A plan to expand a commuter rail line in Utah has run into opposition from six tribes, who say construction along its route trespasses on sacred burial grounds that house a huge collection of Native artifacts.

It’s not the FrontRunner tracks themselves, according to this ABC4 News report, but construction debris; specifically, topsoil that was dumped on land near Draper, south of Salt Lake City.

As the station notes:

The Soo’nkahni Indian Village is the largest discovery of Native American artifacts ever found in the Salt Lake Valley. It has been estimated there are as many as one million artifacts on the lands around the area. In August 2009, Governor Hebert signed a conservation easement to protect the land from development.

The Utah Transit Authority says it believed the land in question fell under a 50-foot easement granted by the Army Corps of Engineers, but that it will cease work in the area until the issue can be resolved.

As Madelyn Gray Mountain of the Confederated Band of Goshutes says: “Our ancestors knew no boundaries and to provide that protection for that small piece of land is the least we can do as tribal leaders.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Confederated Band of Goshutes, FrontRunner, Gwen Florio, Indian artifacts, Native American news, Soo'nkahni Indian Village, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Utah Transit AUthority