Copied from Forrest Cuch’s interview with Clifford Duncan, Ute Leader & Spiritual Elder

FORREST CUCH: Clifford, there’s a perception that Mormon pioneers treated American Indians better than elsewhere in the history of our nation. And it’s also the perception that the land around Salt Lake City wasn’t inhabited with Indian people when the Mormon settlers arrived. What’s your perception of that?

CLIFFORD DUNCAN: The first answer will be like people living within the valley. I personally would say that Utes were there and also Shoshones. And prior to that I’m sure, the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake was inhabited by what we now refer to as the Fremont. So the people had been there prior to the arrival of the Mormons. The band that was associated in Ogden area, north of Ogden area, they refer to them, as English speaker would say, Cumumba band. A Ute will say Cumumbas band. So Cumumbas would mean ‘speaks two language.’ So that would mean they speak Ute and they also speak Shoshone. Which then comes down to this. They were Utes that came out of Shoshones families and they lived around Fort Bridger area, which is now Fort Bridger area. And then they drifted down into what is now Heber Valley and down into Utah Valley.