Ute People - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• When the Legends Die (1963), by Hal Borland is a story about a Ute boy growing up on a reservation after his parents die, and becoming a rodeo sensation. A film adaptation by the same name was released in 1972.
• Hunting Badger (2001), by Tony Hillerman, is a novel inspired by an attempted robbery of a Ute gambling casino.
• Dr Quinn, a television series, mentions Utes in several episodes. The first episode of the 4th season, "A New Life," depicts a fictional Palmer Creek Reservation which is home to Ute and Cheyenne people.
• In the prize-winning Charlie Moon series of mysteries by James D. Doss, the protagonist is a Southern Ute Indian who starts as a tribal policeman. He becomes a successful rancher and part-time investigator.
• Bearstone by Will Hobbs is a young adult novel about a troubled Weeminuche Ute boy who goes to live with an elderly rancher; his caring ways help the boy become a man.
• Beardance by Will Hobbs is a young adult novel set in the San Juan Mountains, where a Weeminuche Ute boy helps two orphaned bear cubs and, at the same time, completes his spirit mission.