Colorado’s Ute History Still Shapes the State at 150
As Colorado approaches its 150th anniversary of statehood in 2026, it is worthwhile to revisit an important and often misunderstood chapter of Western history — the relationship between Colorado settlers and the Ute Indian tribes.
The Denver Post recently published a Perspective section commentary headlined, “The Utes Still Must Go,” accompanied by a large photograph of a Ute tribal leader greeting outgoing Gov. Jared Polis. The article raised important questions about treaties, tribal rights and Colorado history, but it left out key historical events that shaped the eventual removal of the White River Utes from Colorado.
Congress ratified the Brunot Agreement on April 29, 1874. The agreement was signed by Ute tribal leaders, including representatives of the Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes. One important provision stated:
“The United States shall permit the Ute Indians to hunt upon said lands so long as the game lasts and the Indians are at peace with the white people.”
That final phrase — “at peace with the white people” — became historically significant.
In northwestern Colorado, tensions between settlers and the White River Utes steadily increased during the late 1870s. Matters reached a breaking point on Sept. 29, 1879, when the White River Indian Agency was attacked and Indian agent Nathan Meeker was killed. The conflict quickly escalated into the famous Milk Creek battle, considered the last major Indian war in Colorado history.
American troops sent from Fort Steele, Wyoming Territory, suffered heavy casualties during the fighting. Officers were killed, soldiers earned Medal of Honor recognition and the battle became one of the bloodiest frontier conflicts in the Rocky Mountain West.
Following the uprising, the federal government closed the White River Agency, and the White River Utes were forcibly removed to reservations in Utah. In practical terms, the government determined the treaty condition requiring peace had been broken.
The Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, however, remained in Colorado and today continue as successful and active tribal governments in southwestern Colorado. Both tribes have developed strong economies, operate successful enterprises and hold significant water rights connected to the Colorado river system — rights that have become increasingly valuable during today’s prolonged Western drought conditions.
Water in the modern West is often more valuable than gold.
As Colorado negotiates future water conservation agreements and river management plans, the tribes remain important partners in protecting agricultural production and future development across the state.
The Indian presence in Colorado history extended far beyond the western slope. Ute hunting parties frequently traveled into North Park near present-day Walden, following buffalo herds and using the natural hot springs around present-day Hot Sulphur Springs as winter encampments.
The Weekly Register-Call, established in 1862 and still operating today as Colorado’s oldest continuously published newspaper, recorded much of the early mining history of the region along with occasional accounts of peaceful encounters with Indian bands moving through the mountains.
Yet the mining camps of Central City, Black Hawk, Idaho Springs and Leadville generally experienced little direct conflict with Indian tribes. Miners in those camps were heavily armed and accustomed to defending themselves under difficult frontier conditions.
After the removal of the White River Utes in 1879 and 1880, vast sections of northwestern Colorado gradually opened to settlement. By the mid-1880s, homesteaders flooded into former Ute territory across the Western Slope. A federal land office established in present-day Glenwood Springs processed hundreds of homestead claims as ranchers, farmers and settlers moved into lands once controlled by the tribes.
Among those homesteaders was my own grandfather, who settled about 20 miles north of Meeker on what had once been Indian territory, not far from the site of the historic Milk Creek battle where some of Colorado’s last major Indian fighting had taken place only a few years earlier.
History is rarely simple. Colorado’s story contains triumph, hardship, broken promises, conflict and survival. The Ute tribes played a major role in shaping the state long before Colorado officially entered the Union in 1876, and their influence continues today.
As Colorado marks its sesquicentennial, remembering that full history — both difficult and inspiring — remains important.