José Esquibel, director of the Interagency Prevention System at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said state government should provide money for tribal services that is more stable than occasional state grants.

Tribal officials said federal agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service had retreated from providing services to tribes in recent years.

"The halls are empty in Washington," said Matthew J. Box, a member of the Southern Ute Tribal Council.

Box said the tribe had been "severely impacted by the retreat of the BIA."

"The basic understanding is tribes will take over, and in some ways, we have," Box said.

The Southern Ute tribe, the largest employer in La Plata County, has emerged as a significant political and economic force. The tribe's Growth Fund is widely credited for using its substantial natural-gas resources to enhance the tribe's wealth and visibility, and provide more programs for its members. Chairman Clement Frost even participated in the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver.

Frost said the convention was a highlight of his chairmanship, and he voiced some veiled support for the Democrats.

"Across Indian Country, everybody feels it's time for a change," Frost said, echoing an Obama campaign theme.

Frost said he had been listening to the Republican National Convention this week, and he criticized the GOP for focusing on attacks.

"I haven't heard much from them about Indian issues," he said.

Frost's three-year term as chairman is nearing its end, and he is not running for re-election. The tribe will hold an election Nov. 7 to choose his successor. Box said he would run for the chairmanship, and other candidates may still file for the race.

Also discussed at the commission meeting, which was led by Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien:

• Frost said the new Southern Ute Casino Resort is nearing completion and may open in November. The tribe also recently broke ground on a museum to be built near the resort.

• Box and Dale Eisler, the Canadian consulate general for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, reviewed the North American Indigenous Games, a sort of Olympics for American Indian and Canadian native people held last month in British Columbia. Southern Ute members participated, Box said.

• Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Ernest House Sr. said the Blue Mountain Hospital is under construction in Blanding, Utah.

• House said a luxury golf course to be located somewhere on the Colorado side of the Four Corners is in the early stages of discussion.

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