General Resources for Committee Members & Committee Chairs

Release Time / Lodging/ Mileage As Indicated in UEA Board Policy:

Release Time:

Substitute pay may be provided as necessary for committee or task force members. Meet scheduling should consider the required time for travel and released time constraints. The Budget & Audit Committee will monitor the expenses during the year.

Lodging:

If a committee member attending an evening meeting lives more than 120 round trip miles from the UEA office, he/she may elect to voucher one night’s lodging and one extra meal in addition to the meal provided at the meeting. (Up to the current IRS per diem rate)

Mileage:

Transportation will be paid at the current IRS mileage rate. (Forms will be provided by UEA staff when you arrive to in-person meetings. It’s good practice to note your mileage on your odometer before you head out and once you arrive.)

For committee members of the Rules and Resolutions Committee to be reimbursed for travel to the House of Delegates, they must attend at least one meeting of the Rules and Resolutions Committee and the House of Delegates.

Land Acknowledgement Guide

The 2021 UEA House of Delegates passed New Business Item #3 – Land Acknowledgements, as follows:

Utah Education Association will start each meeting with a land acknowledgment. Land acknowledgments are an honest and historically accurate way to recognize a place's traditional First Nations territories. It helps redefine how people place themselves in relation to those groups indigenous to the land. Not all Indigenous people agree on their efficacy or even on how they should be done. Land acknowledgments are a good first step, but more work must be done.

Phrasing may include: “We acknowledge that we gather as __________ (name of organization) on federally recognized tribal lands of Utah. Eight tribes have been living, working, and residing on this land from time immemorial. The tribes of Utah include (but are not limited to): Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indians Navajo Nation, Northern Ute Tribe, Northwestern Band of Shoshone, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute, Skull Valley Band of Goshute and White Mesa Band of the Ute Mountain Utes. We honor America’s First People and their ancestors, past, present, and emerging. We are called on to learn and share what we know about the tribal history, culture, and contributions that have been suppressed in telling the story of “America.”

Rationale:

Acknowledgments raise awareness about histories that are often suppressed or forgotten. It was their land first, and we must give them the proper respect they deserve. For many, land means more than property. It compasses culture, relationships, ecosystems, social systems, spirituality, and law. Land means the earth, the water, the air, and all that lives within the ecosystem.

Additional Resources:

Native Land Digital Map          Native Languages Americas          Honor Native Land