President Trump last week drastically slashed protections for two of the most iconic sacred places in Indian Country.
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments have long been regarded as sacred by the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Ute Indian Tribe, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
The region contains thousands of archaeological and cultural sites, including cliff dwellings, rock art, ceremonial locations, and ancestral villages. Tribal citizens also continue to hunt, gather medicinal plants, and conduct traditional cultural practices throughout the landscape.
The monuments spanned more than 3 million acres. Trump’s proclamation reduces each monument by about 90%, reducing the lands to less than 303,000 acres combined and opening the formerly protected lands to oil and gas drilling.
Tribal leaders and advocates have vowed to fight the proclamation and restore protections to the lands most sacred.
Here is what Indian Country is saying about the move, and the impending legal battle.
“Today’s action threatens to destroy precious cultural places that are part of our histories and identities as Native peoples,” said Georgie Pongyesva, Hopi. “Many assume that cultural sites have been abandoned, or refer to them as ‘ruins.’ These places are not abandoned, nor are they ruined. These are living landscapes for which Tribes are the original stewards, and we are the living descendants of the ancestors that left their footprints and writings on these landscapes.” — Inter-Tribal Coalition Members Condemn Reduction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
“President Trump’s plans for fast-track development of public lands violate federal laws and the rights of Tribes. All public lands are Indigenous homelands, and sovereign nations have the right to make decisions about developments impacting their lands. Federal laws have been passed in past decades to protect land and water. Our treaties and agreements and federal laws demand a process for public oversight and meaningful consultation and informed consent for Tribal Nations. There should be no decisions made about Tribal lands without the input and consent of Tribes and the public.”
“These lands are not simply public lands. They are sacred places that preserve our history, our identity, and the teachings passed down through generations,” Speaker Curley said. “The Navajo Nation has long advocated for the protection of Bears Ears through meaningful consultation and stewardship. We oppose actions that weaken those protections and diminish the voices of tribes in managing these culturally significant landscapes.” — Crystalyne Curley, Speaker of Navajo Nation Council
“Long before Bears Ears was declared a national monument, it was a sacred ancestral homeland for Tribal Nations, and it remains so. No political decision can sever our connection to this place, erase our histories, or diminish our responsibility to care for it. Our ancestors lived here and our cultures continue to thrive here. Our responsibility endures, and we will continue this work for our children, our grandchildren, and the generations yet to come.” (Tribal Nations Reaffirm Commitment to Bears Ears Following Monument Rollbacks)
“As Diné, our connection to Bears Ears is living and ongoing. This landscape holds our prayers, our medicines, and the stories of our ancestors. Reducing protections is deeply disappointing. It threatens sacred places and disregards the Traditional Knowledge needed to care for them. We are not visitors here; we are locals, and we are still here. We will continue to stand for the defense of our homelands.” —Curtis Yanito, Navajo Nation Coucil Delegate
“We will pursue every available legal course of action to stop these illegal attacks on Native homelands, culture, and people. Native communities worked for years with the broader public to obtain national monument status for Bears Ears. These protections provide a means for Tribal Nations and Native communities to preserve their ongoing relationships with the land, culture, and traditional practices. Tribal Nations have protected these lands for generations and they won’t stop now,” — Native American Rights Fund Deputy Director Matthew Campbell
“Bears Ears is part of our history, our stories, and our identity. Though the Zuni Pueblo is not within Utah presently, our ancestors traveled through and lived in this region on their journey to our Middle Place, our ancestor’s footprint is everywhere across the landscape. Reducing the Monument’s protections disregards the deep cultural and spiritual connections we continue to hold. This landscape needs more care informed by Traditional Indigenous Knowledge—not less of it—and its protection should reflect the voices of those who carry its meaning forward.” – Anthony Sanchez Jr., Head Councilman of the Zuni Tribe and Co-Chair of the Bears Ears Commission
“As Diné, our connection to Bears Ears is living and ongoing. This landscape holds our prayers, our medicines, and the stories of our ancestors. Reducing protections is deeply disappointing. It threatens sacred places and disregards the Traditional Knowledge needed to care for them. We are not visitors here; we are locals, and we are still here. We will continue to stand for the defense of our homelands.” – Curtis Yanito, Navajo Nation Council Delegate and Bears Ears Commission Co-Chair
“The Bears Ears region is our homeland. Our ancestors lived, hunted, gathered, and prayed here long before boundaries were drawn. The Ute Mountain Ute people were forcefully removed from these lands, but our connection to this sacred place cannot be erased. We are deeply disappointed by the decision to dramatically reduce Bears Ears National Monument. No matter what actions the U.S. government takes, we will continue to carry our history forward, build community, and protect this landscape through our traditions and teachings.” – Gwen Cantsee, Vice Chairwoman for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Bears Ears Commissioner
“The Creator entrusted the Hopi people with the responsibility to serve as stewards of the land. A change in federal policy does not change that responsibility. Bears Ears is an essential part of Hopitutskwa, our ancestral lands. Our Motisinom and Hisatsinom traveled through and lived within this landscape, leaving place names, petroglyphs, cultural belongings and stories that continue to guide us. These connections existed long before today’s state and reservation boundaries were drawn. We are deeply disappointed that this decision was made without the meaningful government-to-government consultation the federal government had promised, particularly after the Tribal Nations spent years working collaboratively and in good faith with federal agencies. The Hopi Tribe remains ready to work government-to-government to protect this sacred landscape for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations.” – Mikah Kewanimptewa, Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribe and Bears Ears Commissioner
“The Bears Ears landscape has always been part of our seasonal migrations, a place where our people gathered medicines, hunted game, and connected to the power of the land through ceremony. Reducing Bears Ears is deeply disappointing. This was not just an opportunity to heal from past removals, but a chance to lead with Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and protect a living cultural landscape for future generations. The Ute Indian Tribe remains committed to conserving these ancestral homelands.” – Betsy Chapoose, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation Cultural Rights and Protection Director and Designated Proxy to the Bears Ears Commission
“These are not museums. They are living cultural landscapes that hold deep meaning and direct connection to Tribal communities today. To issue this executive action without government-to-government consultation is a slap in the face to all the Tribes who have fought for generations to protect these sacred places.”
— U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
“Today’s announcement is further proof that President Trump does not care about upholding our trust responsibilities or engaging in meaningful Tribal consultation. He’d rather sell off these areas of irreplaceable cultural and sacred heritage to the highest bidder. When Trump shrank Bears Ears in his first term, I led the fight against it – I plan to fight back just as hard this time around.”
— Senator Gallego (Gallego Slams Trump for Slashing Bears Ears National Monument)
