When the warm days of summer in the San Juans finally came, the winds would blow
from the southwest. As mornings would wax into afternoons, clouds would begin to
gather around the most majestic of peaks in the region - the peak commonly known
as Mount Wilson. As the afternoon wore on, the clouds would continue to
concentrate around the summit until finally they burst. Rain fell from the
darkened halo and streamed across the thirsty mesas below the mountain.
This common meteorological occurrence, so familiar to those of us who live in
this region, is the reason the utes named Mount Wilson Shandoka. It means
"the storm bringer," - or so I've heard.
There are many place names in Colorado that were named either for or by
American Indian tribes. For instance, there is a county, two peaks and a pass
named Arapahoe after the tribe that ranged throughout eastern Colorado. As you
drive into Denver on I-70, you'll pass an area named for an Arapahoe leader:
Chief Hosa was named after Ho'sa, meaning "Little Crow." Other places named
for tribes include Shawnee, on US 285, named for a tribe that originally
inhabited Tennesse and South Carolina and was forced to go to a Kansas reservation.
Shoshone, on US 6 in Garfield County was named for a tribe that ranged through
Wyoming, northwestern Utah and northwestern Colorado. Close to home, there are
numerous places named after Ute leaders and historical Ute place names. For
instance, Wasatch was a Ute leader during the 1800's, and his name now graces
our local trail and a mountain in Garfirld County.
Ouray, just an hour away, was named for the leader of the Uncompahgre band of
Northern Utes. According to Ouray, he was named for the first word he spoke as a
baby...maybe from uri, meaning "main pole of a tipi" or uur, meaning "arrow."
Ouray's wife, Chipita, has been memorialized by a park in El Paso County, a lake
in Montrose county, a mountain in Chaffee County and a main street in Grand
Junction. Her name comes from chipit, meaning "water springing up."
Another Ute leader was Curecata. This leader of the Uncompahgre Utes is the name-
sake for Curecanti Pass west of Gunnison and the recreation area encompassing
the Blue Mesa reservoirs. The word Uncompahgre, which was given to the National
Forest surrounding our region, comes from Ute aka-paa-garur, meaning "red water
source," from aka-gar ("red") and paagarur ("lake"), reportedly describing the
source of the Uncompahgre River in the San Juan mountains. Hovenweep, on the
Colorado-Utah border, comes from the Ute wii yap, meaning "canyon." Similarly,
Unaweep Canyon, found southeast, of Grand Junction, comes from the Ute
kuna-wiiyap, meaning "fire canyon." Just west of Cortez, the town of Towaoc,
(pronounced TOY-yahk) is the present headquarters for the Ute Mountain Utes, and
it comes from Ute tu wayak, meaning "thank you" or "all right." And northeast
of Telluride on US 285 you come to Saguache, from the Ute sagwach, meaning "the
colors of blue or green."
There are many more place names that reflect the tribes that once lived in this
region. For more information, check out William Bright's book "Colorado Place
Names." For more information about place names and history of the tribes they're
named for, check out "people of the Red Earth: American Indians of Colorado" by
Sally Crum.
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer is a Telluride linguist whose maiden name almost sounds
like the Ute word Wahatoya, meaning "twin mountains." Wahatoya Creek is located
in Huerfano County.


Written by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Telluride Daily Planet






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