31 Jul Telluride Library: Understanding Colorado Tribal History & Future, 8/5 & 8/10!
The Telluride Library invites the community to meet author Sondra Jones. She will give a presentation about her book, “Being and Becoming Ute: The Story of an American Indian People,” on Wednesday, August 5th at 5:30 pm.
The join Ernest House Jr., Senior Policy Director at the Center of Tribal & Indigenous Engagement at the Keystone Policy Center, for a conversation on August 10th at 5:30 pm
Sondra Jones traces the metamorphosis of the Ute people from a society of small, interrelated bands of mobile hunter-gatherers to sovereign, dependent nations—modern tribes who run extensive business enterprises and government services. Weaving together the history of all Ute groups—in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico—the narrative describes their traditional culture, including the many facets that have continued to define them as a people. Jones emphasizes how the Utes adapted over four centuries and details events, conflicts, trade, and social interactions with non-Utes and non-Indians. Being and Becoming Ute examines the effects of boarding—and public—school education; colonial wars and commerce with Hispanic and American settlers; modern world wars and other international conflicts; battles over federally instigated termination, tribal identity, and membership; and the development of economic enterprises and political power. The book also explores the concerns of the modern Ute world, including social and medical issues, transformed religion, and the fight to maintain Ute identity in the twenty-first century.
Neither a portrait of a people frozen in a past time and place nor a tragedy in which vanishing Indians sank into oppressed oblivion, the history of the Ute people is dynamic and evolving. While it includes misfortune, injustice, and struggle, it reveals the adaptability and resilience of an American Indian people.
Sondra G. Jones has taught American History, World History, Utah History, and Native American History at three of Utah’s major universities, including BYU. She is currently teaching Utah History and American History at BYU. Sondra received a Master’s degree from BYU and a doctorate from the University of Utah in American History with a minor emphasis in World History and Anthropology. During graduate work at the U of U she also helped develop an online course for World History after 1500, and taught it for several years. However, her primary research interest has been on the American West and in Native American history. She has published two books in Native American history: one examined Indian slavery in 19th century Utah, while the most recent (2019) was a comprehensive history of the Ute Indians. A 75th Anniversary history of Utah Valley University was published in 2016. Current research interests include the impact of disease on history, women and medicine in turn-of-the century Utah, and millennial religions among Native Americans in upstate New York.
Ernest House will talk about projects like the Colorado Outdoor Strategy Tribal Framework, buffalo restoration in the San Luis Valley, and the building the nation’s first tribal embassy in Denver.
Ernest House Jr. is an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, and a leader in Native American affairs. He served as Executive Director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) for 12 years, fostering communication between Colorado’s tribal nations and state agencies, while maintaining government-to-government relations under Governors Owens, Ritter, and Hickenlooper. Currently, as Senior Policy Director and Director for the Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement at the Keystone Policy Center, he focuses on tribal consultation, energy, conservation, healthcare, natural resources, and cultural resource management. Ernest is a Gates Family Foundation and German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and serves on various boards, including The Gates Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, National Western Center Authority, and the Telluride Institute. He is the son of the late Ernest House, Sr., a long-time tribal leader, and great-grandson of Chief Jack House, the last hereditary chief of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
No Comments