A push to establish a new national monument near the Grand Canyon gained steam recently with the visit of U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. For years, tribes and environmentalists have advocated for added protections in the area.
Haaland met with leaders of the Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai and other members of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition. They’re urging President Joe Biden to declare the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. The meeting highlighted the tribes’ connections to the area and their efforts to protect more than a million acres adjacent to the national park from future uranium and other hardrock mining.
"This attempt to declare the Grand Canyon a national monument is very historical because all the tribes once again have come together to unite in one voice and one mission," says former Havasupai Council member and coalition spokesperson Carletta Tilousi.
Tribes and conservation groups say uranium mining threatens the Grand Canyon’s environment as well as many sacred sites and tribal water resources. A 20-year federal moratorium paused new claims in 2012, but a monument designation would make the mining ban permanent. Previous attempts have failed in Congress since 2008, but the current push is being driven by tribes and is aimed at a presidential proclamation through the Antiquities Act.
