Abstract

The Weeminuche band of the Ute Nation of Indians formerly occupied the area in what is now western Colorado and New Mexico and areas of eastern Utah and Arizona. The family was the basic unit of society, but they banded together for social functions. In 1895, The Congress placed the Ute Nation on the old Southern Ute Reservation in southwestern Colorado. In 1940, six years after the Indians Reorganization Act of 1934, the Weeminuche Band organized a tribal government, enacted a tribal constitution and adopted Ute Mountain Ute for the name of their Tribe. The major income for the tribe comes from rentals and royalties for development of Tribal oil and gas resources. Currently there are 152 producing wells on tribal lands. The Weeminuche have maintained a common unity, bound by a distinct, identifiable, long, cultural heritage. Today, the Weeminuche Band find that their traditional handicrafts and pottery are a marketable treasure.