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For decades, the University of Utah has doled out scholarships to its Utes athletics teams. Now the U. will create a dedicated fund for students who are members of the teams' namesake tribe.
An agreement signed Aug. 28 by U. President David Pershing and Ute Indian Tribe representative Forrest Cuch outlines procedures for awarding a variable number of $8,000 annual scholarships to tribal members.
The U. has previously offered scholarships for Native American students, but the new fund was spurred by a new memorandum of understanding signed in April at Fort Duchesne. Ute Indian Tribe leaders pledged their full support for the continued use of the "Utes" name and U. leaders agreed to a sustained effort to better help youth from the tribe's reservation.
Cuch said the U. has already executed about 90 percent of the MOU, and he is very pleased with the response.
"I have to say, it has really come together smoothly," said Mary Parker, associate vice president of enrollment management. "It is something that the Ute Tribe members wanted to see, and it's something that the university wanted to do."
There are three major Ute tribes, but the U. associates most closely with the Northern Utes on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, about 150 miles east of Salt Lake City. Of the tribe's 3,022 members, about half live on the 4.5 million-acre reservation. This specific scholarship is for members of the Northern Utes, not the Ute Mountain Utes or Southern Utes.
Members of those tribes remain eligible for existing U. scholarships, however.
Applicants will be judged on their academic records, leadership, citizenship and activities. A committee with two members from the Ute Indian Tribe and three members of the U.'s administration will decide who is worthy, and revenue will come from merchandise sales, donations and other sources.
"It opens the door to a college opportunity," Cuch said. "A lot of times, young people are discouraged from attending school because of the financial aid process and because of how complex it's become."
Utah's football team will wear a helmet sticker of the tribal seal for its Nov. 22 game against Arizona, and the Ute Honor Guard will present the tribe's national colors at that game in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
The university also is selling a $20 T-shirt that includes a graphic designed by a Ute Indian Tribe artist and features the slogan "Ute Proud." A merchandise tent at last month's "Fan Fest" sold out of the shirts less than halfway through the event. All proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to Ute Indian scholarships and youth programs.
Utah's football team also has printed the logo and slogan on a plaque above the entrance to its locker room.
Twitter: @matthew_piper —
Ute Proud
P As part of the University of Utah's effort to better educate the community about the Ute Indian Tribe, the school created a website with information about the tribe's history, its relationship with the U., and how to show the tribe the proper respect. > http://uteproud.utah.edu/.