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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2002

A federal judge in Utah has dismissed a 3.5-million acre land claim from a group which claims to be a sovereign tribe.

But since the Nato Indian Nation is not, the group has no standing to bring a legal claim seeking return of Utah's school trust lands, said U.S. District Judge Bruce Jenkins. He made his ruling on Tuesday.

Nato, which also stands for Native American Tribal Organization, is currently involved in a dispute over funds belonging to the Skull Valey Goshute Tribe. On behalf of dissident members, a Nato court issued an "order" to two local banks to release money owned by the tribe.

The banks then apparently handed over more than $367,000 in tribal funds to the dissident members.

Get the Story:
Group's Land Claim Dismissed (The Salt Lake Tribune 1/31)

Relevant Links:
Utah Office of High Level Nuclear Waste Opposition - http://www.eq.state.ut.us/HLW/Hlw_opp.htm
Private Fuel Storage Facility Application, Nuclear Regulatory Commission - http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/reports/pfs.htm
Private Fuel Storage - http://www.privatefuelstorage.com
The Skull Valley Goshutes - http://www.skullvalleygoshutes.org

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