Issues & Information

October 29th, 2026

The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah issued a letter to all Tribal Members clarifying that the Shivwits Band has been and continues to be a constituent band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, not, as has been posited by incumbent members of the Shivwits Band Council, a tribe in its own right. 

Rulings by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Interior Board of Appeals confirm the status of the Shivwits Band as one of five constituent bands in a single, federally recognized Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. It states clearly that the Shivwits Band Council is pushing “extralegal, untruthful arguments to the detriment of themselves and the members of their Band.” 

The letter confirms that the Paiute Tribe constitutional protections and rights apply to all Tribe members in every constituent band, including Shivwits Band members. The letter further confirms that Philip Bushhead is the valid, elected Shivwits Band Council Chairman.

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 This section describes the consequences of a 1,250 acre four-golf course resort and airport on the ancient ecosystem of Shivwits sacred lands, the interconnected habitat, and the plants, animals, and creatures found there, including four federally endangered species.  

Also described are the cumulative detrimental impacts of golf course pesticides and chemically contaminated irrigation wastewater on the areas' air, soil, water, wildlife, plants, and the environment.

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 The Southern Paiute Shivwits People are concerned that the placement of four pesticide treated and wastewater irrigated golf courses on Shivwits Lands puts at risk the health and safety of band members and their Utah neighbors. 

Shivwits residential homes are located just below and downhill from Reef's planned three 18-hole luxury golf course complex and Ivins Utah's community neighborhoods are within a few miles.  

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Native communities, including the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah's Shivwits Band, have always been stalwart stewards of water and land use, ensuring a safe and sustainable environment for current and future tribal generations. 

Many of the Shivwits people have grave concerns about the use of most or all of their water rights to build 4 golf courses during a drought.

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This section describes the impact of a massive golf course development on Shivwits culture, heritage, historical context, burial sites, and indigenous land of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes.

Archaeology associations such as the Desert Archaeological Society express serious concerns about the construction of a massive golf resort on indigenous lands, the disturbance of probable burial sites, the destruction and displacement of cultural artifacts, and the possible permanent erasure of sacred cultural heritage. 

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 The addition of an open reservoir of reuse water and onsite water treatment plant and power plant to golf course resort development plans on our land increases health and environmental concerns for Shivwits members who live or work on the reservation. The developer intends to create an open reservoir of reuse water as large as Fire Lake on the eastern edge of the reservation, upwind of Shivwits as well as drain the runoff from its golf courses into the Santa Clara River. 

An onsite water treatment plant is planned for the Shivwits’ allotment of up to 1,900-acre feet per year of Santa Clara River Irrigation Water and an onsite 2.5-megawatt power plant, large enough to power about 2,000 homes. It appears these onsite facilities will all be operated without the regulations and public health concerns governing public utilities.

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 The developers of the four-golf course resort planned for Shivwits Trust Lands published a site plan including a private airport on the Shivwits Reservation for the ease and comfort of ultra-wealthy private jet setter golfers.

The Shivwits people and the residents of Ivins, Santa Claira, and St. George have expressed concerns about this airport, which include noise, air pollution, health risks, and loss of property values caused being under the flight path of an airport serving the convenience of wealthy non-resident resort guests, golfers, celebrities, and television personnel. 

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