In the early twentieth century, Indian Bureau officials noted an increasing incidence of tribal factionalism parallel to changes in Indian reservation leadership. They described this factionalism in terms of a progressive-traditional dichotomy. Modern scholars have unintentionally fallen into this semantic trap. This article explores the complexity of individual motivations and factional politics among the Northern Utes through the life of William Wash and suggests that such cultural middlemen offer a more complete picture of reservation politics.