The Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee issued a press release on Thursday with an exciting announcement. The Ute Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office agreement between the Tribe and the Director of National Park Service is now in full effect. “As a result, the Tribe’s Historic Preservation Office has assumed a formal and legal place in the National Historic Preservation Program, a landmark achievement for the Tribe. The fully executed…agreement authorizes the Tribe’s Cultural Rights and Protection Department to exercise certain cultural and historic preservation activities over the Uintah and Ouray Reservation under the National Historic Preservation Act. These preservation activities were previously a legal authority that was exercised by Utah’s Historic Preservation Office…The Business Committee acknowledges the critical nature of protecting and preserving the Tribe’s cultural and historic resources for generations to come and has worked diligently with the Cultural Rights and Protection Department to establish this Office.” Duties being assumed from the state will include identifying and nominating properties to the National Register of Historic Places, preparing and implementing a historic preservation plan for the Tribe, completing a survey and inventory of Tribal historic properties, among many other important responsibilities.
