Utah Dineh Corporation Inc facts for kids
The Utah Dineh Corporation is a nonprofit organization that was created to help manage money from oil found on Navajo land in Utah. This land is mostly in the Utah Navajo part of San Juan County, Utah. For a long time, a special government official said his office couldn't properly manage the money set aside for the Utah Navajo people. This money is called the Utah Navajo Trust Fund. Because of this, the idea came up for the Utah Dineh Corporation to take over managing these funds.
History of the Corporation
The idea for the Utah Dineh Corporation came from a suggestion by Ross Swimmer, a former government official. He believed that the Navajo Nation or a group of Navajo citizens could manage their own money. This would give the Utah Navajos a chance to have more control over their future, a concept called "self-determination." So, the Utah Dineh Corporation was formed to manage these important oil funds.
In June 2008, several Navajo Nation leaders and a San Juan County official traveled to Washington, D.C. They showed Congress how a Utah Navajo organization could easily take over managing the oil money from the State of Utah. Later, in December 2009, the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee held hearings to discuss this important issue.
Senate Bill 1690
Senate Bill 1690 was a proposed law designed to give the Utah Dineh Corporation the power and resources to manage the oil money. This bill was supported by Representative Robert Bennett from Utah.
The Utah Dineh Corporation is a non-profit group with a board of directors. These directors come from different Utah Navajo communities. The corporation was set up specifically to follow the rules of laws passed in 1933 and 1968 about the oil money. The plan was for the corporation to hire a professional company to help manage the money. This way, the money collected from oil and the earnings from investments could be used to help the Utah Navajo people as intended.
Goals of the Utah Dineh Corporation
The main goal of Senate Bill 1690 was to name a new group, the Utah Dineh Corporation, to manage the oil money. This would allow the Utah Navajos to control their own financial resources.
San Juan County, Utah, provides many services to the seven Utah Navajo communities, like police, fire protection, and road maintenance. The Navajo Nation itself does not always provide these services in these areas. So, the Utah Dineh Corporation aimed to provide money to help support these important services from San Juan County.
As one leader, Council Delegate Maryboy, explained, the chance to manage millions of dollars for the benefit of Utah Navajos made people in the Navajo Nation government pay more attention to their tribal members living in Utah.
See also
- Senate Bill 1690
- Navajo Nation
