The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation, also known as the Benton Paiute Tribe, is a federally recognized Great Basin tribe in Mono County, California.California Indians and Their Reservations.
''San Diego State University Library and Information Access.'' 2009 (retrieved 5 May 2010)Rusco and Rusco, 566

Reservation

The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe has a federal reservation in Mono County, from the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

border called the Benton Paiute Reservation () in Benton, California. The reservation is large that is held in Trustee status and another 67 acres held in fee simple status. Approximately 50 tribal members on the reservation. The reservation was established on July 22, 1915. The tribe owns and operates the Benton Crossing Cafe in nearby Benton, California. The nearest incorporated city is

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, which lies about to the south. About the same distance to the west is

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

, although there is no direct road leading there.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is located in Benton, California. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, five-person tribal council. The tribe identifies as being

Owens Valley Paiute The Mono ( ) are a Native American people who traditionally live in the central Sierra Nevada, the Eastern Sierra (generally south of Bridgeport), the Mono Basin, and adjacent areas of the Great Basin. The Eastern mono is often grouped under th ...

. Tribal enrollment is open to people with one-quarter Paiute blood quantum, either from the Benton area or descended from original enrollees. Other Owens Valley Paiute can be adopted into the tribe, as approved by a five-person enrollment committee. The current tribal administration is as follows: *Chairwoman: Tina Braithwaite *Vice-Chairman: Shane Saulque *Secretary/Treasurer: Vacant *Council Person: Michelle Saulque *Council Member: Cecil Rambeau *Chief Arbitrator: Joseph Saulque At the beginning of 2010, the tribe was awarded a $200,000 grant from the

US Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United State ...

for a study of the feasibility of

geothermal energy Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth's crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions. The high temperature and pres ...

development on tribal lands.

History

The tribe unanimously voted on their constitution on November 22, 1975 and ratified it on January 20, 1976.

Name

The name ''Utuʼutuwi·tu'', a subgroup of Owens Valley Paiute (or Eastern Mono), was Anglicized to Utu Utu Gwaiti, or Gwaitu.Liljeblad and Fowler, 433

Education

The reservation is served by the Eastern Sierra Unified School District.

Citations

General and cited references

* Liljeblad, Sven and Fowler, Catherine S. "Owens Valley Paiute." ''Handbook of North American Indians: Great Basin, Volume 11.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986. . * Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. . *Rusco, Elmer R. and Mary K. Rusco. "Tribal Politics." ''Handbook of North American Indians: Great Basin, Volume 11.'' Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1986. .

External links

Benton Paiute Tribe
official website {{authority control Federally recognized tribes in the United States Mono tribe Native American tribes in California Paiute Timbisha