A federal judge has made a determination on a boundary issue regarding the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. 10th Circuit Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a Memorandum Decision and Order in the case of the Ute Indian Tribe versus the State of Utah that asked “whether the surface of split estate lands are Indian Country or non-Indian Country for purposes of determining criminal and civil jurisdiction over matters occurring on the surface of split estate lands.” The judge determined that “the surface of split estate lands is not Indian Country.” The court defined split estate lands as where the Tribe “holds a sub-surface mineral estate interest” and the surface estate of the lands were “unallotted”, “opened to non-Indian settlement under the 1902-1905 legislation and were not thereafter returned to tribal ownership.” The Ute Business Committee has announced that the Tribe will appeal the federal district court’s decision on split-estate lands.
