Bear said neither Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who worked behind the scenes to stymie the deal after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved it, nor anyone at the BIA had consulted with him. He said Hatch had never met with him on the issue nor proposed any alternatives for economic development.

"I don't feel very comfortable knowing one of our political leaders has done something like this to an Indian nation, without giving the Indian nation any consolation," Bear said. "They take a stand against a people. ... It saddens me that Mr. Hatch has taken that attitude."

Hatch, who sat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee from 1995 to 2004, said that while he has "no recollection" of a request to meet with Bear, he has met with Goshutes on several occasions.

"They strongly opposed the Skull Valley project and shared with me many allegations of wrongdoing by Leon Bear," the senator said in a statement. "These Goshutes know that I stand ready to help them with other plans for economic development, as I have for other tribes in Utah."

Bear's opponents within the band had their grievances, which included the legitimacy of Bear's chairmanship along with the veracity of the PFS lease, tossed out of federal court. But Bear, whose chairmanship expired in 2004, did plead guilty to a tax evasion charge dealing with his spending of tribal funds.

Lisa Roskelley, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., said the Governor's Office of Economic Development would be willing to meet with the band's leaders to discuss economic development. However, she said, the governor also needs to look out for the best interest of the state.

Huntsman "has made many efforts to address Native American issues and have a meaningful government-to-government relationship," Roskelley said. "The fact is with the PFS thing, we're greatful for how that's turned out. We feel like that was a bad thing for Utah."

Bear said Hatch and other politicians, including Utah state lawmakers, have pretty much ignored his band. A few years ago, the Legislature approved an economic development bill for Skull Valley but never funded it, he said.

"We want to be part of the community," Bear said. "They want us to be out here, I guess and die. ... It's not going to happen. We're not going to go away."

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Contributing: Associated Press.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com