The Internet is a wonderful research tool that offers an amazing amount of information. However, not all of that information is accurate, even when found on websites of reputable organizations. Here are a couple of examples from my research. They remind me to check facts in multiple sources before using them in print.
A Google search for “Chipeta” turned up a Colorado State University webpage about potatoes. The university’s agricultural research program develops new potato cultivars and a 1993 russet potato was named for “Chipeta.” That was a fun bit of trivia. However, the page noted, “Chipeta is featured on a stained-glass window in the state capitol building (in Denver).” A visit to the Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour and the link to the Hall of Fame Stained Glass (Rotunda) reveals that Chipeta’s husband, Ouray, is honored there. Further search locates Chipeta on the 1976 “Women’s Gold Tapestry” created for Colorado Centennial celebration.
The webpage of the Meeker [Colorado] Chamber of Commerce reproduces “This Is What I Remember” from the Rio Blanco County Historical Society. The last ten paragraphs of the article recall the 1879 rescue of three white women and two children after the Meeker Massacre. It reads in part, “When news of the massacre reached Los Pinos…Chipeta…rode alone on the long trip north to intercede for the white captives. This exploit brought her the plaudits of all America.” It was a popular tale that did not happen. She sent runners to find her husband and other chiefs and prepare for a council meeting. After 23 day in captivity the rescued women and children were brought to Chipeta’s home to recover. The facts in this case are more difficult to find but they exist in eye witness newspaper accounts and Congressional testimony.
Trust but Verify
March Women’s History Month
Did you know Chipeta is a Hall of Famer? She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985 for the “courage and valor she demonstrated in her efforts to mediate between Native Americans and whites.” Click here to visit Chipeta’s page.
It is a lovely honor but some of the information posted about her is questionable. Margaret Adams, wife of Ute Indian Agent Charles Adams, seems to be the source of ”White Singing Bird” as the meaning of Chipeta’s name. Other sources say her name meant “Charitable One,” “The Jewel,” or ”Spring of Clear Water.” One source says it came from the Spanish name Guadalupita. Yet another says it was a pet name used by Kit Carson for his own wife, Maria Josefa Jaramillo Carson. A cursory review of Ute language resources reveals no words for white, sing or bird that are at all similar to any parts of Chipeta.
Chipeta did accompany Ouray to the treaty negotiations at Conejos in 1863. However, her name does not appear in Indian Agent expense records for any of Ouray’s trips to Washington, DC until his final trip in 1880. Margaret Adams traveled with the 1872 Ute delegation to visit friends and relatives back East while the men conducted business.
