The Bureau of Indian Affairs will oversee the upcoming election of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes in Utah.

The BIA plans to conduct all balloting by mail. It's a first in the history of the tribe, a move that has tribal members who are normally on different sides of the fence coming to agreement.

"This is not how we run our government," former vice chair Mary Allen, a supporter of the current tribal leadership, told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Margene Bullcreek, the leader of an opposition group, said the mail-in vote goes against tradition because candidates must speak directly to the people. "That's the way it's been done with the Goshutes since Day One," she told the paper.

Longtime chairman Leon Bear is up for re-election and has survived attempts to remove him from office. He called himself "chief for life" in a Reuters article earlier this month.

Get the Story:
Goshutes: U.S. will oversee tribal election (The Salt Lake Tribune 9/27)
BIA to oversee Goshute election (The Deseret Morning News 9/27)

Interior Decision Documents:
Skull Valley Band Nuclear Waste Repository

Relevant Links:
Skull Valley Goshute Tribe - http://www.skullvalleygoshutes.org
Private Fuel Storage - http://www.privatefuelstorage.com

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