Uintah County Sheriff's Office action at Ute checkpoint prompts rebuke from tribe

FORT DUCHESNE, Uintah County — The Ute Indian Tribe is publicly rebuking the Uintah County Sheriff's Office because of an incident last month involving sheriff's deputies, tribal police and federal officials.

"The Uintah County sheriff's deputies' actions are nothing short of an attack on the tribe's jurisdiction and sovereignty," the Ute tribe said in a statement on Wednesday.

The sheriff's office didn't immediately respond to a query Thursday seeking comment. But in a press release last month, it said fish and game officers from the Ute Tribe and representatives from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs had set up an "unlawful" checkpoint and roadblock on Oct. 16.

"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 said. It asks that anyone who was "stopped, detained or had property taken at this or any previous checkpoints at this location" reach out to sheriff's officials.

The Oct. 16 incident occurred on Seep Ridge Road, a county road, the sheriff's office said, near Turkey Track. The tribe said the checkpoint was set up within "the exterior boundaries" of the tribe's Uintah and Ouray Reservation and that it has the right to conduct such operations.

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"This is one of many hunting season checkpoints that the tribe has operated annually to ensure hunters on the reservation are properly licensed and following appropriate procedures," reads the tribal statement. "Despite this, Uintah County sheriff deputies and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent came to the checkpoint and demanded that it be shut down, claiming that tribal police and BIA officers cannot operate such a checkpoint on the tribe's trust lands without state court approval."

While contesting the sheriff's office's claims about proper procedure for operating a checkpoint, Ute and Bureau of Indian Affairs officials halted checkpoint operations to avoid a confrontation.

"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," said Ute Tribal Business Committee Chairman Shaun Chapoose.

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