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At a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, National Park Service Director Chuck Sams told lawmakers that his agency and others within the Interior Department are committed to increasing the role Native American Tribes play in managing public lands across the United States. Sams, the first Native American to lead the Park Service, noted there are currently four national parks in which Tribes hold co-management responsibilities, including Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation.
The push for tribal co-management is especially visible in southeastern Utah, where the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition has sought greater input on how the recently restored national monument is managed. “What could be a better avenue of restorative justice than giving tribes the opportunity to participate in the management of lands that their ancestors were removed from?" asked Carleton Bowekaty, the lieutenant governor of Zuni Pueblo and a member of the Inter-Tribal coalition.
Throughout the hearing, Director Sams and Tribal officials highlighted examples within the roughly 80 cooperative agreements already in place, for example publishing reports on plant gathering within Mount Rainier National Park. Going forward, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, herself the first Native American Interior Secretary, has directed agency officials to seek greater input from Tribes and identify opportunities for co-management.
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