The sound of drums echoed throughout the ballroom as the members of the drum circle sang a song. The music continued as the American flag, the Utah state flag and flags representing each of Utah’s federally recognized Native American tribes were carried in for the start of Utah’s annual Native American Summit on Friday.
The summit was held at Utah Valley University, which has hosted it for the last 18 years. The event brings together Utah’s eight federally recognized tribes, a variety of state agencies and other stakeholders.
Utah’s eight tribes are the Navajo Nation, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, the Skull Valley Band of Goshute, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation.
The event was hosted by the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, which works on “bettering the relationship between tribal governments and the state government,” according to division director Dustin Jansen.
Throughout the day the event included speakers and breakout sessions, as well as a special youth track just for teenagers and young adults. One of the event’s speakers was Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
“We have a lot of challenges in the state,” Henderson said. “You have a lot of challenges in your communities, and I want you to know, on behalf of the state of Utah, that we value you. We love you as Utahns. We value you and we love you as members of your sovereign tribes.”
Utah’s Native American Summit helps bring people together
James Toledo, the deputy director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, shared why holding this summit annually matters.
“It matters to to convene, you know, Native people. We are community oriented, and coming together to share ideas, I think, is great. And it’s a way to problem solve,” he said.
The summit is open to the public and all Utahns: both Native and non-Native people are invited to come and participate.
“It also serves the purpose of educating our non-Native communities to say, Hey, this is who we are. We welcome allies,” Toledo said.
“This isn’t just a Native community event, it’s an event for everyone to come that might possibly just want to learn more, or may have access to resources or work in an area that could benefit tribal governments or just tribal communities, whether they be on reservations or in the urban areas,” Jansen said.
He continued: “The hope is, that everyone that comes here just learns a little bit more about each other, about the opportunities and resources available, so that things can run a lot smoother.”
The first day of the summit, Thursday, was not open to the public and was full of meetings between state agencies and tribal leaders. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was also in attendance on Thursday.
Bridging between the state government and Utah’s Native American tribes
One thing that was repeatedly mentioned at the summit was building the relationship between the state government and the different tribal governments around the state.
As part of her duties as lieutenant governor, Henderson has been assigned to oversee Indian Affairs in the state.
“A lot of people don’t realize that Native American tribes are their own sovereign governments, and they need to be respected as such,” Henderson said.
“But it’s complicated because they’re also part of our state,” she continued. “They’re Utahns, you know, they they have a lot of different hats they wear, so to speak, and we have to respect their sovereignty while also recognizing that we have an obligation to them as Utahns.”
Jansen said that there have been big challenges when bringing together tribal governments with state agencies, but once they get together, they are able to find common goals and solutions to problems. He added that both Cox and Henderson have been focused on addressing tribal issues since taking office in 2020.
The goal is “that policy can be developed in a way that’s advantageous for for both parties. It helps benefit the state, but then at the same time it benefits the tribal nations‚” Jansen said. That is done by listening to each other’s ideas and concerns.
A focus on youth leadership
For the past couple years, the summit has had a youth track for teenagers and young adults, but this year, the track was renamed to the “Indigenous Youth Leadership Program.”
“That was intentional, because we’re wanting to focus on education of the next generation,” Toledo said.
“It’s just providing them with some tools and resources that will help them achieve their personal goals. And then we’ve also interwoven cultural elements emphasizing how culture can help these young people be resilient as they as they enter their early adulthood,” he added.
Henderson was also a part of the youth program and presented the Youth Changemaker awards, which recognized three young people for the work they are doing in their communities.
“The events that involve young people, I think, are some of the most impactful on me, just because we place so much burden and hope on the shoulders of our young people, and it’s really fun to see them stretch and learn and grow and blossom. And I learn a lot from them,” Henderson said.
Jansen added that one of the goals of the youth leadership program is to help young people be a part of cultural preservation and language preservation, as well as work to help solve some of the issues in their communities.
“We’re trying to to share that we each have a part in this, and you can be young and still have a part in this, and have not just a part, but be part of the solution,” he said.
Focusing on issues relevant to all of Utah’s tribes
The summit’s breakout sessions featured presentations from a variety of state agencies and other stakeholders covering a variety of issues. Jansen shared that they tried to find issues and topics that were relevant for all of Utah’s tribal governments.
Different topics covered by these breakout sessions were government to government relationships and communication, economic development, health, and mental health education, as well cultural and language preservation.
There were also presentations from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums about how the new Museum of Utah has worked to include and share indigenous voices from all of Utah’s tribes in the museum.
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