The contract is among the largest for Suh'dutsing Technologies to date, said Travis N. Parashonts, the company's president.

"This is a great contract for us, and the fact that it is a contract in our home state is even better," Parashonts said. "Our company has come a long way in the few years since it was founded."

Suh'dutsing, which means "cedar tree," was launched with just three employees and $8,000 in seed capital - half from the state's Office of Rural Development and half from the Cedar Band of Paiutes.

The company now has 28 employees but expects to ramp up to 36 employees in the next few months.

"Many of the tribes across the country are getting into gaming or have natural resources that can be developed," Parashonts said. "We don't have those, so we started to look at digital technology for our future. This company is going to have to be [the equivalent of] our casino."

Along with Dugway, Suh'dutsing also is currently fulfilling contracts in Hawaii, Houston, Tampa and for the National Park Service in Minnesota, Parashonts said, noting that the company has satellite offices in Salt Lake City, California, Oklahoma and Virginia.

Dugway spokeswoman Paula Nicholson said Suh'dutsing also holds a small contract to help staff the proving ground's computer help desk.

Several other Utah Indian tribes also have turned to the high-tech arena as a source of jobs and economic development.

The Ute Tribe in Fort Duchesne was the first tribe in Utah to add a high-tech component to its efforts to cut unemployment and increase economic development on a reservation. In 2001, the tribe launched Uinta River Technology as a data entry and processing company. Since its founding, the company has handled contracts for private and public organizations that included Affiliated Computer Services, one of the world's largest data-processing concerns, and the Department of Homeland Security.

"We now employ about 25 people, but our employment levels go up and down depending upon our contracts," said Larry Blackhair, Uinta Technology's general manager. "This is the slow season for us, but our business has been steadily growing."

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation operates NWB Technologies, which was founded three years ago. NWB started as an information technology company and now has ongoing contracts to provide translation services for the nation's intelligence agencies. NWB also has expanded into commercial construction activities and environmental services.

"Our information technology work isn't just to create jobs; it also is about long-term economic development and finding ways to enhance our culture," said Michael Devine, chief operating officer for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.

NWB Technologies now has about 50 employees.

steve@sltrib.com