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Organization

Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB)

Utah Diné Bikéyah, a Native American-led nonprofit founded in 2012, helped propose Bears Ears National Monument and says it supports tribes on its protection.

Kind
501(c)(3) nonprofit
Native-led
yes-self-described
Works with
Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute (Bears Ears region); per third-party list
Region
Southwest; UT, AZ
Focus
Protecting ancestral Native American lands in the Bears Ears region; advocacy for Bears Ears National Monument; Indigenous cultural knowledge
Registry
EIN 61-1729917 (ProPublica: Utah Dine Bikeyah, Salt Lake City UT, NTEE C34)

What happened

Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB) says it was first established in 2012 and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2014. Its About page calls it a Native American-led, values-driven organization that works at the intersection of culture and conservation. Its Who We Are page lists a seven-member board, led by Philip Rentz as Board Chairman. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists it in Salt Lake County, Utah, with exemption issued July 2014.

Its timeline page tells the story of the Bears Ears proposal. UDB says it began in 2010 by listening to elders and asking each Utah Navajo Chapter House for permission to do land planning. In 2013, it says, the Navajo Nation and UDB unveiled the Bears Ears proposal. In 2015 the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition formed, uniting five Tribes: Ute Mountain Ute, Uintah Ouray Ute, Hopi, Zuni and Navajo, and the National Congress of American Indians endorsed the proposal. The page says Bears Ears National Monument was restored in October 2021 and that UDB continues to support tribes working with the federal government.

UDB describes its present work as finding and funding Indigenous grassroots groups, building networks and strengthening communities. The timeline is UDB's own account.

Good to know. An advocacy group that supports tribes on Bears Ears but does not own land. The Bears Ears history here is its own account.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. Utah Diné Bikéyah was first established in 2012 and later became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2014.About Us - Utah Diné Bikéyah
  2. Utah Diné Bikéyah is a Native American-led, values-driven organizationAbout Us - Utah Diné Bikéyah
  3. Philip Rentz, Board ChairmanWho We Are - Utah Diné Bikéyah
  4. the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition officially formed, uniting five Tribes—Ute Mountain Ute, Uintah Ouray Ute, Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo.UDB Timeline
  5. Salt Lake Cty, UT Tax exemption issued: July 2014 EIN: 61-1729917ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Utah Dine Bikeyah

Research notes. The Bears Ears history is UDB's own account; it advocates and supports tribes but does not own land. The board list does not show tribal affiliations, though the About page calls UDB Native American-led. Donation forms are on its own Take Action page; the payee was not confirmed.

Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.

Corrections to this record

  • Native leadership was listed as “unverified”; corrected from utahdinebikeyah.orgUtah Diné Bikéyah is a Native American-led, values-driven organization

Connections

These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Works in 2

Sources

  1. utahdinebikeyah.org/about/unclassified
    Utah Diné Bikéyah is a Native American-led, values-driven organization
The record’s fields
Vetting notes
2026-10-17: ProPublica name hit (EIN 61-1729917); own site read; donation forms are on its own Take Action page (payee not confirmed at checkout). Site lists a seven-member board by name but no tribal affiliations, so Native leadership is not verified from the site; a third-party source calls it Native-led. Re-check board affiliations and payee before linking. Source: https://utahdinebikeyah.org/who-we-are/ ("to preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources of ancestral Native American lands to benefit and bring healing to people and the Earth")
Kind
Organization
Confidence
Medium

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