St. George • As the Shivwits Band Council’s newly elected chair, Phillip Bushhead wants to put the brakes on a resort planned for the reservation and congressional legislation he says will harm the tribe’s sovereignty.

The 40-year-old Bushhead was the victor over three other candidates in a March 26 special election to fill the post vacated by Tina Gonzales, who resigned in January after numerous grievances were lodged against her.

Seeking greater transparency

When Bushhead is sworn in as the new chair at the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah headquarters in Cedar City on Monday, he said his focus will be bringing transparency to the Band Council’s financial dealings with outside developers.

“There is a lot of corruption happening right now, and I believe there has to be a stop to it,” said Bushhead, who briefly served as chair before in 2016. “I think I can change the reservation for the better.”

At issue is the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act. This proposed act, introduced as companion bills by Utah Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Celeste Maloy, seeks to grant state courts jurisdiction over civil disputes that occur on the tribe’s trust lands, where the Shivwits Band is a party, and to authorize the band to lease its trust land for up to 99 years.

The legislation, according to Shivwits leaders, would support economic development initiatives on the reservation. Among these is a joint venture, announced in October with Reef Capital (the developer of Black Desert Resort), to construct a large sports and retail complex. This complex would include three 18-hole golf courses and a practice course, all planned for approximately 1,250 acres of reservation land.

Proponents estimate the resort could yield as much as $149 million for the 300-plus members of the federally recognized tribe through leasing tribal land and water rights, and generate at least 135 employment opportunities on the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Reservation.

Bushhead, who is half Paiute and half Oglala Sioux, sought the chair position on a platform promising to do what he could to put a stop to the proposed resort, which he characterized as a desecration of the band’s sacred lands. He also vowed to fight the legislation, asserting it would undermine the Shivwits’ right to self-governance by handing over legal jurisdiction to state courts.

Bushhead is also a member of the Red Mountain Land Preservers, a group that is opposing the project and has petitioned Curtis and Maloy to withdraw their support for congressional legislation. He and other group members contend the bills are not necessary because existing federal law already empowers the Shivwits to grant legal jurisdiction for the band’s trust land. This change requires only the consent of a majority of band members, which must be secured through a special election.

Like other group members, Bushhead argues the legislation is an underhanded attempt by Shivits leaders and Reef Capital to accomplish through legislation what the majority would never agree to through a bandwide vote, something the Band Council has thus far refused to do.

The deep divide

Hope Silvas, acting chair of the council until Bushhead is sworn in, and Reef Capital officials have denied any allegation of impropriety. The dispute has created a deep divide on the reservation between supporters and opponents of the resort and the legislation.

Resort opponents maintain they are being kept in the dark about what the Shivwits and Reef Capital have agreed to and have demanded that band leaders disclose the financial arrangements between the two parties. In a Jan. 30 letter, Silvas refused that request, citing, among other things, “attorney-client privilege, closed-session protections and commercial confidentiality.”

Now poised to become chair, Bushhead said the Band Council continues to deny him access to the documents, an assertion Silvas countered is not true.

“The Band Council has made numerous documented attempts to connect with and onboard Phillip Bushhead as the incoming chair, including offering to share information, documents, and context relevant to all matters the band is currently working on,” she stated via email. “Mr. Bushhead has not responded to those outreach efforts, declined or failed to appear at scheduled meetings, and has not engaged with the council in any capacity during this transition period.”

Once he becomes chair of the five-member council, Bushhead said he will push for a bandwide vote to settle the debate over where the majority of Shivwits stand on the resort and congressional proposal. He also pledges to share the financial and other details in the documents with band members.

“I want to inform the people that this [joint venture] is not as good as it seems,” he said. “There are a lot of things we need to better understand before jumping into a long-term lease of our water and land.”

Running short on time

Still, Bushhead concedes it will be an uphill struggle. As chair, he will be the lone resort opponent on the council and can vote only in the event of a tie. He acknowledges relations on the governing body could be awkward as he tries to steer the band in a different direction than putting a massive luxury golf resort on sacred lands.

Mary Snow, leader in the Red Mountain resistance group, hopes Bushhead can make a positive impact.

“It’s been a real boost to the group to have Phillip elected chair,” she said, “because we will now have a voice on the council that we can trust.”

Bushhead knows that the time he has to get the band to change course on the resort and congressional legislation is limited. While Curtis has put a pause on his bill to investigate concerns raised by some Shivwits members, Maloy’s measure has cleared the House and is currently before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

To forestall congressional action, Bushhead has penned identical letters to Utah’s senators and members of the Senate Indian Affairs committee, asking them to withdraw Curtis’ bill and vote no on Maloy’s if it is not withdrawn.