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The Ute Bear Dance hasn’t been held for 20 years in this Utah town — until now

The Native people of Whiterocks, which used to be home to a boarding school, “need it to heal,” said Bear Dance Chief Paul Manning LaRose.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Swaying back and forth, Bode Kamai and Max Arrats are chosen by Sarah Cuch and Sonceray Cornpeach, from left, for the traditional Bear Dance, deemed women’s choice, at Whiterocks, Utah, on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Held for the first time in 20 years in the small town within the Ute Reservation, the traditional dance held after the first under of spring is meant to welcome in the new season.