'Grandfather Tree': Ute horror at the killing of a Heritage Tree

Richard Stoffle; Alden Naranjo; Chris Sittler; Kelly Slivka

'Grandfather Tree': Ute horror at the killing of a Heritage Tree

Richard Stoffle, Alden Naranjo, Chris Sittler, Kelly Slivka

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper illustrates that epistemological barriers can stand in the way of communication about, and understanding of, natural heritage resources. This common problem becomes explicit by using the 2017 killing of a living Ute 'Grandfather Tree' in Delta, Colorado. The 260-year-old tree, which was recognised as culturally central to the three Ute Indian Tribes and the people of the State of Colorado, was cut down while still alive by the Delta County Historical Society. Communication about this action was short, one-sided, and clouded by the contrasting beliefs of the two parties: i.e., to Euro-Americans the tree was just wood without rights, while to the Ute people the tree was a living grandfather with full rights to exist.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	36-49
Number of pages	14
Journal	International Journal of Intangible Heritage
Volume	13
State	Published - 2018

Keywords

'Living Grandfather Tree'
Colorado
Colorado Native Americans
Delta
Delta County Historical Society
Environmental heritage communication
Epistemological divide
Settler colonialism
Ute Indian Culture
Ute Indian tribes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Conservation
Cultural Studies
Museology

Cite this

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'Grandfather Tree': Ute horror at the killing of a Heritage Tree

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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