Utes to hunt under 19th century treaty right

A good article in the L.A. Times yesterday about the Southern Utes asserting its right to hunt on southwestern Colorado public lands under the 1874 Brunot agreement.

Under the agreement, the article says, "the Utes relinquished 4 million acres to the United States but retained the right to hunt on the land for 'so long as the game lasts and the Indians are at peace with the white people'."

The article explains:

Under the agreement, tribal members don't have to acquire a state permit to hunt on public lands, but the tribe will regulate its members and require them to obtain tribal permits. Although the tribe hasn't established its exact hunting seasons, [the tribe's wildlife management director, Steve] Whiteman said, it will stick to the same general time frame of the state hunting seasons, and its rules will mirror state regulations. Nor will tribal members hunt on private land without the owner's permission.

Read more about the Utes and the Brunot agreement here.

Read more about the recent decision to apply the agreement in the Mineral County Miner (Creede, Colo.).