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DRAPER -- Utah's five American Indian tribes are calling out the Utah Transit Authority for trespassing and damaging protected state land that contains the site of a 3,000-year-old village.
The land is east of the Jordan River, north of Bangerter Highway. Utah's five tribes call it Soo'nkahni, meaning "land of many homes." Their ancestors lived there thousands of years ago and developed some of the region's first agriculture.
Archaeologists say the site, considered one of Utah's most significant, contains tens of thousands of artifacts. When controversy erupted last year about building a massive development next to UTA's FrontRunner South line, the governor signed a deal to protect it.
Thursday, the tribes criticized UTA. They say the agency has since trespassed and damaged the land, is out of compliance with a federal water permit, and hasn't consulted with tribes as required.
"They've got to follow all those federal laws, which includes heavy consultation with Indian tribes, mainly because there have been artifacts found within that same area," says Curtis Cesspooch, with the Ute Tribal Council.
UTA says the trespass may have been caused by confusion over a property line, and they have stopped work in that area.
"Our contractor was out there working on our property and depositing some top soil adjacent to the work site. Our contractor thought it was UTA-owned property," says UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.
Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire and State Land sent a letter to UTA last month alerting the agency that it had "likely" trespassed onto state lands. The letter denied UTA access to the area until the issue is resolved. [CLICK HERE to read the letter]
After a neighbor complained last month about UTA construction extending beyond what had been approved, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent the neighbor a letter saying the Corps had not received a request from UTA to modify its project permit.
UTA says it's in the process of applying for a modification of its federal water permit.
Big picture: the tribes say the troubles are the result of a proposed, huge, fast-tracked development next to the rail line. They see a lack of respect for them and land they consider sacred.
"I just feel like we're not taken seriously enough," says Madeline Greymountain, council member with the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indian Reservation.
"That we're insignificant," Cesspooch added, "that we don't matter."
"If there was any trespass, UTA would like to apologize and will do everything necessary to rectify the situation," Carpenter says.
The groups aren't ruling out filing a lawsuit, but say it's expensive and time-consuming. They say they hope to be able to find common ground with UTA moving forward.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
