The town of Ignacio and the Southern Ute heritage around it

The town of Ignacio sits in southern La Plata County, in the valley of the Los Pinos (Pine) River, on land at the heart of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s homeland. The town is named for Chief Ignacio, a respected leader of the Weeminuche band of the Ute people.

The history here is layered. Chief Ignacio’s Weeminuche band is today associated with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, in the far southwest corner of the state — yet the town that carries his name is the civic center of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, whose headquarters sit in the Ignacio area. Both tribes are sovereign nations, and each is the right voice to tell its own story, its leaders, its land, and what its names mean here.

For a newcomer, it helps to hold two simple facts together: Ignacio is a small farming and ranching community, and it is also the seat of government for a Native nation with its own laws, culture, and history. Both are true, and the second deserves to be learned respectfully and firsthand.

This note is only a pointer. For the Tribe’s own account of its people, lands, and government, see the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; for the broader historical record, see History Colorado.