Uncompahgre Ute

Living a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, summers were spent in the Pikes Peak area mountains, which was considered by other tribes to be the domain of the Utes.

The springs were considered sacred grounds where Native Americans drank and soaked in the mineral water to replenish and heal themselves.

"[7][8][9][10] Artifacts found from the nearby Garden of the Gods, such as grinding stones, "suggest the groups would gather together after their hunt to complete the tanning of hides and processing of meat.

"[6][11] The old Ute Passmotion Trail went westward from Monument Creek (near Roswell) to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs to the Rocky Mountains.

[6][11] The North and Middle Parks of present-day Colorado were among favored hunting grounds, due to the abundance of game.

Charles Craig, Uncompahgre Ute Indian Camp, 1893, Denver Art Museum
Chief Ouray
Valley of springs in present-day Manitou Springs , where Ute came to hunt and take the mineral springs . The center of the photograph shows a "lone encampment" of Ute Native Americans, between 1874 and 1879.
An Uncompahgre Ute Buffalo rawhide ceremonial rattle filled with quartz crystals. Flashes of light are visible when the quartz crystals are subjected to mechanical stress in darkness.