Our Lands

The 1984 Act

On April 3, 1980, Congress restored the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah’s federal recognition pursuant to the Paiute Restoration Act, P.L. 96-227, which restored the federal trust relationship to the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.

The Act also acknowledged that the Indian Peaks, Kanosh, and Koosharem Bands lost their ancestorial Reservation lands and that Cedar Band never had reservation lands, and it provided language for the Tribe to choose lands to establish a reservation for the Tribe through the creation of a reservation land use plan, which included the acquisition of a total of 15,000 acres of land. 

On Feb. 17, 1984, Congress passed “An Act to declare certain lands to be held in trust for the benefit of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and for other purposes.” The 1984 Act approved 4,770 acres of reservation lands — 10,230 less than the original promise of 15,000 acres of land as enlargement of the reservation land as authorized in the Paiute Restoration Act.

The 1984 Act also established the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Economic Development and Tribal Government Fund, an irrevocable trust fund, with one half of the principal of the interest designated for Economic Development and the other half designated to support Tribal Government. This fund was considered the fulfillment of the promise of acquiring 15,000 acres of land as an enlargement of the reservation land as authorized in the Paiute Restoration Act.

For more information, watch the video below.

Today, the PITU Reservation consists of 10 separate land parcels located in four southwestern Utah counties. The maps and charts below summarize the Tribe’s reservation land area.

Note: This information was obtained from the BIA printout of tribal interests dated 05/13/2010 and has been adjusted for known aquisitions since that time.