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Groups, Groups, Groups!

Why are we so awfully fond of them?

Boys and calves in a field

The Dairy Calf Club in Wasatch County, 1925

People like to make groups.  It’s a human thing. No matter when or where humans have lived, they have gotten together in groups.

Members of a group have something in common. Lots of times they’re all trying to do the similar things. Or they have similar experiences.  Sometimes they work together.

Or sometimes we just organize the way we see the world by sticking people into groups—like file folders on a computer! It's just one way of sorting people out.

Groups from Utah history

Here are a few groups from the past that you can learn about:

Prehistoric groups

Indigenous tribes

Learn about groups who have lived here for hundreds of years.

Explorers and trappers


Three Ute girls

Cornelia Washington, Clara Arreek and Alice Darum--members of the Girl Reserve Club at Whiterocks, 1939.

What groups are you in?

How many can you count?

That’s just a short list of groups! What else can you think of?

The dark side of groups.

Unfortunately, not all groups are fun, and some of them are pretty bad.  There are groups of people who come together because they want to break the law, sometimes we call them gangs.  There are groups of people at school who are mean to others, and they’re called cliques. 

Adults do this too. Sometimes groups have conflicts or one group is cruel to another.  This has happened in Utah history! (In world history too!  Can you think of examples?


Bonneville School 8th graders, 1915.

The bright side!

But sometimes groups have been kind to outsiders too.  Think of some examples of different groups helping each other.

We all belong to many groups at the same time, and they change as we change. Think about the groups you belong to, and why. You want to make sure that the groups you’re in are positive, that they’re made up of people who will help you in your life, and not hold you back. 

young men on a lawn

Members of the Strollers' Club, SLC, 1905

What groups aren’t you a member of?

You can’t be a member of every group, but it’s great to try to understand other groups and appreciate them.  Just because you don’t belong to a group, doesn’t mean the other people in that group are bad. After all, they’re people just like you. 

How can you get to know people in a different group from you?