their existence and the four colors are explained by The Denver Post with these words:
The main skylight terminates in a circle of glass, quartered into four shades: yellow (which represents east, springtime and infancy), red (south, summer and youth), black (west, fall and adulthood) and white (north, winter and old age).
I looked up in awe at out how lovely this building was made. It was obvious great love and attention was given to this wondrous sight.
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To walk into the main doorway to the exhibits there is a circular shape and around the circle there are a few glass encased items. In this particular glass case there were dolls of a Bear Dance couple, which goes to show how important this dance is to the Ute tribe in general. The dates of all Bear dances in the area are engraved on the small placard. How cute is that?
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From my attendance at the Southern Ute Bear Dance, it pretty much is a way for men and women to meet and get married. There are rules to abide by and if you haven't seen my post on my experience check it out here.
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Now let's get to the exciting part, Eagle Spirit had to go to the Gift Shop to see what was for sale! A girl has to shop okay ... if you don't know that by now then you just do not know girls. Isn't this blanket lovely?
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Look at all these goodies, and yes they are all handmade and very expensive. What do I mean by expensive? Well, one of the above necklaces goes for the average price of $250 USD.
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Let me spare you more photos of the gift shop but these beauties certainly caught my eye. Bracelets run about $175 USD, the time and attention it takes to bead are from years of learning from generation to generation. The size of the beads are similar to tiny seeds.
I was able to refrain from spending money, besides I have friends that will get me family pricing. Grins from ear to ear.
Now that I had my girl fun, let's continue to the museum ...
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Every tribe has their story as to their origination and here is the Ute tribe’s Creation story.
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This sweet booklet is meant to assist children in learning and an easy way to remember. The Ute believe as many tribes do today that their story and culture is dying.
The urgency to share the stories with the tribal youth is imperative. This museum was created for that purpose.
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I found the wolf and fox creation story of the Ute very interesting, I hope you liked the GIF I made for this presentation. It also saved some space since I took quite a bit of photos. Each tribal story is sweet to my eyes and ears, especially when a storyteller is present.
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An interesting explanation of the petroglyphs was presented by the Ute tribe and it is a foretelling of what is to come in my next blogs. The Ute feel that when a person sees a horse petroglyph then this is someone from their tribe telling a story.
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Arrowheads, Southern Ute Museum. Photos taken by @eaglespirit
Arrowheads were an essential tool and used for hunting, fishing, and war. They’re fairly easy to find all over Colorado and very special. If or when you find one they feel like you are touching a piece of history.
My uncle found one in California and gave it to me years ago. It’s one of my sacred pieces I wear around my neck during special occasions.
The way of life for most Northern Native American tribes was nomadic. Loving in a Ti Pi and moving camp to camp depending on the season. Here are a few photos of original belongings from the Ute tribe.
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Ti Pi life was and still is, by some tribes is the way to live. It’s a form of freedom, culture, and social structure. Driving through Apache land almost ever house had a beautiful tipi right in front of the house. To me, this is something I will have on my land someday as it is a way to honor my ancestors and a great place to be One with earth and nature.
Oftentimes, I felt that the Apache were considered “horse people,” but the more I looked into the background of the four corners I found that the Spanish brought the horse to the Ute. Everyone seems to squabble a bit about who are better, or who came first but either way I find it may not really matter.
The horse came to the area and were honored as warriors, cared for and loved.
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The sculpture above was immense in size, intricately detailed, and simply beautiful to see. This was one of my favorite pieces in the museum to behold.
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Since Northern Native Americans didn’t have paper they used hides to tell their stories. Many of these have been preserved and are either kept by famil members or were taken by thieves. You may even see some at the Smithsonian or The Met.
We will go into how those establishments obtained those treasures in a future post. For now, I’ll just say many were stolen by people who worked for them at the time and thankfully some were fired, but not before horrible misdeeds were done.
On a more positive note, if you haven't fallen in love with the Southern Ute tribe yet then at least you may have a newfound respect. Personally, after spending quite a bit of time with them, I have grown very fond of these Colorado conquerors. A fighting tribe that has survived many obstacles and come out the richer for it.
My favorite part of the museum was getting to know the Ute beadwork, family life, and sharing of the tribe's unity with Mother Earth.
Exploring the museum on this particular day only brought more of a "need to know" about my own ancestors, and I was going to find out one way or another.
