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Show ," said Richard Moe, f the National Trust : Preservation. "Oil levelopment would ireaten or destroy and irreplaceable B L M over the lease sale. "The leases directly threaten the interests of these clients and this aspect of m y business." In protesting the inclusion of the San Juan River area ""« ucvciup sensitive lands, ignoring its own oversight board and a request from the National Park Service," said Bloch. "With each lease sale, it seems that B L M is upping the ante on selling off public trea-lands up for sale. As the country becomes increasingly aware that we can't drill our way out of our energy problems, the 'drill everything' approach seems extraordinarily shortsighted." Shale research to be examined rnal Field Office Bureau of Land it (BLM) - United sartment of the nnounces an Oil rch Development & ion (RJD&D) Lease public information lay 17, 2006, from 6 he Western Park in Shale Exploration Company (OSEC), applicant for a 160 acre oil shale R D &D lease, is planning to orient the public regarding their operational plans should a lease be issued. Representatives of both OSEC and the B L M will be in attendance to answer questions the public m a y have regarding three proposed phases of foreseeable R D & D operations. The application area is in VERNAL (ISSN 0892-1091) •& every Wednesday for $26 per year in the shopping 38 per year out out of the shopping area within the state and $42 r out of state within the USA by the Vernal Express I Company, 54 North Vernal Avenue, Vernal. Utah Periodical postage paid at Vernal. Utah, 84078 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KL. EXPRESS, P.O Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078. Wallis Editor and PubUsher Writer lannon Feature Writer Eden Sports Writer n Proofreader ring Ads/Layout abbs Advertising nandez Advertising arding Circulation & Billing Phone: 435-789-3511 • FAX: 453-789-8690 te: www.vernal.com • email: editor@vernal.com DEADLINES Friday 5 p.m. ertising Friday 5 p.m. dvertising Friday 12 Noon es Friday 12 Noon eastern Uintah County, about 2 miles south of the White River and 7.5 miles west of the Utah- Colorado border on the old White River oil shale mine site. An environmental assessment (EA) will be written on the matter oi the proposed leasing and operations and that E A will be released for a public comment period. m e .rtjiamont district and is being challenged by Ashley Shiner and Rodger Ames. A district meeting will be held at Altamont High School on Wednesday, May 16, 2006 at 7 p.m. so co-op members can determine who will make it on the June ballot in that district. The votes will be taken by secret ballot. The two individuals receiving the highest number of votes will then be listed on the ballot for the annual meeting on June 15. Only two individuals have $200 and full voting rights a established once an initi $50 cash contribution is mi Class A members can opt have the remaining $150 f paid through future patro age which has been retired ai credited toward the $200 fee lieu of cash payment, or tht may make a cash payment the entire $150 balance. For further informatic regarding membership c Annual Meeting, please contai UBTA-UBET Communicatior at 622-5007. Ute Indians take journey to South Dakota for 100 year commemoration of trek On April 20, 2006,30 Ute tribe members traveled by car and van to South Dakota to meet with the Sioux tribe and visit the graves of their ancestors. This journey, which lasted four days, was in commemoration of the trek members of the Ute tribe made 100 years ago. In 1906, under the leadership of an Indian named Red Cap, a band of 300-600 Utes left the Uintah Valley reservation. The group journeyed to South Dakota with the purpose of forming a league with the Sioux to resist further white encroachment and fight against oppression. The Sioux had been friendly in the past, but when the Utes arrived in South Dakota, they found the Sioux Indians unwilling to join them in their fight. The Sioux, they discovered, were in a situation similar to what the Ute Indians had left, and suffering from their own hardships, the Sioux would not or could not help the Ute travelers. The Utes found their new home unfriendly and even more difficult than the home they had left. The federal government wanted to control the Utes and arranged for employment for the tribe. They were forced to work on railroads or build fences, but the Ute people were not happy. In addition, the federal government withheld rations and payments from them to persuade them to return to Utah. In 1908, the discourage Utes asked to return to the Uintah Reservation and the government was happy to help escort them back home. Some members of the Ute tribe spent over two years in South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Some of the Ute tribe members even died in South Dakota and were buried there. As the centennial anniversary approached last month, many of the Ute Indians on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation wanted to uncover their past, so decided to make the journey their ancestors had made 100 years earlier. When the group arrived in South Dakota, they visited the Cheyenne River Reservation, Ft. Meade, and Thunder Butte. They discovered that nine Ute graves had been found two days before they arrived and other Ute burial sites had also been discovered in the area using modern GPS technology. The burial sites had been enclosed in a small fence built by the youth program. Loya Arrum, who had ancestors travel to South Dakota said, "The trip was overwhelming. There are no words to describe how I feel. There is a lot of heartache and sadness. A lot of people said they felt a weight lifted because some of the unknown and uncertainty is gone, but the tribe needs to go through a healing process." History records that the Sioux tribe was unfriendh to the Ute travelers, but aftei reading Sioux records, Ute tribe members felt like the trutl was beginning to be unveiled Maria Cuch, one of the Ute Indians who took the trip said "I knew that these people cared for ours, not just by historical times, but in this day. The care they took, they provided us with food, sage that had been cared for, blankets, and their company." The Ute members have returned from South Dakota. but their journey is not over. "Some things take time to see. and there is much more to come," said Cuch. There are other burial sites that the tribe members would like to see. "Those of us that went are glad," said Arrum, "We are happy because we didn't know what had become of our people W e are still in the discovery stage, but we know where the\ had been and where they are." |