Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation
Encyclopedia
The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation, also known as the Benton Paiute Tribe, is a federally recognized Great Basin tribe in Mono County, California
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border called the Benton Paiute Reservation. The reservation is 162.5 acre (0.65761475 km²) large. Approximately 50 tribal members on the reservation. The reservation was established in 1915.
. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, five-person tribal council.
The tribe identifies as being Paiute
. Tribal enrollment is open to people with one-quarter Paiute blood quantum, either from the Benton area or descended from original enrollees. Other Paiute can be adopted into the tribe, as approved by a five-person enrollment committee.
The current tribal administration is as follows:
At the beginning of 2010, the tribe was awarded a $200,000 grant from the US Department of Energy for a study of the feasibility of geothermal energy development on tribal lands.
Mono County, California
Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California, to the east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,202, up from 12,853 at the 2000 census...
.
Reservation
The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe has a federal reservation in Mono County, ten miles (16 km) from the NevadaNevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
border called the Benton Paiute Reservation. The reservation is 162.5 acre (0.65761475 km²) large. Approximately 50 tribal members on the reservation. The reservation was established in 1915.
Government
The tribe's headquarters is located in Benton, CaliforniaBenton, California
Benton is a census-designated place in Mono County, California, United States. It is located 3 miles east-northeast of the community of Benton Hot Springs and north of the community of Bishop, at an elevation of 5387 feet...
. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, five-person tribal council.
The tribe identifies as being Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
. Tribal enrollment is open to people with one-quarter Paiute blood quantum, either from the Benton area or descended from original enrollees. Other Paiute can be adopted into the tribe, as approved by a five-person enrollment committee.
The current tribal administration is as follows:
- Chairman: Billie G. "Jake" Saulque
- Vice-Chairman: Adora L. Saulque
- Secretary/Treasurer: Jamie Meredith
- Council Person: Gerald Lewis
- Chief Arbitrator: Jerold Blain.
At the beginning of 2010, the tribe was awarded a $200,000 grant from the US Department of Energy for a study of the feasibility of geothermal energy development on tribal lands.
History
The tribe unanimously voted on their constitution on November 22, 1975 and ratified it on January 20, 1976.Name
The name Utuʼutuwi·tu, a subgroup of Owens Valley Paiute, was Anglicized to Utu Utu Gwaiti, or Gwaitu.External links
- Benton Paiute Tribe, official website