Western Cultures

What does a beautiful piece of Southern Ute beadwork have to teach us about geography? How can fruit orchards in the Grand Valley help us understand history? This article demonstrates that Colorado’s western slope is an ideal place to study history and geography by learning about the folklife and folk arts of two important cultural groups. Ancient rock art and architecture show that American Indian tribal groups have called the region home for at least twelve thousand years. And today, members of the state’s two Ute tribes, carry on traditional skills and knowledge passed down from generation to generation, and celebrate their culture through annual events such as the Bear Dance and Delta’s Council Tree Pow Wow. The cultures of ranching and farming are celebrated through regional agricultural festivals, through art forms like cowboy poetry, and through everyday activities like gathering and branding cattle. Western Colorado artists include saddle makers and braiders who fashion beautiful working gear and artwork from leather and rawhide. Their work shows how art grows out of the everyday life of working in close relationship with the land, and demonstrates how culture, history and geography interact. History and Geography standards relevant to the discussions are noted throughout the essay. Classroom activities and resources include projects and information related to timelines and maps; neighborhood history and culture, Colorado cultures, and learning about heritage through interviews. Written by CCA folklorist Ronna Lee Sharpe.

Western Colorado Cultures PDF