Southern Ute Museum

Colorado's Longest Continuous Residents

The Southern Ute Museum, owned and operated by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, is located in Ignacio, Colorado just south of the Sky Ute Casino Resort and 10 minutes southeast of Durango-La Plata County Airport. The Museum, established in 1971 to preserve and promote Ute culture, continues its mission today in a 54,000 square foot Museum and Cultural Center.

“The Southern Ute Museum strives to ensure the survival of Southern Ute people through meaningful education, cultural, historic, and current event exhibits, and to provide a unique museum experience for indigenous and non-indigenous visitors.”

All galleries and exhibits at the Southern Ute Museum are self-guided and family-friendly so each exhibit can be visited at your own leisure. Open seven days a week. Free admission.

"We Are Still Here"

Permanent Gallery: Motion activated audio-visual presentations, photographic curtains, and life- size replicas introduce visitors to the life of the Southern Ute people, from pre-history to modern times. Interactive activities and pamphlet for young visitors.

Exhibits

Welcome Gallery: The Lummi Nation Bear Totem Pole, gifted to the Bear’s Ear Coalition, greets visitors inside the 60-foot-tall Welcome Gallery. Nuùchus: A Pictorial Journey, features photographs taken around the 20 th century, and begins on the first floor, continuing upstairs to the Welcome Gallery loft. Shinuku Tuvuchi ‘Ayaqh (Wolf, With Appreciation/Thank You for Being Here) is located in the second floor hallway and features two large format photographs donated to the museum by Jim and Jamie Dutcher, Living with Wolves.

Temporary Gallery: The Inside Out: Visions from the Artist’s Mind, features ten Native artists from the Museum’s collection, and their contribution to fine art. Visitors can become part of the exhibit with the Make Your Own Art Activity Station, or take home. Through April 2020.

The Veterans’ Alcove: The current exhibit highlights Southern Ute tribal member Raymond A. Baker, CWO4/Diver, who recently retired after 30 years of service in the U.S. Navy.