Ute Dancers

The Florissant Valley is traditionally a very sacred place for the Ute Indians. Historically, the Ute people would make annual pilgrimages each year through the valley to visit sacred places on either side of it. Just to the East of the Florissant Valley is Pikes Peak, the tallest mountain in the region (14,110' tall). In the Ute indian creation myth, the Ute nation originated on the top of Pikes Peak. To the North of the Florissant Valley is Crystal Peak, a pyramid shaped peak known for its abundance of amazonite and smoky quartz (both of these minerals were prized by the Ute medicine men.) The Utes are one of only a few Native American groups with no stories of migration and, when they were forcibly relocated to reservations in Utah in the 1880's, the Pikes Peak region remained a very important and sacred place for them.

Today, each year, a group of Utes return to the Pikes Peak region to honor their ancestral lands. The Utes hike to the top of Pikes Peak and perform traditional ceremonies to honor the land and preserve it for the coming year. While in the region, they always perform some of their traditional dances at the Monument. The tradition of the Ute dancers performing in the Monument's amphitheater is something that is looked forward to by everyone in the community. We are very lucky to have the Pikes Peak Historical Society, which sponsors many things in the community, including the annual return of the Utes.

Celinda Kaelin (right) is the president of the board of directors for the historical society. Here she is introducing Loya, one of the Ute elders (and leader of the dancers).

Most of the dancers who come to the Fossil Beds each year are descendants of Loya. This year 4 generations of Loya's family was represented, in addition to several other dancers and singers. Most of the dancers are kids, it's really neat to see young kids grasping ahold of their heritage.

This little guy is only six years old. He was obviously nervous before the dancing started, but once he got out on the stage his rhythm was perfect (and check out that look of concentration on his face!). 

(Sorry for the bad pictures, it was getting pretty dark outside once the dancing got going.)

The different costumes worn by the dancers represent the different styles of dance they do. The young man above is a traditional men's dancer, and his clothes are fairly plain. The young man below is a grass dancer, and his costume is much more elaborate.

To start the dancing, all of the dancers came out in one big introduction dance. It was really neat to see all of the different dancers, costumes, and dance styles next to each other. 

The men came out first and the women came out second. Loya made sure to explain that the women followed the men, not because they are inferior in the Ute culture, but because the men must protect the women. 

After the introduction dance, each group of dancers did a dance in their own style with Loya explaining and telling stories in between.

These girls are jingle dancers. All the metal 'jingles' on their dresses end up sounding like the biggest wind chime on Earth when they start to dance. It's a neat compliment to the drumming and singing. Their dances were a lot of knee-bending, giving them the appearance of hopping. But, from what I could tell, they never let both feet leave the ground.

This young man was another grass dancer. Their dances were very fun to watch, all the dips and spinning they did made their costumes flow and move beautifully.

What a fun evening! I got to watch the Ute's dance last year as well, it's always a treat.