Fred Bauder wrote: Darrell Gardner, the Uncompaghre Ute leader of the Sun Dance adopted me as one of his sons three years ago (a common Ute Custom). He passed away August 20, 2005 from cancer. He was 80 years old. His greatest wish was the preservation of their language and culture for all Utes. He watched his friends one by one pass into the spirit world who spoke the language and when he was the last one left from his family band who knoew the culture and the language he commented to me on how important it would be to preserve it. I spent many weekends on their reservation donating money, shoes, food, and roofing homes for the elderly in my spare time to help his people. They are a creative people with a deep and intense spirituality -- but they are a race of warriors -- and they are very serious people as well. They are also one generation away from loosing their language forever. This project will assure this does not happen. Jeff