Utah-based tribe launches company to develop a wide range of hemp products

The Ute Native American tribe has launched a company to turn out a wide range of products based on hemp, according to an announcement this week.

The new company, Ute Hemp LLC, will produce custom herbal formulations combining traditional Ute plants with hemp-derived cannabinoids, cultivation seed and a range of products from the hemp stalk, the tribe’s business committee said.

“We have built a sustainable, long-term business with room for growth and have developed a solid foundation for success,” said Shaun Chapoose, chairman of the committee.

Ambitious plans

The Utah-based tribe said it has plans to develop supply chains for full-spectrum and broad-spectrum custom herbal products combining traditional Ute plants, roots, and resins with CBD and CBG, and for production for cultivation seed, grain, and fiber-based products – hemp fabrics, comforters and pillows, rope, hurd for hempcrete, mulch, animal bedding and equine supplies.

All products for human consumption are compliant under U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food & Drug Administration guidelines, the committee said.

The startup, 100% owned by the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, is the tribe’s first venture in hemp.

Product development

Native Workplace, a Native American-owned non-profit, assisted in the development of new company. Wisconsin-based Luminary Medicine Co. developed the formulas for cannabinoid products.

The Ute Tribe comprises three bands of Native Americans who inhabit the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in northeastern Utah: the Whiteriver Band, the Uncompahgre Band and the Uintah Band. Tribal membership is more than 3,000, with over half living on the reservation.

The Tribe operates its own tribal government and oversees approximately 1.3 million acres of trust land which contains significant oil and gas deposits.