The Native American culture is very important in Colorado and Colorado Springs itself! The Ute Indian tribe camped right here near Camp Creek in what is now Rock Ledge Ranch. If you visit the Garden of the Gods, you can even see a large stone monument that marks the Ute Trail through that area.
Near the Cog Railway that heads up Pikes Peak, the Ute Pass Trail winds up the pass and follows the original trail the Utes used to go west through the mountains. One of the most famous chiefs of the Ute Indian tribe was Chief Ouray. He was raised as an Apache (his mother's tribe) even though his father was Ute. He spent his childhood in Taos, New Mexico, where he learned Spanish and English. In 1859 he married a Tabeguache Ute named Chipeta. She was a Kiowa Apache, who was adopted by the Utes. She preferred the Indian way of life, so she spoke very little English.
In 1860, Ouray became chief of the Ute Indian Tribe. In 1861, gold was discovered in Colorado, and many prospectors, surveyors, and miners headed into the Colorado high country. Ouray knew the white man would soon take over the Ute land because so many gold prospectors were heading over the Continental Divide. Ouray did not want to go to war with the white man, so in 1868 he struck a deal with his friend, Kit Carson. The Ute Indians got six million acres of land under the Kit Carson Treaty. In return, Ouray and his people were guaranteed that no one would pass over the remaining Ute land. When gold was discovered in the Ute territory, however, the Indians were pushed off their six million acres and were confined to a very small reservation near what is now Cortez, Colorado. That is where they remain today.
In the summer of 1880, Ouray traveled to Ignacio to negotiate once again with the white man. He was a very sick man when he arrived and died there on August 24, 1880.
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Painted By: Kathy Barnes
Written By: Carole Hiegert