Michael Bennet: “today, I want to recognize the leadership of Manuel Heart, who retires tomorrow after 15 years as chairman of the Ute…”

“today, I want to recognize the leadership of Manuel Heart, who retires tomorrow after 15 years as chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and 27 years on Tribal Council. For time immemorial, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has called the vast landscape of the Southwest home--the mountains, canyons, and rivers that have sustained the Weenuche people for countless generations. Chairman Heart carried this legacy of stewardship throughout his career. As a young council member, he began a lifetime of service rooted in a deep love for his people and a reverence for their ancestral homeland. Over the decades, he grew into a statesman whose leadership reached far beyond Towaoc, inspiring both Tribal and non-Tribal leaders alike all across this Nation. As chairman, he helped establish Bears Ears and Camp Hale National Monuments, elevated Tribal voices in the Colorado River Basin, and advocated for the protection of the Dolores River. After generations of the unjust loss of their ancestral homelands, Chairman Heart led the efforts to secure full Federal trust status for the Tribe's Pinecrest Ranch, reclaiming a piece--a piece--of what was taken. It has been a privilege to work alongside him, meeting in Towaoc and across the ancestral homeland of the Ute people, rafting the Colorado River to discuss water and climate policy, visiting cultural sites in the Dolores River Basin, and gathering along the Continental Divide to discuss how Camp Hale should tell the Ute story.”