In honor of Chipeta’s recognition this month by the National Women’s History Project, here is a story about Chipeta that originally appeared on this blog on April 1, 2009
On April 1, 1883, The Denver Republican newspaper offered a tongue-in-cheek report that, after Ouray’s death and the Ute relocation to Utah, Chipeta married a White River Ute with the image-laden name “Toomuchagut”. The humorous piece was taken as fact by some, but it carried a shred of truth.
Chipeta did have a second mate after Ouray’s death. She was counted with her husband, Accumooquats, in the 1885 Indian census taken at the Ouray Agency, Utah.
Oddly enough, the 1885 Indian census also records a Ute man named Occuptoomuchakut living on the Ouray Agency with his wife, Tahveeah, and three small children.
Read about Chipeta and other National Women’s History Month honorees in the Women’s History Gazette.
Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker 