Why Did You Decide To Kill Agent Meeker

In the 1870’s during the economic depression following the Civil War, white miners and settlers encouraged by the Homestead Act heard news about mineral wealth such as gold along the trails of the Colorado Mountains. The miners that came created legendary mining town in Summit County, Leadville and Silverton, but these areas were heavily penetrated within Ute territory. In 1876, the Colorado Statehood and the local newspaper at the time demanded the removal of Utes off the land, which could be mined, farmed and ranched. At the end of Mexican-American war, the treaty signing of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 made the Ute domain became United States territory. While the Utes were forced to move into reservations many were displace and hold grudges
Serious tension between the Ute leaders and Agent Meeker became an ugly confrontation when he made decision to plow up a racetrack calling for military protection. When the U.S. Cavalry arrived to White River reservation violence quickly exploded and the Ute warriors engaged in battle at Milk Creek. After a couple of days of fights thirty-seven Utes Indian and twelve soldiers perish in the conflict. During the battle a few White River Indians went and attacked an agency killing Agent Meeker. This event was label as “Meeker Massacre” its sparked demand that all Utes Indians be removed from the state. In the aftermath of the massacre the Utes Indian were treated unfriendly and outcast. Therefore, Washington elites and Utes leaders agreed to a relocation of their band. Many of the agreement to relocate did not carried out as planned and the Utes Indians discover that the land at the reservations were incapable of supporting agriculture. Entering the twentieth century the Ute Indians still faced tremendous difficult situations with the assimilationist