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Members of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, and others joined Arizona Representative Raúl Grijalva and Senator Kyrsten Sinema on Tuesday to outline their proposal for Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. The proposed monument covers over 1.1 million acres of land adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park.
Designating the proposed area as a monument would permanently protect the area’s water, wildlife, sacred spaces, and ancestral homelands from uranium mining and would honor more than a dozen Tribes' cultural ties to the area. Baaj Nwaavjo means “where tribes roam” for the Havasupai Tribe, and I’tah Kukveni means “our footprints” for the Hopi Tribe.
There is widespread public support for protecting the area from extraction. Colorado College's 2023 Conservation in the West Poll showed that 62% of Arizona voters support a permanent ban on new uranium and other mining on existing public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon.
“Today we embark on a national campaign to urge President Biden to designate Grand Canyon National Monument under the Antiquities Act,” said Representative Grijalva at a press conference. “This campaign is not just about making history, it’s about saving history and its spirit and the people who honored the Canyon.”
The River of Sorrows film showcases Colorado's Dolores River
See one of Colorado’s last, best wild places up close at a premiere showing of The River of Sorrows on the upcoming Colorado film tour. The film follows two packrafters down the near-dry Dolores River, telling the complex story of the river and the public lands that surround it. The River of Sorrows is produced and directed by the award-winning Rig to Flip production company and filmmaker Cody Perry—a Dolores, Colorado resident. Learn from those whose lives are closely intertwined with the river and landscape and take a deep dive into water use issues, boating, uranium mining, agriculture, Tribal water rights, and the impacts of climate change on the Dolores River Canyon Country. RSVP online for a free showing near you!
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The Canyon is part of each and every Havasupai person, it is our home, it is our land and our water source and our very being. Designating these areas as a national monument will protect them from contamination, destruction or exploitation and the other harmful effects of mining.”
