Alvin "Sonny" Richardson Denver Sr.
Terminated Mixed-Blood Uinta, Roll #87
Alvin (Sonny) Richardson Denver was born on June 24, 1920, in Fort Duchesne on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. As a child, he spoke the language of the Uintas until he was forced to attend the government school in Whiterocks, Utah, where he was punished for speaking his native tongue and for wearing long hair and braids—which were cut off against his will.
At that time in his life, Alvin was enrolled as a full-blood member of the Ute Indian Tribe. After finishing elementary school in Whiterocks, he was sent to Sherman Indian School near Fallbrook, California, where he studied for two years. From there, he was transferred to a trade school near Phoenix, Arizona, where he was trained to operate heavy equipment.
After completing his training, Alvin returned to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. In 1938, he married Naomi May Houtz of Roosevelt, Utah. By 1939 or 1940, he was working on the Shivwits (Southern Paiute) Reservation in southwestern Utah, operating heavy equipment.
When the United States entered World War II, Alvin enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1942, joining the newly formed Construction Battalions—the Seabees. After training, he was deployed to the South Pacific with the 116th Construction Battalion, working in New Guinea to support the buildup for the invasion of the Philippines. When the war ended, he was discharged at Shoemaker, California. The Navy offered him a promotion to Chief Petty Officer (E-7) if he re-enlisted, but Alvin declined, joking: “Where I’m going, they already have plenty of Chiefs.”
In 1948, the Ute Tribe assigned Alvin land south of Mt. Emmons, Utah, in recognition of his military service. For nearly a decade, he tried to build a ranch there for his family. But with the passage of the Ute Partition Act (1954), his dream was shattered. By 1957, the land had been sold without his knowledge, and Alvin and his family were forced to leave.
In the years that followed, Alvin worked in construction, operating heavy equipment on major projects across Utah and Wyoming, including Interstate 15 and Interstate 80.
By 1965, as the interstate projects wound down, Alvin and Naomi moved to Taft, California, where their oldest daughter Flora lived. There, Alvin gained a reputation as one of the finest equipment operators and mechanics in the area. He and Naomi also became active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.), traveling throughout California to attend events honoring veterans.
The couple spent 19 years in Taft—the happiest and most productive years of their lives. In 1984, at age 64, Alvin and Naomi retired and moved to Texas to be near their youngest daughter, Sheila. In 1986, they returned home to the Uintah Basin, where they planned to spend the rest of their lives.
Together, Alvin and Naomi raised five children: Alvin Richard (not a junior), Earl Stanley, Flora Jean, Roberta Lee, and Sheila. Their family grew to include 19 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. On September 18, 2004, Alvin and Naomi celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary.
Yet the scars of termination never faded. After losing his Mt. Emmons land, oil was discovered there—land that could have sustained his family for generations. Of Alvin’s children, only his eldest son was enrolled when the Ute Partition Act was enforced; his other four children, though born on the reservation between 1940 and 1950, were excluded from the final rolls. Alvin only realized this injustice when it was too late to correct it.
Cut off from his identity as an Indian, branded a “Mixed-Blood” under H.R. 671 (1954), Alvin bore the weight of injustice. Despite his service as a World War II veteran, he lost not only his land, but his dignity and tribal identity, and was forced to endure the discrimination placed upon him and his descendants.
On November 20, 2004, Alvin “Big Sonny” Denver walked the Spirit Trail, leaving behind a legacy of resilience in the face of profound injustice.