Author Robert Silbernagel has always enjoyed history, and his curiosity of the history of the Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado inspired his most recent book, “Troubled Trails: The Meeker Affair and the Expulsion of the Utes from Colorado.”

Silbernagel will be at Uintah County Library Monday to give a presentation about his book as well as be available for a signing.

He learned what he could about the events of the tribe in 1879 when U.S. Cavalry troops rode onto the Ute Indian Reservation and overtime was able to gather enough information to fill 300 pages.

“I wanted to inform the people in Colorado about what happened in Western Colorado,” Silbernagel said.

He said he has had a lot of help getting the information together over the years, there were a lot of Utes willing to help with their side. Silbernagel said Jonas Grant, Sr. from Fort Duchesne, helped the most when it came to giving the book a broader perspective because he is a descendant from people that are referred to in his book.

“It’s a really interesting topic,” said Uintah County Library director Sam Passey. “In my mind the book is very balanced in that it doesn’t just tell one side, the white side or the Ute side. He’s really trying to bring to light the people, these are real people.”

Silbernagel grew up in Wisconsin, finding a love for history from learning about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, as well as loving the western states and all the things that history had about the western states, which is what brought him to Colorado.

Silbernagel said he has a couple history projects he’s considering to work on now but they won’t necessarily focus entirely on the Utes. He wants to incorporate other native groups and whites into his next works.

Silbernagel will be at Uintah County Library Monday Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.