Greetings Bears Ears Community and Happy Native American Heritage Month! We are excited to share our 2022 Fall Newsletter.

As we enter the Winter season, we want to remind our subscribers about the importance of rest. Many Indigenous Peoples, including some of our Coalition Tribes, have ceremonies and cultural practices surrounding rest during this time of year. These practices reinforce rest as an integral part of maintaining health and balance in our lives. We hope you have the opportunity to recharge during this cold, dormant season. The winter is an opportunity to practice intentional care for our spirits, our bodies, and our minds. We hope you find time to reflect on the past year, give thanks for all your blessings, and show appreciation for those you care for. As a reminder, in order to show up for ourselves and our communities and to be good relatives, we have to be grounded, strong, and well rested.

 We’ve been busy since our last correspondence, and we’re excited to share the Coalition’s progress as well as some of the activities that we have been working on. We remain optimistic about the future of Bears Ears, and we hope that you join us in our optimism for the progress ahead!
 

Tribal Land Management Plan

Among the significant projects completed since the summer newsletter, the most consequential was the ratification of the Tribal Land Management Plan (LMP) by the five Coalition Tribal governments and sharing it with our federal partners at the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The Tribal LMP took over four years of coordination, hundreds of hours of thought-work, and extensive work of documenting the cultural and historical expertise of the five Tribes by the Coalition’s Cultural Resource Subcommittee (CRS) and Traditional knowledge-holders. 

The CRS is composed of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers and staff, Cultural Resources Officers and staff experts, Tribal archaeologists, Tribal Elders, and other Traditional knowledge-holders from each of the Coalition Tribes. This plan summarizes the goals and values of the five Tribes for the Bears Ears National Monument. It also contains management goals and directives from a Tribal perspective, which is based on a holistic, earth-to-sky approach to land and cultural resources management. The sharing of the Tribal LMP is a significant step towards collaborative management of Bears Ears, and we are working hard to ensure that the Tribes’ Traditional Knowledge is included in the final Monument Management Plan. Because of the LMP, Bears Ears will be managed differently from other federal lands. While the Tribes recognize that this is not the final management plan for Bears Ears, they hope that it is the beginning of a new chapter in collaborative management.

Bears Ears Native Conservation Corp

Another project that was years in the making came to fruition this Fall, the pilot phase of the Bears Ears Native Conservation Corp. During the week of October 17th – 21st youth and elder Tribal members, along with Coalition staff, traveled to the Bears Ears National Monument to camp together for a week and participate in a restoration project at an ancestral dwelling. There were eight participants representing the Zuni and Hopi Tribes and the Navajo Nation.

During the site restoration project, participants removed a barbed wire fence that was obstructing the view of the dwelling site and discussed future management actions for this site with collaborators from the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. After this workday, participants spent the remainder of the week visiting cultural sites and culturally significant places within the Monument. The schedule was flexible which enabled participants to reconnect with the landscape, harvest traditional plants, and spend time in ceremony.

As the trip concluded, participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to connect with the landscape and each other. The project was a meaningful way for Tribal members to participate and engage in collaborative management of this important place. As we move forward, we will build on the lessons we have learned from this pilot phase to formulate how the future of Bears Ears Native Conservation Corp could look like.

Seasons of Change

 Earth: Wildlife and Paleontological Resources
 

As a part of our “Seasons of Change: A Deep dive into the LMP” fundraising campaign, we would like to share our second installment of highlighting the wildlife and paleontological resources section of our Tribal Land Management Plan (LMP) for Bears Ears. As we near the end of the Fall season, there is a transition from bountiful energy to a time of preparation and rest to be found in the Bears Ears National Monument. The black bear is preparing for hibernation, Western rattlesnakes slither into a state of brumation, Mexican Spotted Owls save their energy for thermoregulation, and other critters and creatures find ways to stay warm and prepare for the Winter.  

With respect for Tribal knowledge, we share a small insight into how wildlife and paleontological resources in Bears Ears are culturally significant. Though views vary across Tribal nations, our five Tribes view wildlife as sacred and, “tied to all aspects of traditional Native beliefs and practices” (LMP, pg. 27). The Zuni Tribe revere animals as vessels for ancestral spirits, and believe birds are the connection between the earth and the sky. Wildlife are essential to uplifting prayers and for healing in cultural activities. For the Hopi Tribe, all birds are culturally and spiritually significant. The LMP shares that feathers are usually collected to be used for prayer sticks and the colors of feathers have symbolism in Hopi culture. The spiritual connection to wildlife has existed for time immemorial and has formed a deep connection between Native peoples and the Bears Ears region.  

Similar to the changing of seasons, we can learn more about the circle of life by studying wildlife and their paleontological origins through plants and animal fossils. As the Tribal LMP explains, vertebrae and non-vertebrae fossil remains are deeply respected from a Tribal perspective. Many traditional stories exist about historical animals and beings that existed before humans. In fact, there are many ceremonies that acknowledge and share appreciation for our animal relatives.  

Thank you for taking time to learn more about these resources in our Tribal LMP. As a part of this fundraising effort, we ask you to join together with us and defend the Bears Ears landscape by making a monetary donation to the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC) today. We’re excited you’re a part of the Bears Ears Movement!