Column: Ute Tribe in Utah needs freedom to develop economy

Thursday, October 6, 2011  

"I’m going to make what I think is the relatively safe assumption that most, if not all of you reading this did not attend last week’s energy summit in Uintah County, Utah. It was a day filled with presentations about new and environmentally friendly ways to extract energy, and about the jobs, economic advancement, and even tax revenue (yes Lefties you read that correctly: tax revenue) that the industry is ready to create.

One notable presentation in was that of Ute Energy. For those of you not familiar with the history of the western United States, the name Ute refers to several distinct groups of Native Americans that while related, have their own identities: The Southern Utes, The Ute Mountain Utes and the Northern Utes. Northeastern Utah is home to the Northern Utes who occupy the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Also found on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation are abundant supplies of oil and gas. The Limited Liability Company Ute Energy was created in 2005 for the purpose of developing those resources.

Despite being a sovereign nation, the Ute Tribe has a government without a tax base. And despite the carping that Conservatives do about taxes, even we realize that a certain level of taxation is necessary. Without a tax base, development of tribal land is of paramount importance."

Get the Story:
Lincoln Brown: On Energy, the Ute Tribe is the Future (Town Hall 10/6)