{"id":56855,"date":"2013-10-08T00:20:28","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T06:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-chairman-seeks-2nd-term-hayes-seeks-to-continue-initiatives-of-his-first-3-years\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T15:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:57:14","slug":"ute-chairman-seeks-2nd-term-hayes-seeks-to-continue-initiatives-of-his-first-3-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-chairman-seeks-2nd-term-hayes-seeks-to-continue-initiatives-of-his-first-3-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Ute chairman seeks 2nd term Hayes seeks to continue initiatives of his first 3 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hayes\"
Hayes<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, Hayes is asking voters for a second term as tribal chairman in order to continue ongoing efforts to improve reservation life and secure Ute independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask to continue to be the voice for our people, to advocate for more opportunities today and for a brighter future for the next generation,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n

A key aspect is public safety, he says, which has improved.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, we had three to five officers, and that included White Mesa, Utah,\u201d Hayes said. When a crime wave hit, Towaoc was declared \u2018the murder capital of the state\u2019 based on per-capita population.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put our heads together with the BIA and the Department of Justice, and today we have 18 officers. It was long overdue, and crime has gone down,\u201d he said. \u201cA key factor for economic development is a safe community. People who want to invest in the tribe need that due process in the courts so that everybody\u2019s rights are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the reservation system, some services are provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs through federal funds.<\/p>\n

Hayes and the council worked to take advantage of a program that allows tribes to run and staff their own programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took over a lot of the functions of the tribal courts,\u201d he said. \u201cThe result is we went from 1-2 clerks to double that. We are more independent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to allegations of absent elected officials, Hayes emphasized the importance of representing the tribe in Washington D.C., Denver, Albuquerque, and elsewhere where decisions on funding and programs are made for tribes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Indian Country, we have learned the lesson of \u2018If your not at the table, your on the menu,\u2019 and we have been on the menu a lot in the past. Being there to represent your community makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, as an advisory council member for Human Health Services, he helped change a rule so that the tribe can provide health insurance for members that is not counted as revenue by the IRS.<\/p>\n

\u201cIHS is underfunded, in violation of our treaties,\u201d he said. \u201cWe supplement the service now with better access to health services and prescription drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representing tribes overall is part of the chairman\u2019s job as well, Hayes added. Outdated policies have created loopholes that hurt tribal finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cStates use tribal numbers to obtain grants that don\u2019t benefit our programs,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso because we are at the table, there is more consultation with tribes than ever before on policy changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He disagrees with criticism that tribal government is not open to the public, but admitted \u201cthere is room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, when it comes to issuing resolutions or laws, there is an open debate,\u201d he said. \u201cWe encourage participation at meetings, and the they are broadcast on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayes stresses that the chairman works in cooperation with the council. Together they created access to college courses in Towaoc through distance learning. So far 24 students have taken advantage. The tribe has increased the number of members in higher education from 30 in 2006 to 80 currently, and they are working toward opening a GED-testing center in Towaoc.<\/p>\n

If re-elected, Hayes said he would continue efforts to open a closed treatment center at the tribe\u2019s detention facility. Currently, inmates must be transported to Shiprock for treatment of substance abuse or behavioral problems.<\/p>\n

He also is pushing for energy exploration, renewable industry and manufacturing jobs on the reservation, but said he cannot disclose yet what companies the tribe is trying to attract.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to create economic demand, but do it with a common-sense approach that protects our land and artifacts,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have come a long ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayes objects to some perceptions that there is a lack of fair distribution of per-capita payments to tribal members.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone gets the same amount, no one gets more than anybody else,\u201d he said, adding that tribal government must provide programs that benefit the whole community, not just individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think that any government, state, federal, or tribal is going to solve all your problems you are going to wait a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hayesdu1-i-syn Now, Hayes is asking voters for a second term as tribal chairman in order to continue ongoing efforts to improve reservation life and secure Ute independence. \u201cI ask to continue to be the voice for our people, to advocate for more opportunities today and for a brighter future for the next generation,\u201d Hayes said. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[13,1879],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-56855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-ute-mountain-casino"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56855","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=56855"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62701,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56855\/revisions\/62701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56855"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=56855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}