
Sitting studio portrait of two Native American Utes, identified as Chief Washington and his wife. Both have blankets wrapped around their waists. Washington wears a loose shirt, pants, and braid decorations. His wife wears a print dress.
The 1954 Ute Partition and Termination Act ended federal recognition of the mixed-blood Uinta of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, removing them from the Ute Indian Tribe. Classified as being of mixed ancestry, they lost trust land protections, federal benefits, and tribal status. Like many Native communities subjected to termination policies, they faced devastating consequences, including the loss of land, resources, and traditional ways of life.
