Milton Hooper
Former Chairman of the "Deep Creek" Goshute Tribe

Milton Hooper served as Chairman of the Tribal Business Council for the Confederated Goshute Indian Tribe based on reservation lands along the Utah/Nevada border. This organization is a separate tribal entity from the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes, although they share a common ancestry.

Hooper was interviewed on tribal reservation lands near the town of Ibapah, Utah, by program Producer Ken Verdoia.

Ken Verdoia: Let's begin with the obvious question. The Skull Valley Band is moving along in its project to bring radioactive waste storage to their reservation lands. What is the reaction of the Goshutes who live here in the Deep Creek?

Milton Hooper: From comments that I hear from various individuals, some say it's none of our business. Some say, you know, it's wrong and it's unsafe and they don't want to be traveling that way visiting distant family members and have their safety jeopardized. The Tribal Council has made a stand in that they decided to intervene on the licensing of the project. To oppose it.

Verdoia: What did the Tribal Council do?

Hooper: The Tribal Council has entered into the process to hinder or stop the licensing of the nuclear storage project.

Verdoia: As a Native American, as a Goshute, why is it important to raise that concern?

Hooper: As a nation among other nations here, speaking of the tribes, on the North American continent, everyone is of the same opinion that, you know, the land is sacred. That we belong to the land. And this project goes contrary to what the tribes have tried to tell the peoples of their story, of their connection to the land. And this goes contrary to what we hold the land in the highest regards.

Verdoia: You were just telling me about your own personal connection to these lands.

Hooper: It goes back to, actually back to heritage in the way that we've been taught about the land. I always felt that from hearing what my ancestors have told me is that we basically belong to the land, and that we share it among one another. We share the land, its resources. We made agreements with other groups to joint use a lot of areas. But in the end, this land is just to be shared and kept with one another.

Verdoia: The Goshute people no doubt struggle economically to provide for their families, to keep their people together. Why not go for the big money?

Hooper: Oh, that's one of those, I guess, what we would call a quick fix approach. That's what a lot of the people have viewed this before me. The past Tribal Councils had just completely nixed it because they just didn't feel right within themselves about it. So, I would say it becomes very much a conviction. Our greatest concern is not only the safety, but of how we are perceived by, or understood by the rest of the people among our own peoples as well of supporting something so contrary to what we believe in.

Verdoia: Is it the issue of, when it comes right down to it, of bringing a poison to the land?

Hooper: Yes, it's poisoning our land, of what our provider, Mother Earth if you would say, we know we've heard a lot about that. Certainly the Western Shoshonies have made the various statements about protecting our Mother Earth, so we feel that we would not be supportive in that issue if we were to take on such a project.