DC Circuit denies Ute Tribe ownership over millions of acres in Utah

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation's attempt to regain 1.5 million acres in northeastern Utah under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The ruling affirmed that the disputed land in the Uncompahgre Reservation is ineligible for restoration, citing the 1880 Act's historical context, which involved the tribe ceding Colorado lands in exchange for relocation to Utah.