The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Southern Paiute The Southern Paiute people are a tribe of Native Americans who have lived in the Colorado River basin of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Bands of Southern Paiute live in scattered locations throughout this territory and ha ...

and

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute (band), an Australian jazz group * Ute (given name) * ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus * Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles * Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...

Indians in southwestern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Reservation

The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) has a reservation composed of ten separate parcels of land, located in four counties in southwestern Utah."Home."
''Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.'' (retrieved 12 Dec 2009)

History

Two Ute bands were absorbed into the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. The

Pahvant Pahvant (''Pavant, Parant, Pahva-nits'') was a band of Ute people that lived in present-day Utah. Called the "Water People", they fished and hunted waterfowl. They were also farmers and hunter-gatherers. In the 18th century they were known to be f ...

band originally lived in the deserts near

Sevier Lake Sevier Lake is an intermittent and endorheic lake which lies in the lowest part of the Sevier Desert, Millard County, Utah. Like Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake, it is a remnant of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Sevier Lake is fed primarily by t ...

, west of the

Wasatch Mountains The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the G ...

of western

. Many Pahvants were removed by the US government to the

Uintah Reservation The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation (, ) is located in northeastern Utah, United States. It is the homeland of the Ute Indian Tribe (Ute dialect: Núuchi-u), and is the largest of three Indian reservations inhabited by members of the Ute Tribe ...

, but some joined the Kanosh, Koosharem, and other settlements in Utah. The second band was the Moanunts, who traditionally lived near

Sevier River The Sevier River (pronounced "severe") is a -long river in the Great Basin of southwestern Utah in the United States. Originating west of Bryce Canyon National Park, the river flows north through a chain of high farming valleys and steep canyons ...

and Otter Creek, south of

Salina, Utah Salina ( ) is a city in Sevier County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,660 at the 2020 census. History The first permanent settlers (about 30 families) moved into the area in 1864 at the direction of leaders of the Church of Jesus Ch ...

.D'Azevedo

Termination and restoration

During the period from the 1940s to 1960s, in which the

Indian termination policy Indian termination is a phrase describing United States policies relating to Native Americans from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s. It was shaped by a series of laws and practices with the intent of assimilating Native Americans into mainstream ...

was enforced, The Paiute Indian Tribe was targeted for termination. On 1 September 1954 the US Congress passed ''Termination of Federal Supervision over the Paiute Indians of Utah U.S. Code, Title 25, Sections 741–60. The legislation at §742 specified that the included bands were the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and Indian Peaks Bands of the Paiute Indian Tribe (omitting the Cedar Band). As with other termination agreements, the Act provided for termination of federal trusts and distribution of tribal lands to individuals or a tribally organized entity. It had provisions to preserve the tribal water rights and a special education program to assist tribal members in learning how to earn a living, conduct affairs, and assume their responsibilities as citizens. The Bureau of Land management terminated tribal trusts on 1 March 1957 as did the Indian Health Service. On 3 April 1980, Congress passed the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act, Public Law 96-227 94 Stat. 317, which restored the federal trust relationship of the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and Indian Peaks Bands of the Paiute Indian Tribe and restored and reaffirmed that the Cedar Band was part of the Tribe. The law acknowledged that the Kanosh, Koosharem, and Indian Peaks Bands had lost their lands as a result of termination and that the Cedar Band had never had any. It proposed to develop within two years of enactment a plan to secure reservation land for the tribe not to exceed 15,000 acres. The Bureau of Land management reinstituted the federal trust on 43,576.99 acres concurrent with the enactment of the statute.

Today

The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah's tribal headquarters is located in

Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

. As of 2006, 840 people were enrolled in the tribe. The Utah Paiute's tribal chairperson is

Tamra "Tami" Borchardt-Slayton Tamra Borchardt-Slayton is a Paiute politician and the chairperson and leader of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Tenure During her tenure as chairperson, the tribe launched the Paiute Educational Access Camp Experience, a summer camp at South ...

and their vice-chairperson is Patrick Charles. The Paiute Tribe made national news when former Chairperson Gari Pikyavit Lafferty was impeached in 2015, After accepting gifts from

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

owner Dan Snyder which were ostensibly made in an attempt to induce the tribe to publicly endorse the team's controversial name, the Tribal Council charged Gari Pikyavit Lafferty, then tribal chairperson, on March 26, 2015, with violating the tribe's Ethics Ordinance, Constitution and Standards of Conduct as well as ignoring the express directives of the Tribal Council, interfering with internal band matters and misusing her title. The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah operates its own programs for health, behavioral care, housing, education, and economic development. Proposed economic development enterprises include geothermal plants, agricultural, convenience stores, gift stores, restaurants, hotels, and cultural centers.

Bands

The tribe is made up of five constituent bands, who have been independent communities for centuries.

Cedar Band of Paiutes

The "Cedar Band of Paiute Indians" or Suh’dutsing ("Cedar People") received federal recognition on April 3, 1980, under the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act. Their band headquarters is located in

. Their band chairperson is Travis N. Parashonts."Tribal Government: 2009 Band Chairperson Election Results.
/ref>

Kanosh Band of Paiutes

The "Kanosh Band of Paiute Indians" or Kawnaw’os ("willow

ater Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in r ...

jug") first received federal recognition on February 11, 1929. Their band headquarters is located in

. An additional tribal office is located in

Kanosh, Utah Kanosh ( ) is a town in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 474 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.2 km2), all land. Cli ...

, near their traditional ancestral home. Their Band Chairperson is Corrina Bow.

Koosharem Band of Paiutes

The "Koosharem Band of Paiute Indians" or Paw goosawd’uhmpuhtseng ("Water Clover People") first received federal recognition on March 3, 1928. Their band headquarters is located in

Richfield, Utah Richfield is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Utah, United States, and is the largest city in southern-central Utah. Description As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,551. It lies in the Mormon Corridor, just off I ...

. Their Band Chairperson is LaTosha Mayo.

Indian Peaks Band of Paiutes

The "Indian Peaks Band of Paiute Indians" or Kwee’choovunt ("Peak People") first received federal recognition on August 2, 1915, and have lands in

Beaver County, Utah Beaver County is a county in west central Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 6,629. Its county seat and largest city is Beaver. The county was named for the abundance of beaver in the area. History Ex ...

. Their band headquarters is located in

. Their Band Chairperson is Jeanine Borchardt.

Shivwits Band of Paiutes

The first reservation of the "

Shivwits Band of Paiutes The Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a sovereign, federally recognized tribe located in southwestern Utah. The Shivwits Band is one of five Bands comprising the inter-Tribal government of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Name ''Shivwits'' comes from ...

" or See’veetseng ("Whitish Earth People") was established in 1891. They received federal recognition on March 3, 1891. They have lands in

Washington County, Utah Washington County is a county in the southwestern corner of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 180,279, making it the fifth-most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is St. Georg ...

. Their band headquarters is located in

Ivins, Utah Ivins ( ) is a city in southwestern Washington County, Utah, United States. It is a part of the St. George Metropolitan Area as a suburb or "bedroom" community. The population was 8,978 at the 2020 census, up from 6,753 at the 2010 census.h ...

."Shivwits Band of Paiutes."
''Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.'' 11 March 2009 (retrieved 12 Dec 2009) Their Band Chairperson is Patrick Charles.

Notes

References

* D'Azevedo, Warren L., Volume Editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 11: Great Basin. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986. . * Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah
official website {{authority control Paiute American Indian reservations in Utah Geography of Beaver County, Utah Geography of Washington County, Utah Native American tribes in Utah Federally recognized tribes in the United States