To understand the relationship between the University of Utah and the Ute tribe, it is important to go back into the past and look into where the Ute tribe was during the founding of the U.

Historically, Native Americans have been settled in Utah for an estimated 12,000 years.

In 1847, Mormon settlers moved toward Salt Lake Valley, which at the time was seen as a middle-ground area between the Shoshone and Ute people.

To look at it specifically through the Utes tribe, the tribe inhabited the states of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Eastern Nevada.

As Mormon settlers started to expand, conflicts started to arise. The Black Hawk War was a conflict that ultimately led to a ceding Native land to settlers.

The conflict resulted in around 400 to 600 Native American and 70 United States soldier and settler deaths. The conflict lasted from 1865 to 1872 and ended after federal intervention to stop the war.

Creation of the University of Utah

Between the Mormon settlements and the Black Hawk War, the U was founded in 1850.

42 years after The U’s founding the university created the athletics program, which at the time was named the “Crimsons”.

Until 1972, the U didn’t have permission to use the Ute name, however, before the university was able to get permission they faced several controversies.

Controversy of the Mascot and Cartoons

During the beginning of the athletics program (1927), students at the University of Utah were advertised as Native Americans in headdresses for their homecoming game. These advertisements led to a new student chant that related to the U and “redskins”.

In 1947, students at the U created a cartoon of an Indian boy that was named “Hoyo.” This cartoon was used as a mascot in different publications at the U.

“Well, the University of Utah used the ute name without permission for a great many years,” former vice president and point person for the U, Fred Esplin, said.

The name had become a part of the culture at the university. The association of the Ute name became crystal clear in 1960, with the U parade float that included students dressed as Native Americans.

This parade float included references to the mascot Hoyo including war paint and attire to mimic Native Americans.

During 1970, there was pushback from students who were Native American on the use of the references of Hoyo and the advertisement of racist cartoons.

“And so that’s why I say that the State of Utah and its leaders are so ignorant of the Indian tribe’s history,” former state Division of Indian Affairs director Forrest Cuch said. 

While in controversy for their name use and advertisements, the U decided to reach out to the Ute tribe for the first time. During this conversation, what was agreed upon by the tribe was the use of the Ute name, however, the U had to stop the cartoons and the athletes from wearing sacred Indian clothing.

The Crimson Warrior

The U and the Utes Tribe established a formal partnership in 1972.

Due to this partnership, the circle and feather logo was adopted by the University of Utah, which was an important symbol to the tribe.

Looking forward to the years 1980-1990, the university desired to increase “Ute pride.” This created what was known as the “Crimson Warrior,” which was a student dressing up as a Ute and riding onto the field.

While met with initial support, the Crimson Warrior became increasingly controversial as a multitude of times the student who was playing the Ute was not from the Ute tribe. 

Often a white student played the role of the Crimson Warrior, which led to increasing frustrations with the Ute tribe.

Due to the Crimson Warrior and the culture of the stadiums during football games, the U started to provide students with the Standards for Appropriate Fan Behavior. This stated that students were discouraged from wearing red face paint and sacred Indian clothing.

In 1993, the U decided to remove the Crimson Warrior, after meeting backlash from the Intertribal Student Association (ITSA).

The mascot that ultimately became known as the U’s mascot was Swoop, a Red-Tailed Hawk.

“I was insulted in a way on both sides of the story. Yeah, the Crimson Warrior was insulting and then going to the hawk. Swoop was like an insult as well,” Cuch said.

Reparations given

During the early 2000s, the University of Utah and the Ute tribe created the first of many written agreements called the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This agreement allowed the University to use the Ute’s name.

This memorandum also provided limited compensation for students in terms of financial aid.

After the Memorandum, however, there was another controversy that struck the university. 

In 2005, the NCAA released a list of colleges that had “abusive” mascots relating to Native Americans. In this list, the U was included.

“Throughout the 22 years that I was involved with the Ute tribe, the Ute tribal leadership welcomed the use of the Ute name and the use of the circle and feather. Many of them welcome the idea of a Ute mascot,” Esplin said.

Due to the support given by the tribe, the Ute tribe wrote an appeal to the NCAA stating their support for the Ute name. 

However, many Utes during this time, including Cuch, were advocating for increasing financial compensation given to the Ute tribe, especially due to the use of the name. 

Financial compensation for Ute students was given after 30 years of efforts from the tribe; which was two scholarships for $8,000, roughly what tuition was at the time. This decision was made in the updated Memorandum of Understanding in 2014.

Additionally, the Ute tribe has its own scholarship fund set for college students.

“They have a program they set aside for scholarships for tribal members to attend college. So it’s the Higher Education Scholarship Program and it’s tribally funded, it’s combined with the Bureau of Internet Affairs higher education grant program. But again, the tribal money will only benefit those who are members of the tribe,” Kuch said.

The most important distinction to be made with these scholarships is that only students who are members of the tribe can get access to these scholarships. 

However, Ute ancestry and membership are two different things. Those with Ute ancestry must go through a process to be accepted into tribal membership with a genetic threshold for acceptance called a blood quantum.

The reality for some students that are part of the Ute tribe ancestry but not members may be that there is no access to these scholarships.

Many of these numbers are unknown, however. Cuch states that many non-members have ancestry but don’t receive financial aid.

In 2020, the tribe was approved for $100,000 a year for supporting K-12 students of the tribe. The updated memorandum of understanding of 2020 makes it so that the U  educates incoming students about the Ute tribe’s relationship with the institution.

Cuch explained that the Utes youth experience an obstacle in “preparation for collegiate education” due to the high standard of the university. He said he felt that they need to be “educated properly to survive the rigors of scholarship at the University of Utah.” Cuch stated that the tribe should put a focus on preparing kids for college.  

Controversy of the Logo

In 2013 there was pushback from the Indigenous Student and Allies for Change group at the university about the U and its logo, specifically with the drum and feather logo. The students were upset and claimed that there were instances of racism within the university and were pushing for a change. 

“That issue was considered. It was discussed among the senior levels of the administration, … the board of trustees, … with the alumni. It became very, very clear that the Ute tribe, the alumni base and the fan base love keeping the Ute name, love keeping the circle and feather and didn’t want it changed,” Esplin stated.  

When asked about the Utes’ reaction to the logo, Cuch said, “Well, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about the logo. Some say it was designed to represent drum and feather, then if I recall correctly the artist who designed it did not really design the circle to be a drum. He or she did not have that in mind”.

The drum and feather logo has now become restricted in use at the university level, which was stated by the U.

Where Now?

The U has been working continuously with the Utes tribe with their MOU, which happens every 5 years.

However, there have been some changes in what the future of financial aid may look like for the Ute Tribe with the passing of H.B. 261, which repurposes funding that is given to diversity, equity and inclusion programs by educational institutions.

The bill protects the MOU presented in 2020, however, the implications for the future MOU have not yet been established.

While it may not significantly impact scholarships that have already been set, the Ute tribe would like to expand scholarships for more Ute students, potentially by changing the blood quantum, which with the bill could be denied. 

The tribe has not commented on this issue to the Chronicle or the University of Utah. 

“You know, I must also say the other part is that it’s not only ignorance but it’s trauma … our people are still traumatized by the North American conquest. We still do not feel … at peace,” Cuch stated in regards to why the Ute tribe often doesn’t confide in the media. 

When asked what the university and the Utes could do to further strengthen their relationship, Cuch said, “There’s always going to be a lack of understanding and misrepresentation … Therefore, we have to monitor and maintain and keep people educated and updated on developments at all times”. 

[email protected] 

s_pokharel15