The Need

The entire Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservation is a USDA-recognized Food Desert Low Income and Low Access region without ready access to fresh and healthy food choices.

The nearest grocery store is over 20 miles away.

Establishing a grocery store on Ute Mountain Ute lands will address root inequities and sustainably enhance the quality of life, health, and wellness of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is a small, proud Tribe with approximately 2,100 members living on slightly less than 600,000 acres. The Tribal government center is located in Towaoc, Colorado, 25 miles west of Cortez, and nearly 200 miles to the nearest major city.

The Ute were hunters and gatherers before European occupation. Destruction of this lifestyle began with the introduction of salt, flour, and sugar, continued through the massacre of the buffalo, and was solidified as generations of Ute children were forced to attend boarding schools designed to break Indigenous family and community education systems and destroy the Ute language, culture, and spiritual ways. This communal trauma also resulted in the devastating loss of traditional farming, harvesting, and cooking knowledge, building nearly insurmountable barriers on the road to reclaiming food sovereignty and systemically increasing reliance on processed and prepackaged foods. The reverberations of these destructive policies, designed to be a “massive pulverizing engine,” are still felt today. Ute children of the Boarding School Era lost their connection to the Ute community and have raised generations of children who feel completely disengaged and without self-identity, making them vulnerable to drug abuse, domestic violence, diabetes and suicide. A direct result of Indian Boarding School Era policies, in 2022, poverty impacts 42% of UMUT children, more than double the rate in Colorado.

In 2021, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe established Kwiyagat Community Academy, the first public school operating within tribal boundaries since the 1940s, reestablishing local sovereignty over the education process and ensuring children will learn the Ute language, traditional skills and Indigenous knowledge in the classroom. Kwiyagat Community Academy offers opportunities for young generations to rediscover and recapture the storied histories of the past, understanding this disappearing cultural knowledge is critical to a prosperous future. Kwiyagat Community Academy is beginning the important work of healing the wounds caused by policies of the Indian Boarding School Era, providing cultural learning opportunities for school children in multigenerational environments.

Alongside efforts to reclaim educational sovereignty, UMUT is working to address the catastrophic impact of the loss of food sovereignty and the forced dependence on highly processed prepackaged foods. Presently, there are no stores that sell groceries on the Ute Mountain Ute lands. The entire reservation, including both Towaoc and White Mesa communities, are USDA-recognized Food Desert Low Income and Low Access regions without ready access to fresh and healthy food choices.1 The nearest grocery store is over 20 miles away. High rates of intergenerational poverty leave many tribal members without reliable transportation in a rural and remote community without public transportation options. Too often, when individuals secure transportation to a store, the nutritional value of selections is sacrificed for the extended shelf life of processed and packaged options.

With at least 11% of UMUT adults diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, and approximately 36% of children under the age of 14 diagnosed with prediabetic conditions, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is still experiencing the effects of settler colonization. Although across the United States, life expectancy is reported at 78 years, on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, the average life expectancy is reported at just 55 years, more than two decades less than the national average.

The Ute are proud and resilient people. They have an intimate knowledge of the land and a strong connection to their ancestors. An unbridled spirit and optimism drive them to address the challenges they face utilizing the assets, resources and power they have as a community. Societal challenges facing the region are serious and require systems-based responses.

Establishing a grocery store on Ute Mountain Ute lands will address root inequities and sustainably enhance the quality of life, health, and wellness of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

1 https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas/

Food Scarcity

The USDA defines “Food Desert” as a tract in which at least 100 households are located more than one-half mile from the nearest supermarket and have no vehicle access, or where at least 500 people or 33% of the population live more than 20 miles from the nearest supermarket, regardless of vehicle availability. The Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, spanning Tract 08083941100 in Montezuma County, Colorado, is both a Low Income and a Low Access tract, meeting all requirements for designation as a Food Desert.

One of the nearest grocery stores, a Walmart in Cortez, is more than 20 miles away, requiring over an hour of invested time for the trip there and back. This distance is difficult for all Tribal members, but particularly devastating for the 32% of residents who utilize SNAP benefits to purchase groceries. The only option for food in Towaoc is the Travel Center, which sells food typical of an interstate truck stop, or at the Casino Hotel.

Brief market studies were conducted in 2012 and in 2017 leading to a comprehensive market study in 2019. The study found an annual market retail gap on the Reservation of $1.5M for groceries and an additional $1.1M on prepared foods. This data shows that UMUT members living in Towaoc are spending over $2.6M on food annually, but they are not spending it within Towaoc because there are no places to shop or eat.

