By: Jenny Zhou
On August 8, 2023, Joe Biden created a new national monument near the Grand Canyon to protect the indigenous people in that area and ban uranium mining.
Biden gave remarks at the Historic Red Butte Airfield in Arizona before signing the proclamation: “Our nation’s history is etched in our people and in our lands… Today’s action is going to protect and preserve that history, along with these high plateaus and deep canyons.”
Biden will take a trip to the Western United States, including New Mexico and Utah, to tackle climate challenges and hail the work of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The President will also host an event at the White House on August 16th, 2023.
In the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Tribe and Hopi Tribe have been calling for protection for several years. A recent statewide poll demonstrated large support for protecting Native American lands showed, although local ranchers have concerns. The poll was conducted by the Impact Research Public Opinion firm for the Grand Canyon Trust. Senior administration officials say that national monument designation upholds private property rights, but it has no effect on existing uranium mining claims.
Interior secretary Deb Halaand says that Biden’s action is “historic”: “It will help protect lands that many tribes referred to as their eternal home, a place of healing and a source of spiritual sustenance… It will help ensure that indigenous peoples can continue to use these areas for religious ceremonies, hunting and gathering of plants, medicines and other materials, including some found nowhere else on earth. It will protect objects of historic and scientific importance for the benefit of tribes, the public and for future generations.” This new monument will be very beneficial for the indigenous peoples in the area.
Halaand called her own trip to the area “the most meaningful one in [her] life.” The new national monument will be called Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. “Baaj Nwaavjo” means where tribes roam, and “I’tah Kukveni” means our ancestral footsteps.
Altogether, Biden created four other new national parks in the past few years: the Emmet Till and Mamie Till Mobley National Monument, the Castner Range National Monument, the Kwa Ame National Monument, and the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. One of the parks honors Emmet Till, and the other three protect land in Nevada, Texas, and Colorado.
The President’s protection of the Western areas emphasizes an increased awareness about Native lands for the public.
When asked whether Biden’s trip is about advertising accomplishments, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied, “We’re going to continue to do our jobs and continue to talk about it … And the hope is that we’ll get our message out.”
She said that support will continue to build for The President as the legislation is implemented around the country. “We’ll see, I think, Americans start to feel and see what it is that we have been able to do in Washington, D.C.”
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