THE UTE TRIBE

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are the Weeminuche band of the Ute Nation of Indians. The two other bands, the Mouache and the Capote became the Southern Ute Tribe. The Northern Ute Bands (the Uncompahgre band, the Grand River band, the Yampa band, and the Uinta band) are located on the Uinta ­ Ouray Reservation near Vernal, Utah. The Ute Indians are distinguished by the Ute language, which is Shoshonean, a branch of the UtoAztecan linguistic stock (Garcia and Tripp, 1977). Other Indians in the United States that speak Shoshonean are the Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, and several California Tribes.

THE JICARILLA APACHE

Jicarilla Apache, one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athabaskan language. The term jicarilla[needs IPA] comes from Mexican Spanish meaning "little basket", referring to the small sealed baskets they used as drinking vessels. To neighboring Apache bands like the Mescalero and Lipan they were known as Kinya-Inde ("People who live in fixed houses"). The Jicarilla called themselves also Haisndayin translated as "people who came from below”, because they believed themselves to be the sole descendants of the first people to emerge from the underworld, the abode of Ancestral Man and Ancestral Woman who produced the first people.

THE ARAPAHOE TRIBE

The Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming is one of four groups of Arapaho who originally occupied the headwaters of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers. They speak a variation of the Algonquin language, and are that people’s most southwest extension. Culturally, they are Plains Indians, but socially and historically distinct. After signing the Treaty of 1851, the Arapaho and Cheyenne then shared land encompassing one-sixth of Wyoming, one-quarter of Colorado and parts of western Kansas and Nebraska. Later, when the Treaty of 1868 left the Northern Arapaho without a land base, they were placed with the Shoshone in west central Wyoming, on the Wind River Reservation. The Northern Arapaho are a federally recognized tribe.

THE COMANCHE TRIBE

We are the Comanche Nation and in our native language “Nʉmʉnʉʉ” (NUH-MUH-NUH) which means, “The People”. We are known as “Lords of the Plains” and were once a part of the Shoshone Tribe. In the late 1600’s and early 1700’s, we moved off from our Shoshone kinsmen onto the northern Plains and then southerly in search of a new homeland. We Migrated across the Plains, through Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.

THE NAVAJO TRIBE

The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, covering over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty. Diné Bikéyah, or Navajo land, is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America.

Visitors from around the world are intrigued and mystified when they hear the Navajo language – so, too, were the enemy during World War II. Unknown to many, the Navajo language was used to create a secret code to battle the Japanese. Navajo men were selected to create codes and serve on the front line to overcome and deceive those on the other side of the battlefield. Today, these men are recognized as the famous Navajo Code Talkers, who exemplify the unequaled bravery and patriotism of the Navajo people.