The Utah attorney general's office has been investigating allegations for two months from a group of Utah Navajos that royalties collected from oil and gas fields on the reservation are not being distributed properly.
"We've been aware of the allegations. We've been looking at them for some time," said Attorney General Paul Van Dam, adding the inquiry will soon involve federal, New Mexico and Arizona authorities.Van Dam met briefly Thursday with elders of the Kaiyelli Navajos, who had held a press conference earlier in the day to detail their concerns about the way the trust funds are being spent.
Speaking through an interpreter, the elders called for an investigation by state officials of nearly $12,000 in oil royalty money that was used to meet the payroll of a sewing plant that has filed for bankruptcy.
"The thing that is going on with our trust fund is unbelievable," James Jim said during a press conference outside the office of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs.
Jim and other members of the Kaiyelli family asked the Division of Indian Affairs director for information about the use of oil royalty money to fund the First Native American Corp. sewing plant in Montezuma Creek.
Jim said through interpreter Chester Johnson the meeting was not successful because details of the financial transactions between the state, the Utah Navajo Development Council and the plant were withheld.
John Powless, director of the Division of Indian Affairs, declined to discuss the state's dealings with the plant, citing the involvement of the Utah Attorney General's office in the issue.
A letter prepared by members of the Utah Intertribal Coalition distributed at the press conference stated Utah Navajo Development Council Director Dick Neztsosie wired the plant $11,890 in oil royalty funds last Friday.
Neztsosie said the council has an interest in the company because it is a subsidiary of a holding company, Utah Navajo Industries, that is itself a subsidiary of the council.
The money was given to the plant to meet its bimonthly payroll for the weeks ending Aug. 10. He said 22 Navajo women are employed at the plant, which has since closed after filing for bankruptcy in July.
Neztsosie said the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, which had already established a $750,000 loan for the plant but given it only $500,000, is committed to repaying the council the $11,890.
"Who really hurts is the poor lady who wonders where her next paycheck is coming from," Neztsosie said. "It was really disappointing to us to see a group of Utah Navajos who didn't want to help another group of Utah Navajos."
The plant is the first enterprise under the Utah Navajo Development Council to file for bankruptcy, although two other companies, including a marina on Lake Powell, have failed.
The allegations made Thursday add to the contention of some Utah Navajos that they have not received millions of dollars in oil royalties that they are entitled to.
Tribal leaders estimate that as many as 75 percent of the 6,500 Navajos on the reservation do not have running water or electricity and are also lacking adequate health care and educational opportunities.