Ute Prisoner Surrender Tree
Photograph -- Black-and-White Photograph
Identifier:
F230.2
Description
Photo depicts a group of men and boys standing in front of the Ute Prisoner Surrender Tree, 1879-1924. On September 29, 1879, in an event known as the Meeker Massacre,members of a band of Ute Native Americans led by Chief Douglas attacked the Indian agency on their reservation, killing Indian Agent Nathan Meeker and kidnapping Meeker's wife, daughter, and three others. Chief Douglas was said to have tied the prisoners to a tree on the Grand Mesa, known as the "Surrender Tree." In the aftermath of the Meeker Massacre, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which forcibly removed the White River Utes and Uncompahgre Utes from Colorado and reduced territory granted to Utes by previous treaties.
Content Date:
probably May 10 1924;October 25 1879 – May 10 1924
