Opposition to Biden’s leasing and permitting ban came from across the country following the announcement of the Executive Order last week. A letter from Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee Chairman Luke Duncan was among the widest shared around the country with Duncan calling the order a direct attack on the tribe’s economy and sovereignty. The Biden Administration apparently felt the heat as they announced on Monday that leases and permits on Indian lands are now exempt from Order 3395. In response, the Ute Indian Tribe issued a press release on Tuesday sharing the following: “A delay in energy permitting in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic would have been devastating to our economy and the health and safety of our tribal members,” said Chairman Luke Duncan on behalf of the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee, the elected governing body of the Tribe’s nation. “We appreciate the willingness of the Biden Administration to listen to our concerns and take quick action to resolve this issue in fulfilling their solemn trust responsibility to this country’s first peoples: Native American tribes.” Duncan also stated that “The Ute Indian Tribe has centuries of experience developing our natural resources to support our members and tribal communities. This development also provides indirect support to the local non-Indian regional economy and communities through the thousands of jobs that are sustained and created each year from our resource development.” To view the entire press release from the Ute Indian Tribe, visit the ‘Ute Business Committee’ page on Facebook.
