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House funds vault for Native American remains recovered from Great Salt Lake
Summary
The House approved an appropriation (sponsor asked for $60,000) to build a repository at Pioneer Trail State Park for Native American remains recovered during Great Salt Lake floods; supporters said the action responds to a longstanding promise to tribes.
Representative Eli Anderson introduced a bill to appropriate $60,000 to construct a vault or repository to house Native American remains recovered after high Great Salt Lake levels exposed graves.
Anderson described committee testimony from Native American witnesses and officials, including Lacey Harris and May Perry (vice chair of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone), and said remains — currently stored at Utah State University — should be housed respectfully. Anderson told the House there are “75 remains” recovered and said State Parks had offered a site at Pioneer Trail State Park.
Representative Evans and Representative James urged support, saying the appropriation addresses an embarrassment of human remains stored in inadequate containers and that the appropriation would honor commitments to Native communities. Representative Johnson, who represents areas with several tribes, said the funding would be “a very small token with a big message.”
The body voted on the measure; the transcript records that the bill passed and would stand for further consideration, but a precise roll-call tally was not clearly recorded in the provided segments.
Next steps: The appropriation was approved for further processing; implementing details and construction planning would follow with State Parks and tribal consultations.
