REMOVE, RETURN, REMEMBER: MAKING UTE LAND RELIGION IN THE AMERICAN WEST Brandilyn Denison A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2011 Approved By Laurie Maffly-Kipp Timothy Marr Theda Perdue Randall Styers Grant Wacker © 2011 Brandilyn Denison ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT BRANDILYN DENISON: Remove, Return, Remember: Making Ute Land Religion in the American West (Under the direction of Laurie Maffly-Kipp) This dissertation narrates the development of cultural memories of nineteenth- century clashes between Ute Indians and whites in the American West. Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Utes and non-Utes memorialized, in a variety of ways, the violence that led to Ute Removal from western Colorado. Within this history of violence, removal, and remembrance, Utes and non-Utes framed nineteenth-century encounters with religious beliefs and practices. Within the setting of the American West, land and its use figured prominently in these encounters and remembrances. By focusing on contact between one tribe, this dissertation grounds scholars in a localized history that mirrors a national narrative of conflict, loss, and reconciliation. The study interrogates the way in which white and American Indian societies have employed religious and non- religious identities, notions of history and progress, and the elusive specter of memory in order to claim the land. Using archival sources, newspapers, oral histories, popular literature, and field observations, it models a way for scholars to incorporate American Indian history more fully into the narrative of American religious history. Furthermore, this study argues that modernist definitions of religion have legitimated white ownership of the land, to the exclusion of American Indian ownership of it. Through this history, the development of religious identities among Utes and non- Utes hinged on an understanding of religion that excluded aspirations for political or iii economic gain. Instead, Utes and their non-Ute allies represented Ute religiosity by its lack of material or political desires. Although scholars have long noted the relationship between economics and religion, this study demonstrates the way in which academic and popular descriptions of Ute religion in the twentieth century relied on definitional boundaries that excluded economics. Through the history of contact between whites and Utes as well as twenty-first century developments in the cultural memory of nineteenth- century contact, we see the processes through which popular representations of religion became “purified” of economics. iv In memory of my mom, who taught me to love school, and for my dad, who taught me to love the land v Acknowledgments The research for this dissertation was funded in part through the Penny Aldrich Interdisciplinary Fellowship and the Ferdinand Summer Research Fellowship. John- Charles Duffy’s questions challenged me to expand the project’s scope. Jenna Tiitsman provided thoughtful feedback on early drafts of the proposal and along with Annie Hardison-Moody, was an excellent “writing buddy.” In later drafts of the project, Kathy Foody, Shannon Harvey, Ilyse Morgenstein-Fuerst, and Stanley Thayne pushed me to clarify and hone my thoughts. Megan Goodwin gave the dissertation a title. Jenna Gray- Hildenbrand offered continued support, sharing in the trials and triumphs of the project from the beginning of it until the end. My in-laws, Ron and Judy Kerschner, opened their Colorado home to me for several research trips. My aunt and uncle, Don and Marge Hill, found several sources for me and accompanied me on several road trips. Longtime family friend Marilee Claverie was an observant companion on a field visit to the Meeker Massacre Pageant. My husband, Russ Kerschner, kept my spirits up with his steady support. This project is indebted to my mom’s belief in the power of education. Although she did not see the project to its completion, I think that my mom knew something when she saw the sparkle in my ten-year-old eye when taught me how to use the local college library’s card catalog. Thanks to her nurturing, that sparkle never went away. I never really knew how rich and interesting Colorado’s landscape was until I left it, but my dad was waiting with impressive knowledge of the land when I returned home to research. Because of my parents’ support, the project is dedicated to them. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................. x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 11 Describing and defining religion .......................................................................... 17 Religious Pluralism............................................................................................... 24 Religion and Nature .............................................................................................. 27 Chapter Outline..................................................................................................... 30 II. PONIES, PLOWS, AND POSSIBILITIES: LAND AND RELIGION ON THE COLORADO FRONTIER........................................................................................ 32 Introduction........................................................................................................... 32 Pre-contact Great Basin ........................................................................................ 34 Spanish Contact and Captive Trade...................................................................... 41 Contact with the United States.............................................................................. 48 White River Ute Agency....................................................................................... 59 Nathan Meeker...................................................................................................... 66 Meeker at the White River Ute Agency................................................................ 75 III. MORALITY, GENDER, AND LANDOWNERSHIP, 1879-1881.................... 85 vii Introduction........................................................................................................... 85 At the Agency ....................................................................................................... 93 Media reporting..................................................................................................... 95 Ute Women’s Morality ......................................................................................... 98 “Of Outrageous Treatment at Night”.................................................................. 114 Meeker’s Character............................................................................................. 122 Removal .............................................................................................................. 132 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 137 IV. MAKING UTE LAND RELIGION (1891-1941) ............................................ 139 Introduction......................................................................................................... 139 After Removal..................................................................................................... 146 Ute Ceremonial Practices.................................................................................... 151 Excluding Economics from Ute Land Religion.................................................. 154 Excluding Christianity from Ute Land Religion................................................. 166 Peyote and Christianity....................................................................................... 182 Staging Ute Land Religion.................................................................................. 190 V. PAGEANTS AND POWWOWS: RECONCILIATION AND UTE LAND RELIGION.............................................................................................................. 198 Introduction......................................................................................................... 198 Meeker Massacre Pageant................................................................................... 200 The Smoking River Powwow ............................................................................. 218 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 228 VI. CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 234 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................... 238 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. General Thornburgh killed by Ute Indian……………………………….…..94 2. Meeker Massacre Pageant………………………………………………….203 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ARCIA Annual Report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs CHS Colorado Historical Society DPL Denver Public Library JWMLUU J. Williard Marriott Library, University of Utah LTPSC L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.