How do Ute Indian children live, and what did they do in the past?
They do the same things all children do–play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Ute children like to go hunting and fishing with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play in their daily lives, just like colonial children. But they did have dolls, toys, and games to play. Ute kids also enjoyed footraces, and girls and women played a ball game called shinny. A Ute mother traditionally carried a young child in a cradleboard on her back–a custom which many American parents have adopted now. What were Ute men and women’s roles? Ute men were hunters and warriors, responsible for feeding and defending their families. Ute women did most of the child care, cooking, and cleaning, and also made most of the clothing and household tools. Only Ute men became chiefs, but both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. What were Ute homes like in the past? Most Western Ute Indians lived in wickiups. W
