Confederated Tribes of Goshute Chairman Rupert Steele
Chairman Steele was born and raised on the Goshute Reservation, Ibapah, UT and is an Elder member of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indian Reservation. He is the current Chair of the Goshute Business Council.
Education: Attended Stewart Indian High School, Stewart, NV, Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, NM, and Northern AZ University, Flagstaff, AZ majoring in Forestry and minor in Natural Resources Management.
Career: Worked for the Goshute and Hualapai Tribes. Retired in 2015 from the federal government after working 35 years. Started my federal career in Valentine, AZ and retired in Salt Lake City, UT.
Chairman Steele proudly represents the Goshute Tribe on the Utah Tribal Leaders Committee, the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, the Utah Native American Remains Review Committee, the Utah Governor’s Snake Valley Water Advisory Committee, and serves on Tribal Committees. He is involved in Tribal and cultural ceremonies. Worked very closely with other Tribes on preservation and protection of the natural resources and consulted with the States, and the Federal Government on issues that affect the Goshute Tribal resources.
Chairman Steele is passionate about protecting Tribal interests, preserving Tribal language, protecting and preserving the natural resources of the aboriginal area of the Goshute Tribe, especially the water. He makes frequent visits to the sacred sites, burial grounds, and sacred objects of cultural patrimony areas, to maintain spiritual contact with his relatives who have used the land and resources before us. These places are very significant to our people traditionally and spiritually.