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Native Americans

The Ute People

The Ute People
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.37

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    cases, social, warrior, grounds, bands, part, twentieth, tribe, fell, bison, government, result, during, trade, eventually, lived
     content words:    Colorado Mountains, New Mexico, Walker War, Hawk War, Ute War

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The Ute People
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     In the Colorado Mountains, Utah, and part of New Mexico, lived the Utes. Their name meant "land of the sun." There were seven main bands of the tribe. They were expert hunters of deer, bison, antelope, and rabbits as well as other small animals and birds. Game was plentiful.
 
2     During the spring, summer, and fall, Ute families spread out across their land. They dried meat, grew squash in gardens, and gathered wild foods. When cold weather came, they moved to the wintering grounds. There the people gathered together. Winter was a time to celebrate. It was a social time. It was a time when couples got married.
 
3     The Utes used all parts of the animals they killed for food. Skins were used for their homes, clothes, or trade. Bones were used to make tools. They had no iron until the Spanish brought it.
 
4     At first, the people made bark covered teepees called wickiups as their homes. They were hard to move, though. That changed after the Utes acquired horses. They were able to get many bison hides. These allowed them to make teepees. They were easy to move and set up.

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