Leaders and members from nine of Utah’s Native American nations and tribes came together for the Governor’s Native American Summit.
The governor and lieutenant governor were not in attendance but both shared video messages at the Summit.
The tribes and nations represented were the Confederated Tribes of Goshute, Skull Valley Band of Goshute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah, Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and White Mesa Community.
Division of Indian Affairs Director Dustin Jansen introduced the event.
“The theme this year is connecting our communities, reverence for our elders, our youth, ourselves, and each other. When we thought about that theme, we thought about those that have influenced our lives the most. And we thought about how can we connect our younger generations with our older generations?” Jansen said.
R&B singer Rhonda “Honey” Duvall, one of the keynote panelists, shared the importance of stories in the Native American community.
“I do feel that the stories of our families, of our elders, of the background of our history is so so important. And it's so important for us to pass it down to all different ages within our families, we all need to learn and understand where we come from, who we are, where we're going,” Duvall said.
About the summit as a whole, Jansen said, “But we're also here, as individual citizens who run organizations who work within their communities to help each other move forward. We all bring something to the table. And I hope that this summit will help you have the tools you need to do anything better.”
