The exhibit includes a series of rare, old photographs of Chief Ouray, Chipeta, Posey, Ignacio, Severo, Buckskin Charlie, Andrew Frank, and others who struggled to preserve tribal integrity and Ute traditions during difficult times. Other photos illustrate home life in tipis and log cabins, boarding schools, ceremonial dress, gambling, horsemanship, and women's games.


The distinctive Ute culture reflects elements from both Southwest and the Great Plains lifeways. The Utes may have been the first tribe to adopt a life on horseback, thanks to contact with early Spanish colonists. Nomadic bands occupied much of Colorado, Utah, and northern New Mexico until the mid-19th century. Later Anglo emigrants from the eastern U.S. also impacted the Utes.  Expanding settlement and the discovery of gold created conflicts leading to the loss of most of their ancestral territory. Today there are three Ute reservations-- two in southwestern Colorado and one in northeastern Utah.