Who in their right mind would want to store highly radioactive waste in their back yard? The answer seems simple enough: no one.

But what simmers beneath the surface of that question is a debate about the sovereignty of American Indian tribes in the United States, said David Rich Lewis, a Utah State University American history professor who spoke at Utah Valley State College on Monday night. He was speaking as part of the "Turning Points in History" lecture series.

Just two weeks after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted permission for storage of spent nuclear fuel rods at the Goshute reservation at Skull Valley, the issue of who gets the final say about what goes on on tribal property still remains, Lewis said. And to answer that question he turns to history.

From the time Mormon settlers arrived in Utah in 1847, American Indians were pushed aside, Lewis said. "Mormons drove the Goshutes into the desert hills, appropriated their land, even poisoned their water holes, all in the name of protecting white settlers, livestock and the overland trial."

Today, with the 18,000-acre valley already surrounded by federal bombing ranges, nerve agent storage facilities and other dumps, the remaining members of the Goshute band who live on the reservation are left with very few options for economic development, Lewis said.

The tribe's leader, Leon Bear, sees the deal with Private Fuel Storage as a way to breathe new life into his nation, Lewis said. "This agreement with PFS would bring millions of dollars annually and provide jobs." For critics of the deal, it is an issue of "environmental racism," Lewis said. "Economic or racist self-interest becomes evident. When it suited the state's interest, we have invited with open arms these kinds of operations into our state, but we refuse to discuss even the possibility with the Goshutes."

What is needed, Lewis said, is a focused dialogue, grounded in mutual respect, commitment to the legal factors at play, compromise and vision.

Complicating matters is a rift within the tribe, between members who support Bear and those who back his opponent, Sammy Black Bear, who doesn't want the waste on tribal lands.

Rio Downs, who grew up on tribal land in Deep Creek near Wendover, Nev., said she didn't hear anything new during Lewis's talk, but the average person probably isn't familiar with the real issues facing the Goshutes. She said she keeps in touch with friends in Deep Creek and says they sympathize with their counterparts in Skull Valley.

"They don't want it out there. It's just the council that wants it," Downs said.

Anne Sward Hansen, of the Environmental Justice Foundation in Provo, said she's been working to help Goshutes write down their traditional form of government to meet legal requirements. Many Goshutes oppose the plan and don't believe Bear is their leader.

And although the tribe's sovereignty might be in jeopardy, it is not only the government they battle, Hansen said. "When you talk about tribal sovereignty, it's being exploited by PFS keeping Leon Bear in office. It's not tribal way," he said.

Lewis said he fears that if Utah politicians continue to refuse to compromise, history will be repeated.