Press Release - New Indian Commission Members
OFFICE OF LT. GOV. BARBARA O'BRIEN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 2, 2008
Contact:
Ellen Dumm, 303 866-6361 (office), 303 829-0194 (cell)
Lt. Gov. O'Brien Announces New Indian Commission Members
Towaoc, CO -- Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien today announced two at-large members of the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs (CCIA).
Steve Moore, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund and Forrest Stanford of the DU School of Law will hold one-year appointments on the commission.
"These are dedicated individuals who have unique skills and background that can deal with the complex issues between Colorado and its Native American residents," said Lt. Gov. O'Brien.
The new members were announced at the CCIA quarterly meeting on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation in Towaoc, which is south of Cortez. They are elected by other members of CCIA. Lt. Gov. O'Brien serves as the chair of the CCIA.
In addition, CCIA members voted to extend an invitation to La Plata County and Montezuma County to appoint ex-officio commission members. The two Ute tribal reservations are located within those two southwestern Colorado county borders.
"Including the county governments in our discussions on state-tribal issues will provide a better understanding of the impacts of our decisions," said Lt. Gov. O'Brien.
CCIA is an 11 member commission, comprised of Southern Ute Tribal Chair Clement Frost, Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Chair Ernest House Sr., their appointees and several state department representatives. There are also five non-voting members.
CCIA was created in 1976 to deal with state-Native American issues in Colorado. The Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes are sovereign governments within Colorado's boundaries.