Arizona tribes to take larger role in managing new monument near Grand Canyon

The proclamation signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday creating a new national monument included a provision not often seen: It will be co-managed with the 13-tribe coalition that advocated for its creation.

The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, like Bears Ears in Utah and Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, will be managed by tribes in partnership with the federal government. While many praised the new monument as extending greater protections to ancestral lands and waters, others are concerned that their own connections to the lands will be curtailed by new regulations and development.

Amelia Flores is chairwoman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and a Mojave, whose culture, along with the three other cultures that form the tribe based in the Colorado River Valley, is part of the coalition of 13 tribes that pushed for the monument. She said the lands of the new monument honor her tribe's connections to the waters and the value of tribal stewardship in protecting the water that eventually flows down the Grand Canyon to her reservation.

"The Colorado River Indian Tribes has a timeless religious and deep economic connection to the river," she said.

The tribes' sentiments were echoed by Arizona voters. Advocacy group Grand Canyon Trust released results from a poll commissioned in June that said 75% of Arizona voters support the monument and just 12% oppose it.

Some people aren't so happy with the declaration: “We appreciate that the administration included grazing in its 50-plus-page proclamation," said Phil Bashaw, CEO of Arizona Farm Bureau. But the agricultural community fears that subsequent infrastructure planning for water, fencing, roads and other improvements will impede ranchers' ability to work the land.

"The feds need day-to-day management, and to do that, they need boots on the ground," Bashaw said. "We're those boots on the ground," providing critical services without expending federal resources.

National monuments offer stronger protections for land, water, species and sacred and culturally significant Native places, but differ in how they are managed and what development is allowed or barred.

How national monuments operate

National monuments are created from land that the federal government already owns or manages. That means other land within the boundary of a monument, including state lands and privately owned lands, are not under federal jurisdiction. Once a monument is created, it can't be sold off.

Like other monuments, the new 917,618-acre Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument will permanently ban new mining and drilling claims, as well as other extractive uses within its boundaries. Existing livestock grazing leases and hunting, fishing and recreational activities will not be curtailed.

That exclusion also applies to existing claims and working operations, such as the Pinyon Plain Mine, a uranium mine that's currently not in production. The mine sits 7 miles south of the border of Grand Canyon National Park and just a few miles away from Red Butte and Mat Taav Tiivjunmdva, a meadow about 3 miles north of the peak. These are two of the Havasupai people's most sacred sites and one impetus for the push by tribes to protect lands surrounding the canyon.

National monuments tend to not be as developed as national parks, which are meant to be used by many visitors with different abilities.

Monuments can be managed by any number or combination of federal or state agencies or even private organizatons. One, Carrizo Plain National Monument in California, is jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Nature Conservancy.

Tribes step up to co-manage some monuments

While many monuments include tribal representation on advisory councils or committees to guide decision-making, one is already co-managed by a tribal consortium.

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah was established by then-President Barack Obama in 2016 near the end of his term. Then-President Donald Trump reduced its area by 85% at the start of his term in 2017, but Biden restored it in 2021.

In 2022, the BLM signed a co-management agreement with five tribes that hold the 1.35-million-acre region sacred or culturally significant. The Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain Ute, Pueblo of Zuni and Ute Indian Tribes will coordinate land-use planning and implementation, as well as develop long-term resource management and programmatic goals.

When Avi Kwa Ame National Monument was established in March, the Biden administration said the 500,000-acre area in Clark County, Nevada, would be co-managed by the National Park Service and BLM. The agencies were also required to create an advisory committee with the majority of its members coming from tribes with sacred and cultural interests in the area: the Mojave, Chemehuevi, and Southern Paiute tribes as well as other tribal nations and Indigenous peoples like the Cocopah, Halchidhoma, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kumeyaay, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Quechan, Yavapai and Zuni.

A fact sheet published by the White House explained the two names for the new monument: "Baaj nwaavjo" (BAAHJ – NUH-WAAHV-JOH) means "where Indigenous peoples roam" in the Havasupai language, and "i’tah kukveni" (EE-TAH – KOOK-VENNY) means "our ancestral footprints" in the Hopi language.

The administration said the new monument holds great significance to many tribal nations, including the 13 tribes in the area. Biden's proclamation said the new monument would include a commission that would provide guidance and recommendations on planning and management. Any of the tribes with ancestral ties to the region that want to join the commission would sign a cooperative agreement with the Interior or Agriculture departments for co-stewardship and designate a tribal elective official to the commission.

Culture and history: President Biden announced new monument at Red Butte. Here's why it is sacred to tribes

Social media reactions from tribes, activists

Some tribal leaders hailed the new monument on social media:

At least one Native activist said the monument should be just the first step:

Environmental groups also weighed in on the new monument:

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @debkrol.

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.

My articles are free to read, but your subscriptions support more such great reporting. Please consider subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona tribes to help manage new national monument near Grand Canyon