Ute Tribe Business Committee Issues News Release Concerning Checkpoint Dispute With Uintah County Sheriff’s Office

The Ute Indian Tribe has responded to the account of the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office regarding what the Sheriff’s Office called an “unlawful checkpoint/roadblock on Seep Ridge Road” by Ute Tribe Fish and Game and BIA officers on October 16th. The news release by the Ute Indian Tribe issued on November 4th claims that the officers were conducting “a lawful joint hunting season checkpoint on the Tribe’s trust lands” and that the checkpoint was authorized by the Tribal Court and operated within the exterior boundaries of the Tribe’s Uintah and Ouray Reservation. The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office posted to Facebook on October 17th and stated that, “After speaking with the agencies conducting the checkpoint, it was determined that Utah statute was not followed in obtaining authorization for the checkpoint and it was immediately terminated.” The Sheriff’s Office then invited anyone that was stopped, detained, or had property taken at this or any previous checkpoints at this location, to contact the Sheriff’s office. The Ute Indian Tribe’s response on November 4th calls these actions “nothing short of an attack on the Tribe’s jurisdiction and sovereignty” and states that the “County’s actions have directly threatened and undermined the Tribe’s law enforcement authority and the safety of the Tribe’s law enforcement officers.” Further, the Tribe claims that “in attempting to strongarm Tribal law enforcement and BIA officers, they have endangered the ability and capacity of the Tribe to govern and protect its Homelands and the people living there.” The Tribe also claims the Sheriff’s Office Facebook post insinuates that the county may bring litigation against the Tribe. The Sheriff’s Office Facebook post does not mention litigation but does assert that the checkpoint location was on a Uintah County road without authorization. Ute Tribal Business Committee Chairman Shaun Chapoose shared the following in the Tribe’s November 4th news release: “We were surprised and disappointed that even when the Tribe is operating a lawful hunting checkpoint that it has been doing for decades, the Uintah County Sheriff would challenge that activity. The County’s actions have put federal and tribal officers at increased risk, and the public posting by County law enforcement only compounded the wrong. The Tribe should not have to continuously fight the County to protect our sovereignty over our own lands.” Copies of the full Facebook post and Tribe news release are included below.