The Ute Business Committee issued a press release this week stating that the State of Utah has reaffirmed the exclusive governmental authority of the Ute Indian Tribe. The press release shares that on February 1st, the State of Utah’s Division of Indian Affairs issued a letter to the Ute Indian Tribe affirming that Utah does not recognize the group ‘Families of Uinta Valley Reserve 1861, Uinta Band of Indians’ as a tribal government or political entity. “The Business Committee appreciates Governor Cox and the Utah Division of Indian Affairs’ commitment to maintaining its government-to-government relationship with the Ute Indian Tribe and not other non-tribal fringe groups that have fraudulently claimed rights and access to the lands and resources of the Ute Indian Tribe,” shares the Ute Business Committee. “This group ‘Families of Uinta Valley Reserve 1861, Uinta Band of Indians’ have no legal standing or claim to any rights, assets, or privileges of the Ute Indian Tribe…As reaffirmed by the State of Utah’s Division of Indian Affairs, this group has no separate rights as a nation or indigenous group. The Business Committee continues to work to defend the rights and sovereignty of the Ute Indian Tribe and protect the interests of the membership against false claims to the Ute Indian Tribe’s treaty rights and federally protected resources.”
