Thursday marks the first anniversary of President Joe Biden’s designation of a nearly million-acre national monument near Grand Canyon National Park. The area is culturally significant to 13 tribes in the region.
Last August, Biden was joined by tribal leaders and other officials as he declared the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The signing ceremony was held near one of the Havasupai Tribe’s most spiritually important areas located on the Kaibab National Forest outside the park.
“How often does the president travel all the way to a special, sacred mountain called Reb Butte and be there? We’re never going to forget it for the rest of our lives,” says former Havasupai council member Carletta Tilousi. “At least we know that part of the monument of going to be preserved forever.”
Tilousi is part of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, which advocated for the designation. She says in the last year, the monument has seen increased visitation. As part of the one-year anniversary of Biden’s declaration, the coalition and the Grand Canyon Trust have launched a new digital story collection. It includes maps, photos and videos that explain the area’s importance as a tribal sacred site and as a plant and animal habitat.
The monument designation banned new uranium mining, preventing hundreds of potential claims from taking effect.
The Pinyon Plain Mine, which is located within the monument but was allowed to continue operating because of preexisting rights, has begun to ship uranium ore from the site.
Transport, however, remains paused as the company holds discussions with Navajo Nation officials, who strongly oppose the mine and transport through the tribe’s lands.
