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Termination policy still affects Utah tribes
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2002

A non-recognized Shoshone tribe cannot intervene in a lawsuit seeking to determine property interests in a Utah reservation, a federal appeals court ruled late last month.

in an unpublished opinion, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Timpanogos Tribe from a long-running dispute over the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. After hearing an appeal in January, a three-judge panel affirmed a lower court order against the tribe but said its July 25 ruling wasn't setting any precedent.

The tribe seems to be making those on its own. The same court in April halted state prosecution of Timpanogos tribal members for hunting violations that occur on the reservation, an issue that is still being resolved.

The greater issue in both cases is just who has control over the reservation. Since the 1950s, that question has lingered, with a lot of doubt due to federal policies towards the Northern Ute Tribe, which is recognized.

As part of the government's termination push, the Department of Interior started to dismantle the Northern Ute's 200,000-plus acre land base and natural resources. To ease the process, the tribe was divided into two groups: "mixed" and "full" bloods.

The "mixed" bloods were immediately terminated and a corporation was established to distribute tribal trust assets. The government's goal was to eventually remove the "full" bloods from federal supervision.

Full termination of federal status, however, never happened, leaving former and current tribal members with joint control over the reservation's "indivisible" assets. These, according to the government, could include oil, gas, water and other rights.

The Timpanogos Tribe claims it has an interest in the resources. The Ute Distribution Corporation, which was set up for the "mixed" bloods, also claims rights -- in the dispute at hand, it's over water.

According to an Interior determination made in October 1998, the rights were already distributed. The corporation is challenging the decision as are the Timpanogos and another Ute group. The Northern Ute Tribe is a defendant, along with the Interior.

But the appeals court, in dismissing the Timpanogos claim, didn't rely on the tribe's non-recognized status. The panel instead said its rights wouldn't be affected by the Ute dispute, leaving open the door for a separate lawsuit to proceed.

The Timpanogos Tribe is also known as the Snake Band of Shoshones and traces its descent from the historic Shoshone Tribe.

Related Decision:
TIMPANOGOS TRIBE v. CONWAY No. 014056 (10th Circuit. April 15, 2002)

Relevant Links:
Timpanagos Tribe - http://www.timpanogostribe.org
Northern Ute Tribe - http://www.northernute.com
Indian Affairs, State of Utah - http://www.utah.org/indian

Related Stories:
Non-recognized tribe wins round in suit (4/16)
Utah says tribe not real (11/8)