{"id":15179,"date":"2025-12-18T14:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-mountain-ute-tribe-gathers-for-grinch-themed-christmas-celebration\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:45:17","slug":"ute-mountain-ute-tribe-gathers-for-grinch-themed-christmas-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-mountain-ute-tribe-gathers-for-grinch-themed-christmas-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Ute Mountain Ute Tribe gathers for Grinch-themed Christmas celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"On
On Wednesday morning, Christmas concerts were performed by students at the Kwiyagat Community Academy and Ute Mountain Head Start program at the Ute Mountain Ute Recreation Center in Towaoc. Each introduced themselves by saying their names and hello in Ute, which is Maiku (pronounced \u201cmy-kuh\u201d). (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The gymnasium at the Ute Mountain Recreation Center was transformed into a Grinch-themed holiday scene Wednesday morning as volunteers prepared a meal for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe\u2019s Christmas celebration.<\/p>\n

Bright-green trees \u2013 featuring Whoville\u2019s whimsical bend \u2013 lined the center of the gym in Towaoc, alongside dozens of decorated Christmas trees and lights. Green-and-red balloons and cutouts of the Grinch dangled overhead, while elders were seated up front and served first, with families filtering in throughout the morning.<\/p>\n

Voices of preschoolers and grade schoolers filled the gym, singing \u201cSanta Claus Is Coming to Town\u201d to kick off the all-day gathering. Organizers said the event was designed to create a space for connection, and some said they saw faces they hadn\u2019t seen in a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole event is really produced for the community by the community,\u201d said Sonya Cuthair, a visual communicator for the tribe\u2019s media department. \u201cWe try to focus most of these events around the elders, because we want them to come out and enjoy life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tribal members of all ages attended the celebration, which included a meal, student performances, raffles, contests and visits from Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch.<\/p>\n

\"Liam
Liam Price, 5, and Love Cook, 5, dress for the Grinch theme at the holiday celebration in Towaoc. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mothers
Mothers of Liam Price and Love Cook put on their Christmas aprons right before their onstage performance. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Organized by multiple tribal departments, the lead coordinator was Clessa Eyetoo of the tribe\u2019s human resources department. Cuthair said the celebration also marked the first time in many years that such a large Christmas event was held at the recreation center rather than the casino.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a matter of fact, I just heard the story the other day. They said it\u2019s been 30 years since they\u2019ve done something like this here,\u201d Cuthair said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say they\u2019re not opposed to change. They\u2019re afraid of change. So it was like, it didn\u2019t work out 30 years ago \u2013 what makes you think it\u2019s going to work out now?\u201d<\/p>\n

The event drew more than 390 guests Wednesday afternoon. The meal included mashed potatoes, corn and salads, followed by carrot, vanilla and German chocolate cakes. Volunteers moved between tables as music carried across the gym, and children waved toward family members while performing rounds of Christmas favorites.<\/p>\n

\"Junior
Junior Miss Ute Mountain Summer Marsh and Little Miss Ute Mountain Bayleigh Little Bear at the holiday celebration. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A teacher from Kwiyagat Community Academy tells the crowd: \u201cWe\u2019ve been working on self-confidence and being presentable with the crowd we have today.\u201d The children sang \u201cAll I Want for Christmas is My Two-Front Teeth\u201d and \u201cSanta Claus is Coming to Town,\u201d earning a huge roar from the audience. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Before one performance, the party\u2019s master of ceremonies, Sheila Nanaeto, encouraged students on stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right class, wave to your family out there, your aunties and uncles, say hello. You get to sing for them today,\u201d Nanaeto said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like a success so far,\u201d Cuthair added. \u201cAnd you know what? It\u2019s a good thing to bring the community back together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuthair and Ute Mountain media director Ayesha Clark said planning for the celebration begins about six months in advance and requires coordination among department heads across tribal administration.<\/p>\n

Tribal Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk addressed the crowd Wednesday afternoon, wishing attendees a merry Christmas and Happy New Year on behalf of the tribal council. He joked that council members had hoped to cook the meal themselves and perhaps next year, teasing the entire council still might sing for them.<\/p>\n

Near the side of the gym, Cuthair, Clark and the Weenuche Smoke Signals media team operated a photo booth with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch. After taking photos, families wrote down their names and phone numbers to receive the images later by email or text.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we find out who you\u2019re related to,\u201d Cuthair said. \u201cSometimes people bring relatives from Southern Utes and the Northern Utes, and powwows are where we start meeting other families from different tribes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe are also preparing to gather with other Ute nations for a Christmas Eve powwow, which includes dancing and prayer, Cuthair said.<\/p>\n

\"Banter
Banter is exchanged between master of ceremonies, Sheila Nanaeto, and the Grinch. Nanaeto is a member of the Southern Ute tribe and hosts the morning show on KSUT Public Radio. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe reason they dance is when they\u2019re dancing, they\u2019re praying for the ones that count,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Clark, the Christmas celebration is an intentional effort to reach community members who may not have large families nearby. It also serves as a counterpoint to negative narratives sometimes associated with tribal communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring things together as a community. There\u2019s news out there that\u2019s been negative, and this is kind of like saying, \u2018Hey, we have a positive aspect of life within our community,\u2019\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

Clark said she wanted to thank several tribal departments and units that helped make the event possible: Human Resources, the Elder Care Center, Ute Mountain Recreation Center, Ute Mountain tribal administration and Public Works Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a tribal member, as well as I\u2019m coming to these events and it is mostly all about coming together,\u201d she said. \u201cJust meeting people that you haven\u2019t seen for a long time. It\u2019s meaningful to us and to have that Christmas spirit, making memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pachun
Pachun Collins and Miss Indian Colorado Aliyah Jacket pose for a photo. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pachun
Pachun Collins models the hairstyle of Cindy Lou Who. Pachun said she loves Christmas because it reminds her of her late grandmother who adored celebrating it. \u201cThis time of year brings up warmth and just memories. I love the Christmas spirit,\u201d Pachun said. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the rec center for the first time in decades, the daylong event involved many festivities <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19521,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15179\/revisions\/19521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15179"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}