Honoring Utah's 8 tribal nations: Events to celebrate Native American Heritage Month

Representatives from the University of Utah American Indian Resource Center, Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and the Utah Division of Indian Affairs celebrate the beginning of Native American Heritage Month at the Salt Lake City-County Building on Tuesday.

Representatives from the University of Utah American Indian Resource Center, Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and the Utah Division of Indian Affairs celebrate the beginning of Native American Heritage Month at the Salt Lake City-County Building on Tuesday. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)


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on SALT LAKE CITY — This November is a chance to celebrate the culture, history and people of Utah's eight federally recognized tribal nations.

November has been recognized in the United States as Native American Heritage Month since 1990 when Congress passed a joint resolution. Salt Lake City kicked off the month this year by hosting a celebration and issuing a resolution recognizing the importance of Native contributions to the city.

"With a focus on National Native American Heritage Month, this is a prime opportunity to learn more about cultures, traditions, histories, current successes and challenges we face," said Dominique Talahaftewa with the Utah Division of Indian Affairs during the celebration. "Tribal Nations and their citizens, the Indigenous people of this great state, have much to offer. Being educated about each other and our backgrounds is the beginning of accepting each other and understanding each other and our differences."

Alan Barlow, executive director of the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake, stressed the importance of heritage as a concept that connects generations.

"That idea of heritage is not something in the past. It's now; it's here. It's what we're doing," Barlow said. "The heritage of our grandchildren is what we're giving them now in the choices we make, in the communities we decide to be a part of, in the conversations that we have, and the new friends that we adopt in our lives."

Honey is pictured at a celebration commemorating the beginning of Native American Heritage Month at the Salt Lake City-County Building on Tuesday.
Honey is pictured at a celebration commemorating the beginning of Native American Heritage Month at the Salt Lake City-County Building on Tuesday. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Learning about Utah's tribes

Utah's eight federally recognized Tribes are the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, the Skull Valley Band of Goshute, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Navajo Nation.

The tribes represent a diverse variety of cultures, histories, languages and traditions.

A map shows the locations of American Indian Tribal lands in Utah.
A map shows the locations of American Indian Tribal lands in Utah. (Photo: Utah Division of Indian Affairs)

The Navajo Nation is the largest tribe in the U.S. Its reservation — which spans Utah, New Mexico and Arizona — is the largest in the country. The name Navajo is a Spanish rendition of the Indigenous word "navahu'u," which means farm fields in the valley. However, Navajo people refer to themselves as Diné (pronounced "di-nay").

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is located in northern Utah and southern Idaho and is a branch of the larger group of Shoshone people, who cover Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. The Shoshone people were very mobile, migrating as the seasons changed. The name Shoshone originates from Sosoni, a Shoshone word for "high-growing grass."

There are two bands of the Goshutes in Utah: the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located on the Utah-Nevada border, and the Skull Valley Band of Goshute in Tooele County. The Goshute people occupied some of North America's most arid land, forcing them to become skilled in utilizing all their desert home had to offer, including wild vegetables, roots and grasshoppers. Although federal agents pushed Goshutes towards agriculture, their desert homelands could not support the task. Instead, the Goshutes sought other economic opportunities, including a rocket motor testing facility and nuclear storage facility.

The Ute Tribe, from which Utah derives its name, was one of the largest groups in the Great Basin. Although the tribe had about a dozen bands historically, Utes generally operated in smaller family groups for hunting and gathering. Today, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation is located east of Salt Lake City. It is the second largest Indian reservation in the country, covering over 4.5 million acres. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, consisting of the Weeminuche Band, has a reservation in the Four Corners region. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe also includes the White Mesa community, located about 12 miles south of Blanding.

The Paiute Tribe moved with the seasons, adopting a sophisticated agriculture system that allowed them to maintain their way of life without overtaxing the land. In 1954, the Utah Paiutes lost their federal recognition under the Termination Act. The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah restored its federal recognition in 1980 and today has reservation land in Iron, Millard, Sevier and Washington counties.

The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe has shared territory with the Navajo Nation in southern Utah and northern Arizona. The tribe restored its federal recognition in 1989 and in 2000 reached an agreement with the Navajo Nation to set aside some 5,400 acres of Paiute homelands.

To learn about Utah's Indigenous peoples, visit the resources below:

Events

Mocc Walk, Nov. 5

The nonprofit American Indian Services is hosting a walking fundraiser on Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. at Wardle Fields Regional Park in Bluffdale. The funds go to providing financial assistance for Native American students, who face the highest dropout rates of any ethnic group in the U.S.

The walk will feature food trucks, kids' crafts and prizes for individuals and teams. Register here.

Restoring Ancestral Winds Annual Conference, Nov. 4

Restoring Ancestral Winds is a nonprofit focused on domestic violence in Indigenous communities. Its annual conference is on Nov. 4, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Library. The conference is free, but registration is required.

Community members, advocates, law enforcement, health care providers serving Indigenous domestic violence and sexual assault victims are invited to attend.

Unlocking Utah Boarding School Voices, Nov. 12

Utah Diné Bikéyah and The Leonardo Museum are hosting a panel exploring the impact Utah boarding schools have had on Indigenous communities. The panel is on Nov. 12, 1-4 p.m., at the museum. Tickets are free. Historical images and information will also be presented at The Leonardo and Bears Ears Gallery throughout the weekend.

Community conversation on Indigenous boarding schools, Nov. 16

The U.'s Bennion Center is facilitating a discussion on Indigenous boarding schools. This virtual conversation will be held on Zoom on Nov. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Registration is required.

Art exhibit: 'Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy,' Nov. 17

Indigenous artist and activist Gregg Deal is exhibiting new work on Nov. 17, 6:30-8 p.m., at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City. The exhibit, "Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy" is a music-themed talk and performance piece that focuses on the music that has helped Deal overcome and heal. Admission is free.

Film screening: 'Roadtrip Nation: Native Way Forward,' Nov. 18

The University of Utah is hosting a screening and Q&A of "Roadtrip Nation: Native Way Forward" on Nov. 18, 3-5 p.m., at the Union Theatre. The film follows three Native young adults on a cross-country road trip as they reconcile the past of their people with their possibilities for the future.

Experiential workshop: 'Healing our Untold Stories,' Nov. 19

Davina Smith, the first Diné/Navajo woman to run for the Utah House of Representatives, is leading an experiential workshop that explores the origin stories of Utah's land and Indigenous peoples, the impact of colonization and current Indigenous issues.

The event is Nov. 19, 1-6 p.m., at Full Circle Yoga in Salt Lake City.

Virtual talk on tribal enrollment and blood quantum, Nov. 21

Ronee Wopsock, education director for the Ute Indian Tribe, will present on the history behind blood quantum and its implications for tribal citizenship and feelings of belonging. Blood quantum refers to laws that define legal Native American status based on the amount of Native "blood" a person possesses. The virtual talk is Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. on Zoom. Register here.

Don't see an event? Email sgonzalez@deseretdigital.com to send us details about more Native American Heritage Month events.

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Sydnee Chapman Gonzalez is a reporter and recent Utah transplant. She works at the Utah Investigative Journalism Project and was previously at KSL.com and the Wenatchee World in Washington. Her reporting has focused on marginalized communities, homelessness and local government. She grew up in Arizona and has lived in various parts of Mexico. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, rock climbing and embroidery.

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