{"id":15708,"date":"2025-11-13T23:00:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T06:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-ute-mountain-ute-council-sworn-in\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:50:48","slug":"new-ute-mountain-ute-council-sworn-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-ute-mountain-ute-council-sworn-in\/","title":{"rendered":"New Ute Mountain Ute Council sworn in"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Selwyn
Selwyn Whiteskunk raises his hand on Nov. 7 while being sworn in by Chief Magistrate Adam Barnhurst. Whiteskunk will serve as the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe\u2019s newest chairman. (Benjamin Rubin\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Four council members were sworn into the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe\u2019s government Friday, Nov. 7, during a ceremony that honored past councilors and signaled a new era for the tribe of more than 2,000 members.<\/p>\n

Incoming Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk, Towaoc councilors Conrad Jacket and Marilynn House, and White Mesa representative Gwen Cantsee were sworn into office by Chief Magistrate Adam Barnhurst. The ceremony included prayers, blessings, Ute words and drum-filled songs as the tribe welcomed new leaders, honored those moving on and charted a vision forward.<\/p>\n

Several hundred people watched the inauguration from banquet tables inside the Ute Mountain Casino\u2019s bingo hall. Seated among the audience were representatives from tribes across the Southwest, young tribal royalty and Colorado government officials.<\/p>\n

Speakers emphasized the tribe\u2019s readiness to engage in the ongoing fight for justice and a secure future across Indian Country.<\/p>\n

Who was sworn in?<\/div>\n

Selwyn Whiteskunk takes over the chairman seat after Manuel Heart stepped aside following nearly 30 years of service on the tribal council, including about 15 years as chairman. Whiteskunk has previously served as chairman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work that\u2019s ahead of us,\u201d Whiteskunk said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of rough waters that we have to go through. But as a council, understanding what our roles are to be and the outcome that we\u2019re trying to attain to keep us afloat, to keep us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Now
Now former Chairman Manuel Heart of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe says goodby during the council\u2019s inauguration. Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk (to Heart\u2019s right), newly sworn in, smiles to the crowd. Left to right: Election Board Chair Constance Wall, Councilman Conrad Jacket, Councilwoman Gwen Cantsee, Councilwoman Marilynn House, Heart, Whiteskunk, Councilman Alston Turtle and Councilwoman Kathryn Jacket. (Benjamin Rubin\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Conrad Jacket was seated as a tribal council member in Towaoc after being reelected. Marilynn House, a former chairman\u2019s secretary, was sworn in to an additional Towaoc seat after a tie in October with candidate Evelyn Lopez led to a runoff election. House begins her first term on the tribal council.<\/p>\n

Both House and Jacket addressed the pressures facing the tribe and the importance of continued advocacy for the Ute Mountain Ute people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether that fight is on a federal, state, or local level, we will always bring Ute Mountain Ute to the table,\u201d said House. \u201cThis will be a challenge, and it will not be easy due to what our nation is going through right now. But being united as a tribal council and as a community will keep us strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to say whatever happens on the federal level, we feel it here. We feel it here now with all the SNAP benefits that are not here,\u201d said Jacket.<\/p>\n

Jacket enters reelected. House take over a seat as now former councilman Darwin Whiteman Jr. steps aside.<\/p>\n

Gwen Cantsee joins the council as the representative for the tribe\u2019s White Mesa satellite reservation in southern Utah. Cantsee, a former White Mesa administrator, replaces Malcolm Lehi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have something special within us,\u201d Cantsee said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s one thing that I was taught by my mother and my father is be humble, but be a force to be reckoned with. Be someone that\u2019s going to support and lead and give your people some hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cantsee said she will prioritize the people she represents in White Mesa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are my rock. The reason why I\u2019m standing here today is because I built on what they gave me to build on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gwen
Gwen Cantsee swears in as the tribal council\u2019s White Mesa representative. She previously served as the White Mesa Administrator. (Benjamin Rubin\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u2018Which way do you go?\u2019<\/div>\n

As two of three council members stepping aside, both Lehi and Whiteman Jr. spoke, reminding incoming tribal representatives how challenging the job can be. Each emphasized the need to work together and stand up for the Ute people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you don\u2019t know, what you don\u2019t see is that when you got in, there\u2019s this roller coaster sitting there,\u201d said Whiteman Jr. \u201cYou get into that roller coaster and you go 10,000 different directions, every day trying to serve the people. Which way do you go?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lehi recalled advice from a past council member.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me, \u2018You\u2019re going to grow white hair by the time you end of your term.\u2019 And now you look at me. I got a white beard and white hair,\u201d said Lehi. \u201cBut not only that, but a lot of wisdom comes with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seated councilwoman Tawnie Knight was unable to attend the inauguration, Heart said.<\/p>\n

\"Marilynn
Marilynn House swears in as one of the tribal council\u2019s Towaoc representatives. House previously served as chairman\u2019s secretary. (Benjamin Rubin\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Seated council members Alston Turtle and Kathryn Jacket spoke about gratitude and tribal unity. Other tribal representatives, including Shaun Chapoose, Uncompahgre Band representative for the Ute Indian Tribe, and Southern Ute Chairman Melvin Baker, also addressed the crowd. Many presented gifts to current and incoming council members in honor of Manuel Heart\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n

Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera announced a proclamation from Gov. Jared Polis declaring Nov. 7 \u201cManuel Heart Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Conrad
Conrad Jacket swears in as one of the tribal council\u2019s Towaoc representatives. Jacket was reelected to another term in the seat. (Benjamin Rubin\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Heart embraced new Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk, said his farewell to the crowd and handed over the keys to his office.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember that change can only come about at the speed of trust,\u201d Heart said in his farewell speech. \u201cFrom all of us. So that means you have to understand what it\u2019s about, where we\u2019re heading, what\u2019s the purpose of it. Is it looking out for the children and grandchildren that are not here yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Correction: This article was updated Friday morning after a previous version mistakenly said that council member Tawnie Knight\u2019s term had ended. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

officially filled on tribal council during Nov. 7 inauguration <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19800,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708\/revisions\/19800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15708"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}