Utes thriving after nearly going broke

"When I left high school, I probably couldn't spell Indian. When I left college, I probably couldn't point to a reservation," Jurrius said.

Jurrius studied accounting and finance at Angelo State University but did not graduate. He worked for and started several energy companies before the Southern Utes hired him as a financial consultant in 1997. The past decade he has worked almost exclusively with tribes, including the Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico. He left the Southern Utes with $1.5 billion in assets and as the only tribe in the nation with a AAA bond rating.

Under Jurrius, that tribe's net income swelled from $7 million in 1990 to $500 million in 2001 through investments in oil and gas leases, real estate and construction. Employees in the tribe's numerous business ventures climbed to 2,000. That wealth, now approaching $2 billion, trickles down to the tribe's 1,300 members.

Each Southern Ute over age 60 gets $60,000 a year; members 22 to 59 get a percentage of tribal profits up to $30,000. College scholarships start at $10,000 per student.

The tribe donated the land for a new hospital in Durango and is building a $75 million conference center in the Four Corners area.

The 'sheriff'

Paid $62,500 a month to be the Utes' financial adviser, Jurrius comes with a high price tag. But his assertive financial plan has turned the tribe around.

"It's money well spent. For any good financial advising, you have to pay for it," said Cameron Cuch. "Before he came, we were losing money left and right. People were capitalizing left and right on our confusion."

Without the Jurrius plan, says Ute chairwoman Natchees, tribal government would have closed down.

"We just couldn't maintain," she said.

Natchees says her vision for the tribe is to follow the financial plan and gain financial stability and sufficiency. The tribe is well on its way, Natchees said. "The most difficult thing is that some people don't fully understand where we are."

And not all tribal members see Jurrius in glowing terms. Controversy surrounding his financial vision continues to pick at the tribe.

The membership has approved the plan with a tribal ordinance — which makes it the law of the land. The tribal council is obliged to follow through with the plan.

Natchees, who stands firmly with Jurrius, has been the subject of at least three recall petitions. She is in her first four-year term as chairwoman.

"We have found a very friendly partner in the tribe," said Mike McKee, a Uintah County commissioner. "The tribe is a treasure chest of wealth."