On Tuesday, April 11, the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition unveiled a proposal for a new national monument on government-owned lands near the Grand Canyon National Park. The new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument would cover over 1 million acres, protecting the land and the Colorado River from uranium mining.
The monument would protect 1,102,501 acres of tribal homelands around the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
All the lands included in the monument are already government owned. Much of the land comes from the Kaibab National Forest and BLM lands. This would include sacred sites like Red Butte, cultural and archaeological sites, springs, and historical sites for in Indigenous tribes connected to Arizona, stopping not far south of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Kane County.
But strongly connected to the push is also the desire to prevent uranium mining in the area. The new monument would prevent nearly 600 existing, undeveloped mining claims from developing inside the monument.
“I, as a Hualapai tribal leader stand strongly against any mining on tribal lands and ask that you support us in this fight to stop mining,” said Hualapai Tribe Vice Chair Scott Crozier.
The monument has strong support among tribal leaders and Arizona lawmakers. And Grand Canyon Trust predicts it will also be popular among Arizona voters.
Management of the Monument
The tribes will expect to have heavy involvement in the monument management. “We’d like to see co-management as a part of the proposal … and we ask Biden to ensure that tribes are involved in the co-management of the monument,” said Director of the Navajo Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department Richard Begay.
The ball is now in President Biden’s court, who has thus far designated just three national monuments during his presidency.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: The sunset over the grand canyon. Courtesy Michael Quinn/NPS.