Huntsman says he will continue to advocate for better education, economic development, environmental protections and water conservation on Utah's Indian reservations.

"It is the future of the tribes," Huntsman said in a Deseret Morning News interview. "If we are not successful, the tribes cease to be relevant, and that's not an acceptable outcome for anyone."

The effects of poverty — especially profound on Goshute land in Ibapah and on Utah Navajo territory — are sobering.

A 2005 student survey in Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation in southern Utah and northern Arizona showed 40 percent of students there had no running water or electricity at home; fewer still have Internet access.

Iowa Test scores for Utah eighth- and 11th-grade students in 2006 show Native American students performing at the 36th percentile, lower than Hispanics and English language learners and only one percentile higher than children with disabilities.

Cuch says suicide rates among Native American young people are five times the the national average. The birth rate among Native Americans has increased, but the mortality rate has also increased.

"That's why these economic plans are so important," says Natchees. "It takes money to provide what we need to fix these problems."

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