Nearly 3/4 of a million tourists and visitors pass through the region annually, providing a significant market opportunity for the proposed UMUT establish a produce market, deli, a butcher shop, a coffee shop, and a commercial kitchen as there are few competitors in the vicinity, and none that would offer the cultural experience of the proposed UMUT businesses. Capturing a portion of this market would provide a financial cushion for the UMUT food-based businesses to serve the Tribal members of Towaoc.

One of the nearest grocery stores, a Walmart in Cortez, is more than 20 miles away, requiring over an hour of invested time for the trip there and back.

Income and Wealth Disparity

Even prior to COVID-19, the health and economic disparity between the UMUT and other populations in Colorado was growing considerably. According to the UMUT Economic Development Report, 40% of UMUT residents live below the poverty line. Per capita income is $12,228 compared with $34,103 for the state of Colorado. In Towaoc, the median household income was around $28,800 in 2019. By comparison, the medians in Colorado and the United States are approximately $69,100 and $60,000, respectively. The Reservation unemployment rate is nearly double the State of Colorado’s.

UMUT is one of Montezuma County’s largest employers, employing more than 1,500 individuals, approximately 46% of whom are Tribal members. Employment opportunities on the reservation and in the region are limited. The primary onreservation jobs come from the Tribal Government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs or Indian Health Services, or one the Tribal Enterprises: Weeminuche Construction Authority, Ute Mountain Casino & Hotel, Travel Center, Farm & Ranch, and Ute Mountain Pottery. The lack of small businesses and employment opportunities can be addressed with appropriate supports.

When completed, the UMUT grocery store will also house a workforce development accelerator program to support small food start-up businesses with mentoring, customer accessibility, and wrap-around support services.

Health Inequity

The Center for Disease Control reports Native Americans have a greater chance of having diabetes than any other US racial group.2 The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe serves a Native American population battling obesity, prediabetic conditions, and Type II diabetes at rates far greater than any other subpopulation in the nation. Across the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, obesity impacts entire families and burdens children with unhealthy lifestyle habits before they reach their 10th birthday. Young adults are diagnosed with preventable Type II diabetes before they reach middle age, and Elders struggle to self-monitor and maintain healthy A1C levels. Without access to fresh foods and healthy ingredients needed to prevent and address diabetes among the older generations, younger generations do not build the knowledge, skills, and habits they need to prevent diabetes, creating an intergenerational quagmire that continues to intensify.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reports a life expectancy of 55 years – more than 20 years fewer than the average American. The 2016 UMUT Community Health Assessment states one in four tribal members have Type II Diabetes. Over 70% of adults and 50% of youth are struggling with obesity.

n The best practice to prevent and manage Type II diabetes is to maintain a healthy diet.

n Research shows that grocery stores with abundant fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products result in healthier choices for consumers.

n Adults with no supermarkets within a mile of their homes are 25 to 46 percent less likely to have a healthy diet than those with the most supermarkets near their homes.

Diabetes Journal reports that a person diagnosed with diabetes at age 40 will have $211,400 additional lifetime medical expenses. The estimated lifetime cost of treating and living with diabetes for an individual who has diabetes for 50 years is $395,000. In 50 years, 500 Tribal members with diabetes will spend a collective $240M on treatment alone. This robs the Tribe of collective resources which could be better spent on healthy food, education, and higher quality of life.

The root causes of health disparities related to diabetes among the Ute Mountain Ute are complex and intrinsically linked to the history of Native Americans in modern America. Solutions must be equally comprehensive and culturally specific. Devastating health challenges related to widespread obesity, prediabetic conditions, and diabetes can be overcome.

Establishing a grocery store on UMUT lands will allow residents to access fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, and breads that support a healthy lifestyle, filling a gap that dramatically reduces the quality of life in the Ute community.

2 https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aian-diabetes/index.html

One in four Tribal Members have Type II diabetes

People with diabetes have 2.3X higher annual medical costs than people without diabetes, with an average of $9,601 in diabetes-related expenses per year.

With 500 Tribal members with Type II (diet-related) diabetes:

$9,601 per person, per year x 500 Tribal Members with diabetes

= $4.8M per year x 50 years (avg. lifetime with diabetes)

= $240M total in diabetes-related medical care over 50 years