Rep D. Clark Wants Utah Out of Navajo Oil and Gas Royalties Trust

Feb 12, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News)Millions of dollars in Navajo gas and oil royalties currently flow to Utah before it's redistributed to tribal agencies. One Utah lawmaker says it's time to get Utah out of the mix.  

"Utah is the only state in the nation that is the trustee for a tribe," Representative David Clark says. "Congress enacted that. We would like them to un-enact it. Only Congress has wed the Navajo trust fund to the state of Utah, and only Congress can separate it."

The Washington County Representative is running a resolution asking Congress to enlist a new trustee to oversee the fund. Clark says the current arrangement has sparked several lawsuits since its inception in 1933. The trust fund gathers 37 percent of the oil and gas royalties generated on Navajo land inside Utah's borders to pay for education, roads and other services. Clark says the Navajo nation can do this itself.

"The Navajo nation itself is the largest tribal nation in the country - well over 300,000 individuals. They have an extensive elected leadership to govern and guide their nation," Clark says.

However, Clark says only Congress can decide whether to entrust the fund to the Navajo nation. Clark is also running a bill clarifying how to transfer the fund to a new trustee. Both bills came before the House Government Operations Committee this morning. Click here to read both proposals and listen to a podcast of the meeting.

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