The Journal
Just over 10 years ago, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe applied to the National Park Service to become first Tribal Historic Preservation Office in Colorado.
In December of 2009 this status was granted and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe became the 88th THPO in the United States. With this designation, the THPO assumed historic preservation duties within the exterior boundaries of the Tribe’s reservation lands in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. These duties were previously the responsibility of the state.
Mr. Terry Knight was the first appointed tribal historic preservation officer, and continues to serve in that capacity. He manages a vast landscape with a rich cultural heritage, including thousands of archaeological ruins. Knight consults on hundreds of individual projects every year, and facilitates the repatriation of Ute-affiliated human remains, sacred objects and items of cultural patrimony.
History Colorado’s State Historical Fund has provided several grants to support the creation of a Cultural Resource Management Plan, development of systems to manage cultural resource data and documentation and preservation of sites on reservation lands.
For more information, contact the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Historic Preservation Office at P.O. Box 468 Towaoc, CO 81334, 564-5731 or thpocrm@utemountain.org.