Utah's Indian Country: The American Indian Experience in San Juan County, 1700-1980 Gregory C. Thompson
The history of the Indians of San Juan County, Utah, is most interesting and quite revealing. Limited space greatly narrows the scope of the discussion of the history; still one is able to identify several themes that run throughout it. One theme is physical and cultural survival. A second is the ability to adapt to a new culture and incorporate desired elements into traditional ways and life-styles. A final theme is the success of the adaption and the expansion of influence and land holdings which have accompanied this success. Our time frame for this discussion stretches from about 1700 to the present. Within this block of time, San Juan's Indian history can be related to three periods of development or change. The first is the traditional period where one Indian group related to others in its region but had almost no lasting contact with non-Indians. The second is identified as the tumultuous period, for it marked the time of intense contact between Indians and non-Indians, often with combative overtones. A third is the expansive period where the Indian groups of San Juan County have recovered from the most negative aspect of contact with whites and have increased their ability to survive successfully in a non-Indian dominated 51
