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Professor Dan Roberts of Colorado Mesa University discusses the history and culture of the Ute Indians, Chief Ouray, and the removal of the Ute from Colorado by the U.S. Government during a lecture to a meeting of the Mesa County Historical Society. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado and the Mesa County Historical Society....
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Al Look talks about the history of the Ute Indian tribe in Colorado, about their relations with the U.S. Government, conditions at the White River Agency, and about the events leading up to the Meeker Massacre. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Don Mackendrick, Professor Emeritus of history from Colorado Mesa University, talks about the history of the Teller Institute, or Indian School, of Grand Junction, Colorado during a presentation to the Plateau Valley Historical Society in Collbran, Colorado. He talks about abuses against Indian students, about the school’s philosophy and directives, and about ways in which the school was largely a failed educational venture. This recording is made...
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Four radio programs written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 29 – The Death of Chief Ouray (0:00), Episode 30 – The Last Days of Chipeta (14:57), Episode 31 – Conquest of the Black Canyon (29:15), Episode 32 – The Ute Indian Legends (42:03). These broadcasts are made...
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Eda Musser talks about her wedding day and honeymoon with Kelso Musser, and about evidence of Ute Indian habitation that was still present in Escalante Canyon in 1910. She also discusses travel through the canyon, its inhabitants, ranching practices in the canyon, and the fire that destroyed the Musser’s ranch house. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western...
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Ted Albers, Bob Hall, Lowell Heiny and James “Jim” Kyle discuss the early history of Grand Junction and Mesa County, Ute Indians, and the formation of the Mesa County Historical Society at the September 22, 1975 meeting of the Society. This recording is provided by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western Colorado, and the Mesa County Historical Society.
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Don and Mary Roth discuss ranching on the Colorado National Monument and surrounding area, John Otto, and interactions with Ute Indians. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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William Ela talks about his family’s arrival in the Little Dolores River area of Mesa County in 1881 and their establishment of the 2-V Ranch. He tells stories about his grandfather, the pioneer rancher and Grand Junction town mayor William Phillips Ela. He remembers his grandfather’s horse Looney and his escapades. He speaks about the dangers of travel to and from Glade Park in the early days. He recalls stories passed down about his ancestors’...
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To mark the centennial celebration of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado in 1981, the Mesa County Oral History Project wrote and recorded several radio plays about local history. Beginning on September 26, 1981, local radio stations KSTR, KREX-AM, KREX-FM, and KMSA broadcast the plays. Authors of the plays used interviews recorded by the Mesa County Oral History Project as inspiration. This archival recording contains the play Remembering the Utes. This...
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Longtime Fruita residents and photographers Will Minor and Lee Warner discuss their experiences in the Colorado National Monument and the surrounding areas of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah. They also talk about meeting John Otto, and about Minor’s discovery of the rare Papilio Indra Minori butterfly on the Monument. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of...
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Charles Burg tells stories from his father about his interactions with the Ute during a US Army deployment near Montrose, Colorado. He talks about settlers and ranchers of the De Beque area, including Dave Knight, a Cherokee from Oklahoma who utilized native plants in a traditional way. He describes a “garter” brand on a horse, horse breaking techniques for wild horses, the origins of the wild horse population in the Bookcliffs, stray cattle gone...
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To mark the centennial celebration of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado in 1981, the Mesa County Oral History Project wrote and recorded several radio plays about local history. Beginning on September 26, 1981, local radio stations KSTR, KREX-AM, KREX-FM, and KMSA broadcast the plays. Authors of the plays used interviews recorded by the Mesa County Oral History Project as inspiration. This archival recording contains the play Annual Ute Visitation. This...
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Andrew E. Riddle, an early Mesa County resident, discusses evidence of early Native American presence around the Paradox Valley area, including artifacts such as arrowheads, skeletons, and metates. Riddle also speaks about the early days of uranium mining, the impact of wild burros on public lands, and local people. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries, the Museums of Western...
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Four radio programs written by Wilson Rockwell, based in part on short histories he wrote for his book Sunset Slope, and broadcast in the Grand Junction area on KREX in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. The programs include: Episode 33 – Ute Indian Scares (0:00), Episode 34 – The North Fork Hermits (14:40), Episode 35 – The North Fork Hermits II (29:46), Episode 36 – Escalante’s Journey (43:23). These broadcasts are made available via...
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Jeanette LeBeau, an early Mesa County resident, talks about climbing Independence Monument with bare feet, Ute Indians who visited her grandparents in pioneer Fruita, summers spent at Leach’s cattle ranch in Pinon Mesa, means of transportation, law enforcement, and prejudice against Catholics in the Grand Valley. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western...
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In a tape-recorded lecture, Al Look talks about the tensions between White River Utes and US Government troops overseen by Nathan Meeker that led to the Meeker Massacre. This recording is made available via signed release by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Voice Recording
To mark the centennial celebration of the town of Grand Junction, Colorado in 1981, the Mesa County Oral History Project wrote and recorded several radio plays about local history. Beginning on September 26, 1981, local radio stations KSTR, KREX-AM, KREX-FM, and KMSA broadcast the plays. Authors of the radio plays used interviews recorded by the Mesa County Oral History Project as inspiration. In this recording the listener will hear the play, The...
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Lucy Ela discusses John Otto, the Colorado National Monument, and the settlement of Glade Park. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado. *Photograph from the 1936 Grand Junction High School yearbook.
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Fred Bowman and Helen (Bowman) Lane discuss their father’s opening of the first slaughterhouse in Grand Junction, the history of downtown buildings, and the lives of young people in early Twentieth century Mesa County. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.
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Dottie Wiley, who homesteaded on the Grand Mesa with her first husband Richard Kilburn in the early Twentieth century, discusses the Surrender Tree, a tree where the Utes supposedly bound Arvilla and Josephine Meeker, wife and daughter of Nathan Meeker, following the Meeker Massacre. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.