Come back for more information as I share my adventure into the four corners of America in my upcoming blog posts.
A'OO,
Eagle Spirit
Greetings,
Thank you for stopping by to read my blog. I’m a First Nation member of the Hopi & Apache Native American tribes, Medicine woman in-training, first time blogger since November 2017, (right here on Steemit), paralegal, researcher, and writer based in the Mountains of Colorado, USA. I work closely with fellow planktons and minnows in a few groups by helping them adjust to Steemit and curate quality content. I’m especially interested in finding others who love natural medicine originating from ancient practices, gold and silver, energy work, and the spirit world. Additionally, I'm the creator of #MedicineCardMonday, so if you are interested in receiving a Native American blessing stop by my blog every Monday, or just say hello!
See you soon, @eaglespirit
This is such a great post- your photographs made me feel as if I was visiting the museum right by your side! I'd be exactly like you - unable to tear myself away from the shop- with such beautiful items and detailed beadwork for sale. Well held- that can't have been easy to step away without treating yourself!
That Horse People sculpture is absolutely spectacular- a really breathtaking piece of work. It looks like it's pretty huge too! That must have been a really special visit for you, connecting and learning more about your ancestors and culture. I'm really looking forward to reading more of your posts.
E x
@eveningart awww yay! so glad you liked them. it was a lot of work and kinda dark in there ... i like bright museums myself. LOL prob too used to nyc
ikr i was a sucker for the shop ... sad so sad ahahahahhah
you loved the same stuff i did .. hey ... besties foh sho ahahahaha
I can imagine that took some serious work to pull together- absolutely fab post (I like bright museums too. I always struggle when they have low lighting to preserve the artefacts!)
I'll be besties - we can go shopping together... watch out world ;)
E x
@eveningart yessss we can shop together for sure! :) LOL
The level of cultural and technological achievements of all ancient civilizations like those of the American Indians are still widely unknown.
I truly believe this is due to institutionalized suppression and disinformation campaigns.
The "invader/settlers" had to maintain a facade of superiority.
Fortunately, more and more people are waking up and realizing that human history is mostly manufactured to sustain the powers that be.
And this, I'm sure, is a good sign for the future.
Thanks for the info.
Namaste, JaiChai
theyre not unknown within the tribe. :)
oral history.
yes there was a lot of killing. suppression, and still a lot of disinformation.
the superiority still exists.
yes yes yes re: manufactured and i hope its true that many are waking up. i hope.
yw and thank you for coming by to bring your two cents forward! :) i enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Namaste! Great to see you finding very interesting articles my friend! I love this type of travel article with so many pictures it seems to take us with them!
I think there is a simplification that happens to history, everything turns one dimensional, loses all gradiations of nuance. To recover that wonder, the details, is always fabulous. I think particularily the Spanish really covered over a lot of fascinating peoples, cultures and esoteric knowledge.
I totally agree.
Graham Hancock's "War God" taught me A LOT about that!
Namaste, my friend.
JaiChai
Another book recommendation! It's going on the list! In fact, I am just now working on a write up on your last book recommendation for me, Origins!
Great post...but why do you think they had so many bathrooms?
there are big ceremonies held there and i’ll speak about a totem pole dedication i attended. the tribe comes and bathrooms are needed for large groups.
Ahhh, that makes a lot of sense.
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Thanks for the museum trip! The necklace, bag and all the items in the gift shop are really beautiful... But wow... It's really expensive... Do they have workshop where we can learn to make it ourselves?
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hiya eliza! no this type of beading is handed down generation to geneRation and each tribe has their own way of doing it. :)
OIC... it's really cool!
Thanks for the tour, very nice pictures!
thank you so much, glad you liked the tour n photos :)
Keep on writing and stay curious!
I know you bought something.....
Thanks for the photo tour. I really need to get out and go see more.
i didnt !! :p
What a nice blog-article, seriously well done, I like that skylight.
Looking forward to hearing/reading more about those petroglyphs,
they look interesting and a bit familiar.
Cheers!
/FF
thank you so much FF! the skylight is amazing!! xoxo
The beardance seems very romantic, did the "Ute bands/tribes" did/do they also Sun Dance?
Cheers!
/FF
yes they do. my closest friend is a sundance chief.
Nice, do you participate?
/FF
ive been selected to help the chief prepare next year. its a week long ceremony.
That is a real honor! Best of luck with that @eaglespirit!
/FF