Cedar City Indian Tribe Earns Millions with Technology

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) A small band of the Paiute Indian tribe in Cedar City is making millions of dollars with a technology company that contracts primarily for the U.S. government.

"In Utah there's no gaming opportunities for tribes in other states, so we say Suh'dutsing is our casino and we can't afford to fail," says Shane Parashonts is marketing manager for Suh'dutsing Technologies.

Suh'dutsing was recently honored as Tribal Enterprise of the Year by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. The company's primary customer is the U.S. Department of Defense. Parashonts says Suh'dutsing has an edge in securing lucrative government contracts because it's a tribally-owned minority business.

"When the Government spends its money, they have certain check boxes in areas where they need to spend money. . . we help them check off quite a few of those checkboxes," says Parashonts.

Last year the Cedar City-based company ranked sixth in the nation among tribally-owned companies. Parashonts says the company's annual earnings exceed 35-million dollars, with revenues benefiting the 263 members of the Cedar Band of Paiutes.

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