"Everybody in Utah has prospered but the American Indian," said Forrest Cuch, Utah Office of Indian Affairs executive director. "I have a problem with that. It's not fair."

Cuch, though, recognizes that some tribes have tried to do too much too fast. They put the cart before the horse, he said.

"Tribes want to do big business before they have developed their work force and become stable in government," he said. Often, the quality of education has limited the tribes' success.

His pyramid for success starts with education as the foundation, followed by leadership and community development. Quality management and governance are next with business development at the top.

Tribes historically have tried to capitalize on their natural resources — land leasing, grazing rights, oil and gas leasing. Some still do. But others, particularly those with little or no reservation land, have had to find other means.

The Ute Tribe was one of the first to embrace the technological revolution, just as it did the horse more than 150 years ago when the tribe roamed the Mountain West.

"For us this is a new way of survival, a new way of hunting," John Gamiochipi, a Uintah River Technology planning committee member, stated on the company Web site.

Jonathan Taylor, a Massachusetts-based economic consultant to Indian tribes, sees that as the wave of the next two to 10 years.

"That's a place where tribes that have struggled before have a real opportunity," he said. "There's a lot of variety."

The track record

Indian nations have traditionally dealt primarily with the federal government, but that, too, is changing. Tribes are now working more closely with state governments in many areas, including economic development.

"We've had a very healthy and strong relationship with them in the last four years," said Chuck Spence, deputy director of the Utah Procurement Technical Assistance Center.

The center helps tribes set up companies that qualify for government contracts, often in the Department of Defense. Tribal-owned businesses have preferred status because they're classified as historically disadvantaged.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has made a point to meet with every tribe in the state. Last month he held an American Indian summit that brought tribal and state government leaders together to discuss such issues as education, health care and business development.

Utah tribes have a national reputation for delivering services on time and doing quality work, Spence said.

Still, there is a level of mistrust of Indian-owned companies in the business world.