Talk:Walkara

Photo of Walkara is Wrong

The photo for Walkara used in this entry is actually of the Ute chief Colorow, who lived after Walkara. The date of Walkara's death should give some hint that this photograph was taken later. The mix up probably came about since the two chiefs share a name. Check these two sources for more information on Chief Colorow. Both include this same photograph.

From the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/santala/santala.asp

From the University of Northern Colorado: http://hewit.unco.edu/dohist/vftrips/utemusem/thirtn.htm

Cemachinla 19:57, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Good call! That carbon dating stuff really works (LOL). And sure enough a rendering shows up instead.--Magi Media (talk) 19:42, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Unbalanced

I flagged this article as unbalanced for a number of reasons: First, the majority of the sources (which are too few to begin with) are published and sold by Mormon companies. Second, the article greatly underestimates the number of Ute casualties form the Walker War. Third, the article mentions the Ute slave trade but fails to mention that Ute children who were captured during the Walker War were not returned to their families but forced to work as servants in Mormon households--also a kind of slave trade. Fourth, the article fails to explain that Mormon pioneers routinely settled on the Utes' best land, indeed the only land along the Wasatch front capable of sustaining the Utes' subsistence patterns. This practice of encroachment on Ute land forced Utes to increase raids on Mormon settlements in order to survive.--Walkara (talk) 03:48, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

It is sad how historians and others never think to ask the Indians when writing Indian history. The Timpanogos Tribe would be glad to give information on Walkara, we can be reached at www.Timpanogostribe.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.213.240.27 (talk) 06:49, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

Merge

There is no real reason for a separate Wakara War article at this time; Walkara already does a better job of describing the conflict, and I can't see much to merge in here, but thought I'd give others a look before turning Wakara War into a redirect to Walkara. -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 18:39, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Gunnison

The article currently states: "In addition, U.S. surveyor John Williams Gunnison and seven members of his party were attacked and killed, apparently by local tribesmen, in the Sevier Valley in 1853."

No. The crime was attributed to the Pahvantes, but one witness who saw the "Indians" visit the survey team noted that some of them were "Young's Indians" (Europeans dressed like Utes), and that one of Young's slaves was identified in the group of murderers. At the time, Young's private army was hunting down, to kill, the official Indian Agent assigned to the territory--- that agent was being hidden, and protected, from the Saints by the Pahvantes. --Desertphile (talk) 01:08, 9 November 2014 (UTC)

... ^—Asterisk*^Splat→ 00:44, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

"Child Sacrifice" is a very problematic section

The sole source for the claim of child sacrifice is: Kimball, Stanley (1986). Heber C Kimball Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer.

Stanley Kimball's hagiographic biography of Heber C. Kimball is not a reliable source for claims about native american history. Not even remotely. The Mormons engaged in genocidal practices against the native peoples of Utah and have promulgated significant unsubstantiated racist slanders, which is what this sounds like to me. I have read multiple histories of the Ute and Shoshone, and have never once heard a single claim of child sacrifice. Besides which, Wakara wasn't even Ute, as this article elsewhere correctly notes.

I think this is a clear case of a biased, unreliable source and the whole section should be deleted or heavily disclaimed. Asdjk48 (talk) 01:09, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Shoshone?

Currently in the article: "Walkara is often referred to as Ute, but this is incorrect. Ute is a blanket name for many tribes.[citation needed] The Shoshone have cultural and linguistic heritage as part of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Walkara is Shoshone and his name, Walkara, means Hawk, in Shoshone." Ute's are also part of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. His name as Walkara meaning "Hawk" needs a source. Born near Utah Lake, at the time of his birth there was a clear divide between the Shoshone's north of the Great Salt Lake Valley and to the South. He was a "Fish Eater" growing up, and participated in the annual Ute gatherings, which brought in Ute's from all over central Utah. Epachamo (talk) 23:51, 1 August 2024 (UTC)

Meaning of his name

The Wik article on the Wakara War gives a totally different translation of his name. I have no idea which is right, but as it currently stands, Wik is contradicting itself. Kdammers (talk) 17:01, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

Proofing needed

Could some-one go over this article for accuracy? I just heard Mueller (author of a 2025 book cited in this article) on the radio, and what he said is different from this article, e.g., he spoke of a boy being buried up to his neck, whereas this article writes of a boy and a girl being left at the site. Kdammers (talk) 17:08, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

In another section, this article says that a boy was buried at the site. All in all unclear. Probably different sources at the time said somewhat different things and then secondary sources maybe expanded and/or conflated them. People with access to our cited sources should clean this all up. Kdammers (talk) 17:12, 21 January 2026 (UTC)