Chief 'Tahvahgunt' Andrew Frank was born in 1878 in Whiterocks, Uintah, Utah. His father, Doctor Frank (Un-Dum-Gara), was 27, and his mother, Tah-Vah-Gunt, was 28. In 1906, he married Martha Washington Mountain on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation.
He later became Head Chief of the Uinta Band of Utahs and was remembered as a strong and fair leader who was deeply devoted to his horses. Chief Tahvahgunt Andrew Frank was also a gifted storyteller, and many of his stories continue to be passed down through the generations.
From the 1940s until his passing, he worked tirelessly to keep the Uinta Band of Utahs united. He firmly voiced his decision that they would not participate in the Confederated Ute of Colorado judgment funds, always striving to do what was right for his people.
Chief Andrew Frank passed away on December 13, 1951, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 73, and was laid to rest in Fort Duchesne Cemetery. He died never knowing that just three years later, in 1954, the U.S. government would enact the Termination Act, which included the termination of the Mixed-Blood Utes. This federal policy unraveled much of what he had fought to protect, undermining his lifelong efforts to preserve the identity and unity of his people.
