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Show Past and Future With The Ute Tribe . . . By R. O:. Curry, Business Mgr. Ute Tribal Committee The time of year has arrived when we should all stop and take inventory of ourselves, and of our communities, and see if we have accomplished anything in the past year which will be beneficial to man. During the past year, the Ute Indian Tribe has been very active ac-tive in attempting to obtain better bet-ter homes, better facilities for recreation, and for worship, and having meetings of various kinds in an effort to raise and maintain main-tain a higher standard of living and appreciation for a better living and better things of life. Records indicate that more than 140 homes have either been purchased, built, or remodeled the past year, with an average of 4 ' persons per home. This would indicate that more than 500 persons have been benefited through the Ute Indian Tribe's Housing program, in addition to the labor that has been furnished fur-nished to workmen, and also in addition to supplies purchased thus providing an outlet for the sales of housing materials within with-in the Uintah Basin. The Ute Indian Tribe has commenced the building of recreational rec-reational facilities which should be of great benefit to the members mem-bers of the Tribe, and also to the non-members of the Tribe or our adjacent neighbors. It is believed that the progress of the Ute Indian Tribe has, during dur-ing the past year, benefited the Uintah Basin as a whole, in addition ad-dition to being of direct benefit bene-fit to the Tribal members. More than $2,250,000.00 were released directly into the stream of spending within the Uiniah Basin in the per capita payments pay-ments made to the Ute Indians in the past year. It is felt that these payments furnish help in sustaining the business enterprises enter-prises within the Uintah Basin. Prospects for next year don't seem to bright as far as oil revenues reve-nues are concerned. Tentative figures indicate the oil and gas income of the Ute Indian Tribe for the calendar year of 1953 will amount to $1,308,000.00 This amount was derived principally prin-cipally from the oil lease bonuses. bon-uses. We will be very fortunate if the oil income for 1954 exceeds ex-ceeds $500,000.00. In 1953, the Ute Indian Tribe disbursed per capita money in the amount of $1,445,000.00 to the Ute Indian Tribe from oil and gas royalties and bonuses. It is clearly evident that to' make that amount of poyment, the Tribe needed to reach into more than the 1953 gas and oil revenue, and back into the 1952 source, as this payment exceeds ex-ceeds the amount they received in 1953. We are appealing at this point to the business houses of the Uintah Basin to be very considerate consid-erate in discussing with the Indians In-dians their problems of credit finances. Many times the In-' dians are done an injustice by being extended too much credit. A spot check by officials of this office has indicated that business busi-ness firms of the Basin are on unstable grounds in extending unlimited credit to the Indians on the strength of future per capita payments. This spot check also shows that many times In- i dians have been taken advan- , tage of. We have noticed that some of ' our Indians have purchased as ! many as seven cars or various forms of vehicles in the past I (Continued on back nage) 1 Ute Tribe ..... (Continued from cage I) ( year, which is caused by undue . sales pressure, and unlimited and unstable financing. We must adrvise the business concerns '. that with the drastic drop in in-come in-come from oil and gas revenues . the per capita payments from local funds cannot be expected in the amount they were given out in 1953. In fact, there is no assurance at any time that per capita payments will be forthcoming. forth-coming. We believe that the project of the Ute Indian Tribe, and the money they have spent in the Uintah Basin have materially aided the Uintah Basin in the past year. For next year we would like to advise that it appears ap-pears that we are entering into a depression, and employment opportunities are becoming scarce. It will be the policy of the Ute Indian Tribe to give preference pre-ference to the Ute Indians for all employment opportunities that are furnished by the Tribe. And it wlil be necessary to substitute, sub-stitute, in some cases, Indian workers for non-Indians where conditions warrant, in order to keep our Indians working, and off of relief rolls. Many people might wonder about the Tribal moneys in the Treasury but it must be remembered remem-bered -that the money cannot be utilized unless and until they have made another program which is to be approved by congress. con-gress. We hope to' continue the . fine relationship we have had with the business concerns of the Uintah Uin-tah Basin, and with the people, and we wish to extend them our Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year. |