Ute lawsuit says Utah agencies conspired to prevent tribe from purchasing ancestral lands

TABIONA, Duchesne County — The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation filed a federal lawsuit Friday accusing state agencies of racially discriminatory conspiracy to prevent the tribe from purchasing ancestral land just outside its reservation.

"Nothing evinces racial animus more clearly than the intentional, purposeful and/or knowing diversion of land from a minority population in order to make that land available for the primary or exclusive benefit of the nonminority population.

Under the law, the School and Institutional Trust Land Administration was required to sell to the tribe or demand a higher bid from the Department of Natural Resources, the lawsuit alleges. Court documents show that prior to the tribe's bid, the administration had concluded that selling the land for a minimum of $41 million was in the best interest of the trust. The administration is charged with maximizing revenue to fund Utah public schools.

"That behind-the-scenes response was quintessential discrimination based upon race, ethnicity, national origin and religion," the lawsuit reads. " officers' intentional decision to wrongfully discriminate was also a violation of those officers' fiduciary duty to the trust and more generally to the state's children. They decided that keeping the land away from the Indians was more important than taking $46,976,000 into trust.

"The Trust Lands Administration is aware of the filing and strongly disagrees with the assertions made," the administration said in a statement. "The 2019 sales effort was suspended in the face of criticisms from our beneficiaries about the appraisal and marketing process on such a large and unique block, along with questions concerning the state's desire to ensure continued public access to the land.

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