Biden Creates a New National Monument Near Grand Canyon

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — President Joe Biden will designate a new national monument near the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, permanently banning new uranium mining in the area while protecting land sacred to the Hopi and other Indigenous peoples.

The newly designated monument will be called the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.

Its name, according to the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, which first approached the White House about a possible designation in April, derives from the languages of two different Native American tribes.

Baaj nwaavjo means “where Indigenous peoples roam” for the Havasupai Tribe and i’tah kukveni means “our ancestral footprints” for the Hopi Tribe.

“The creator gave us a gift, and that gift is in the form of the Grand Canyon,” said Hopi Tribe Chair Timothy Nuvangyaoma during a press conference calling on Biden to permanently protect their homelands.

“That gift is not only to the tribal nations that have that intimate connection with it, but it’s a gift to the state of Arizona, it’s a gift to the United States, it’s a gift to the entire world,” he said.

Amelia Flores, chair of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, agreed.

“The designation of this national monument with the name based on tribal languages — this is a momentous day in the preservation of our history and the recognition of our tribal connections to this landscape,” she said.

The coalition includes members of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Paiute Tribe, Las Vegas Band of Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. 

“The canyon is a part of each and every Havasupai person. It is our home, it is our land, and our water source, and our very being,” said Havasupai Tribe Vice Chair Edmond Tilousi, during the same press conference.

Joining the tribal leaders at the time were Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., who threw their enthusiastic support behind the intertribal proposal.

In a statement released Tuesday, Grijalva, who is the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, described the designation as “a remarkable triumph” and the “culmination of a monumental journey.”

“Together with the Biden-Harris administration, we’re ensuring the protection of the region’s vast and rich natural resources, safeguarding cultural heritage, and preserving the incredible beauty of this iconic landscape for generations to come,” Grijalva said.

“I want to extend my sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude to the tribes who have stood firm in their quest to make the Grand Canyon a beacon of conservation and cultural preservation, no matter the obstacle or threat,” he added.

Biden’s designation covers nearly 1 million acres of land and will protect more than 300 sites that have cultural, spiritual and historical importance to the tribes.

All of the designated area will be on federal public lands, including that of the Grand Canyon national forest, and no state or private property will be incorporated into the monument.

During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American cabinet secretary, said Biden’s designation 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,” she continued.

It was President Theodore Roosevelt who signed the Antiquities Act of 1906 into law, and he first used it to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. 

The act was the first U.S. law to provide general legal protection of cultural and natural resources of historic or scientific interest on federal lands, and since Roosevelt’s time, 18 presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic sites across America.

The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni is Biden’s fifth new monument designation, following the creation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi last month.

He has also created other monuments in Colorado, Nevada and Texas.

According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the land comprising the new monument is made up of three distinct areas to the south, northeast and northwest of Grand Canyon National Park. 

It is bordered by the Kanab watershed boundary and Kanab Creek drainage in the northwestern area and the Havasupai Indian Reservation and Navajo Nation in the southern area, and stretches from Marble Canyon to the edge of the Kaibab Plateau in the northeastern area. The monument spans 917,618 acres of public lands managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.

The area includes many natural wonders, from sweeping plateaus and deep canyons to meandering creeks and streams that ultimately flow into the Colorado River, providing water to millions of people across the Southwest. 

The unique interplay of geology and hydrology support some of the most biodiverse habitats in the region ranging from sagebrush to savanna, providing refuge for iconic wildlife including bighorn sheep, mule deer, bison, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, owls, and songbirds, the White House said. The new monument contains over 3,000 known cultural and historic sites, including 12 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Arizona, National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said the designation comes against the backdrop “of the president’s bold conservation agenda,” which includes permanently protecting 30% of federally owned lands by 2030.

As for uranium mining, Zaidi said the designation means that the land is “off limits” for future development in that regard.

“What the monument does recognize is existing rights that had been established previously, and it’s focused on preserving the historical resources in this 17,000 acres, making sure that we’re doing everything that we can on a coordinated basis, in a co-management approach, to lift up those historical resources, the ecosystem resources,” he said.

But Biden’s visit to the American West, which will extend through Thursday and include stops in New Mexico and Utah, is about more than designating a national monument.

The president is also expected to speak at length, in different venues, about what he’s already done in terms of investing in the economy, renewable energy and in bolstering the nation’s climate change resilience.

Prior to the dedication ceremony Tuesday, Biden will discuss how the Inflation Reduction Act is the largest investment in climate action in our nation’s history. 

These remarks were scheduled to be made shortly after his arrival at the Red Butte Airfield in Arizona.

Later, the president will participate in a campaign reception in Albuquerque, New Mexico.