Starting today, the official Facebook page of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is up and running at www.facebook.com/southernute.

Tribal members and the general public are invited to search for and “like” the page to begin receiving tribal updates. The Facebook page is the newest way the tribe is attempting to get information out to the membership, said Andrea Taylor, director of Tribal Information Services.

The tribe already has a website with event updates and department information at www.southernute-nsn.gov, but the goal is to increase traffic to the website by using Facebook, Taylor said.

Executive Officer Amy Barry said the page is an additional way to reach out to tribal members who might find it a useful addition to existing outlets.

“The goal is to improve communication with the tribal membership in any way, shape, or form,” she said. “We want to maximize communication through the KSUT radio, Facebook, the tribal department websites, and exclusively through the tribal-membership-only site. Leadership would like to engage more tribal membership into what we are doing entity-wide, and this is another avenue to accomplish that.”

It’s especially important to target younger tribal members who might not listen to KSUT or read The Southern Ute Drum, Barry said.

“The younger tribal membership generations have iPads, iPhones, Facebook pages – the list goes on and on. We can utilize technology and make it a resource to communicate with our younger membership as well as our tribal membership who do no reside on the reservation,” she said.

Since the tribe is aiming to get more use out of the existing website, users can expect to see the tribal website and department links frequently referenced in Facebook posts.

Postings the public can expect to see on the page include tribal office closures, event flyers, election dates, road closures, and any other events the tribal government is specifically involved in, Taylor said. She believes that Facebook will be especially useful for those members living off the reservation. She said Facebook will help build awareness among members and hopefully increase membership involvement.

“Getting the information out on Facebook will help our members plan travel to powwows and other events,” Taylor said.

As of now the tribe has only one official Facebook page it operates.  According to Taylor, tribal members can expect to see a few more department Facebook pages open in the future.