P. David Smith and Cynthia Simmelink Becker
2 books in the catalogue, published 2003.
P. David Smith and Cynthia Simmelink Becker are the joint credit on two of our biographies: Chipeta: Queen of the Utes, about the Ute leader's wife, published in 2003, and The Life and Times of Lafayette Head. This page covers the pair as co-authors of those two books. We know them mainly through their work, and we say below what we could and could not confirm.
About P. David Smith and Cynthia Simmelink Becker
Open Library credits the book to both writers and lists it at 278 pages from Western Reflections Publishing Co. in August 2003. Beyond that book, the public record we found is thin on both people. No birth or death dates turned up for either, and we have no verified account of their careers.
On Smith's side, Western Reflections also reissued his biography Ouray as a paperback in March 2021, 224 pages, a profile of the Ute chief and Chipeta's husband. The listing says the book makes no judgments about his standing. On Becker's side, Open Library lists a later Chipeta book, Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker, from 2008, and a 2019 work on Lafayette Head written with Smith, so the two have worked together more than once.
Cynthia Simmelink Becker once had a page of her own in this directory. Because both books we carry under her name are joint credits with Smith, that page now leads here. Open Library lists her as Cynthia S. Becker. A review of Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker says it covers Chipeta's efforts to promote peace in the mid to late 1800s, including trips with Ouray to meet lawmakers and President Lincoln, and connects Becker to Women Writing the West. Open Library's list for the name also includes unrelated nonfiction under a similar name, which we have left out rather than guess whether it is hers.
Books
Chipeta: Queen of the Utes
The 2003 biography of Chipeta, who outlived Ouray by almost fifty years. It follows her years of neglect and honor, her adopted orphans, and her music and beadwork, and her humble, loving character.
The Life and Times of Lafayette Head
A biography of Lafayette Head, an early Anglo resident of what became Colorado, who served as a Tabeguache Indian Agent and was the state's first lieutenant governor. The publisher's page credits both writers.
What the books share
Their shared subject is Chipeta and the Ute world of her time. The book follows her long widowhood, the way she was treated by settlers, her music and beadwork, and her adopted orphans. Smith's own Ouray book approaches the same story from her husband's side, so the two together give a fuller picture of the Tabeguache Utes in Colorado. Their other book, The Life and Times of Lafayette Head, follows a southern Colorado settler who served as a Ute agent.
The subjects this author is catalogued under. Open Library record.
Next steps for readers of this author
Visiting a place tied to Chipeta
Check the museum's website before traveling, then walk its grounds, which History Colorado says include her grave site and a memorial park.
Reading for a classroom unit
Teachers can set the two encyclopedia articles beside this biography and ask students to compare what each says about Chipeta's role. Read tribal sources too.
Reading both biographies
Our library lists Smith's book on Ouray as well. Reading both gives a couple's story from each side.
Go deeper
Chipeta's story links to Colorado's Ute history, and a state museum, a tribal government and two encyclopedia articles are good companions.
Chipeta, Colorado Encyclopedia
An article on Chipeta (1843 to 1924) that discusses her role on the Ute council and her place in the history of Ute removal.
Ouray, Colorado Encyclopedia
The companion article on her husband, a Tabeguache leader who negotiated with the United States.
Ute Indian Museum, History Colorado
A museum built in 1956 near the ranch of Ouray and Chipeta, whose grounds include the grave where Chipeta was buried.
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
The tribal government's own site, for readers who want a living nation's voice rather than only historical accounts.
Good to know
Where is the separate page for Cynthia Simmelink Becker?
Do you have full biographies of the authors?
Writers like this one are how the list was built
We have published Colorado and Western writers since 1996, and every submission is still read by a person. Send yours, finished or half written.