Terrorist foiled on Southern Ute Reservation

[Troubleshooter]

Isn't a reservation off the beaten path for State Troopers?

[garnet]

Cops in small towns are a special breed of cop. A lot of them have some serious time to kill, and will pick on obviously innocent people just to give them something to do. Yeah, always have your ID handy, no matter where you're going. They can mess with you really easily if you can't supply it ASAP. The one time I didn't have my ID I got pulled over, and the cop read me the riot act. He asked about a zillion questions (they want to see if you hesitate in answering anything), and did a check on me that took about a half hour. I'm a white chick in my heavily insured, legally registered vehicle in whitebread suburbia--I can only imagine what would happen in a backward-ass little town in the middle of nowhere. Mari--for what it's worth, I don't think you look like a terrorist!

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by garnet

Cops in small towns are a special breed of cop.

I know. I live in a small town, population 15k. The thing is, is that state troopers have an extra layer of protection.

Originally Posted by garnet

Mari--for what it's worth, I don't think you look like a terrorist!

You sure about that? Anybody who lists politics as an interest has to be an urban ne'er do well.

TS, I don't know why the state troopers were messing around on the Ute res. I know for a fact that if you drive onto the Navajo reservation, the authorities you will encounter (if you HAVE an encounter) will be members of the Navajo tribal police who in my experience are very reasonable individuals. For example, the Navajo tribal police once stopped me on the Navajo res outside of Chinle, Arizona. I started to scramble around for my "papers" when the officer stopped me. "Lady," he said, "you're on the NAVAJO nation now and we don't worry about that kind of stuff. I just stopped you to tell you that one of your tail lights is out. They carry replacement bulbs at the trading store in Kayenta, just down the road. You have a nice evening and drive safely now." Nicest encounter with a cop I ever had.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by marichiko

TS, I don't know why the state troopers were messing around on the Ute res.

If that is the case then you may want to contact the res officials and tell them that the rednecks are causing problems with the pow wow tourists.

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

If that is the case then you may want to contact the res officials and tell them that the rednecks are causing problems with the pow wow tourists.

Well, the thing is that it was a NAVAJO pow-wow, not a Ute one. A few members of the Ute tribe may have gone down to NM to participate, but it was not something that would draw tourists to the Ute reservation. I was on the Ute reservation quite unwillingly, along with all the other drivers who had been routed off the main road by the accident.

Just as an aside, I find it curious how the Navajo people versus the Utes have adjusted themselves to life with their lands over run by the white people. The Utes seem to have great difficulty retaining both their cultural idenity and their hope for a better tomorrow. The towns on the Ute reservation are run down and one is hit by the sense of despair and futility which seem to have taken permanent root there. Alcohol has hit the Utes very hard.

By contrast, the Navajo have retained their own language and spiritual traditions. In the 4 corners area there are at least two radio stations which broadcast in Navajo. One of them begins each broadcast day with a series of Navajo ceremonial songs. The Navajo are a very musical people and there are any number of Navajo groups who make recordings and sell CD's. I have never heard anyone speak in the Ute tongue and I know of no Ute musical groups, although I would think surely some must exist.

The Navajo have managed to make a pretty good business out of selling their traditional jewelry and rugs, especially, to the tourists. Navajo weaving is greatly prized. There was a rug auction at the pow wow and one of the rugs began with a bidding price of $3,000.00. It was absolutely beautiful and I wish I'd had the money to buy it. In 5 to 10 years its value will have easily doubled. The Navajo have several community colleges on their reservation. The Ute have none. While alcohol has impacted the Navajo people, it has taken nowhere near the toll it has on the Utes, and Navajo tribal authorities have instituted a major campaign to steer their young people away from alcohol use.

I used to teach at Fort Lewis College in Durango. Fort Lewis gives free tuition to any member of a Native American tribe. I can remember the lost look in the eyes of both the Navajo and Ute kids who came in each September as freshmen. But the Navajo kids were the ones who most often made it through the entire 4 years and got their diplomas. Many of the Ute teenagers I had in my classes dropped out after the first semester and I never saw them again. Maybe all this is why you will encounter a state trooper on the Ute res, but never on the Navajo one.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Utes are a perfect example of what happens to people who've fallen prey to the cult of victimhood.

[garnet]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Isn't a reservation off the beaten path for State Troopers?

Yeah, isn't that a bit odd? I've spent a little time in AZ, and I know the reservations there have their own police depts. Maybe it depends on what reservation and in what state you're in.