American Indians, environmentalists call to preserve sacred land in Utah

Jul 14, 2016

American Indians, environmentalists call to preserve sacred land in Utah

Quinn Kelley 0 Comment Nation American Indian, Barack Obama, Bears Ears, national monument, red rock, Utah

There are an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. The latest indication that the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal has drawn both proponents and opponents. The issue has become the latest battleground in the debate over public lands in the West.

: This June 22, 2016, photo, Jonah Yellowman, a Navajo spiritual adviser holds a arrowhead found laying on the ground in Kane Gulch, near Blanding, Utah. Tribal members visit the “Bears Ears” land named for a set of rock formations to perform ceremonies, collect herbs for medicinal purposes and do healing rituals. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: Protesters hold their signs after U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell arrives for meeting with San Juan County Commissioners Thursday, July 14, 2016, in Monticello, Utah. Jewell is visiting the area this week to meet with proponents and opponents the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal. The issue has become the latest battleground in the debate over public lands in the West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, the “Bears Ears” buttes are shown near Blanding, Utah. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is visiting the area this week for a fact-finding mission to meet with proponents and opponents marking the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal that has become the latest battleground in the Western public lands debate. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 21, 2016, photo, Malcolm Lehi, a Ute Mountain Tribal Commissioner walks pass the Mule Canyon ruin, near Blanding, Utah. “We don’t want to forget about our ancestors,” said Lehi. “Through them we speak. That’s the whole concept of protecting and healing this land. They are still here among us as the wind blows.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 23, 2016, photo, rancher Kenny Black looks on at his ranch at “Bears Ears,” near Blanding, Utah. Black has cattle on lands within the proposed monument that he leases from federal and state agencies and worries about what would happen if it becomes a monument. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell looks from Dead Horse Point during a tour Thursday, July 14, 2016, near Moab, Utah. Jewell is visiting the area this week to meet with proponents and opponents the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal. The issue has become the latest battleground in the debate over public lands in the West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 22, 2016, photo, Jonah Yellowman, a Navajo spiritual adviser holds broken pottery found laying on the ground in Kane Gulch, near Blanding, in Utah. Tribal members visit the “Bears Ears” land named for a set of rock formations to perform ceremonies, collect herbs for medicinal purposes and do healing rituals. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 23, 2016, photo, rancher Kenny Black looks on at his ranch, near Blanding, Utah. “These areas are sacred to me because I’ve grown up here,” said Black, who comes from Mormon pioneers who came to the area in the late 19th Century. “They’re part of my history and my culture as well.” Black has cattle on lands within the proposed monument that he leases from federal and state agencies and worries about what would happen if it becomes a monument. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre swath of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 23, 2016, photo, a sign is shown near Blanding, Utah. Opponents of the monument designation agree that the area is a natural treasure worth preserving, but fear a federal designation would add more layers of restrictions and make it difficult for local residents and others to camp, bike, hike and gather wood on the land, while still not stopping people who want to do damage there. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, a laminated sheet of paper held in place by a loose rock rests inside a series of ancient cliff dwellings that are nestled underneath a spectacular red rock overhang, near Blanding, Utah. “Don’t erase the traces of America’s past,” the signs read. “Please do not enter interior rooms.” The weathered signs and a similar warning at the trailhead are the only protections in place for these Anasazi ruins easily accessible along a canyon hiking path. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 23, 2016, photo, rancher Kenny Black points to a rock overhang housing an ancient cliff dwelling, near Blanding, Utah. “These areas are sacred to me because I’ve grown up here,” said Black, who comes from Mormon pioneers who came to the area in the late 19th Century. “They’re part of my history and my culture as well.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, a entering “UTE Land” sign is shown, near Blanding, Utah. A coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate the expansive “Bears Ears” area in southeastern Utah as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 22, 2016, photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule Canyon , near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell looks from Dead Horse Point during a tour Thursday, July 14, 2016, near Moab, Utah. Jewell is visiting the area this week to meet with proponents and opponents the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal. The issue has become the latest battleground in the debate over public lands in the West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell looks in to a canyon at Gemini Bridges during a tour Thursday, July 14, 2016, near Moab, Utah. Jewell is visiting the area this week to meet with proponents and opponents the latest indication the Obama administration is giving serious consideration to the “Bears Ears” monument proposal. The issue has become the latest battleground in the debate over public lands in the West. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 22, 2016, photo, the “House on Fire” ruins are shown in Mule Canyon, near Blanding, Utah. These Anasazi ruins are found along a canyon hiking path in a dry river bed. They are one of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites within a 1.9-million acre area of Utah’s red rock country that a coalition of American Indian tribes and environmentalists want President Barack Obama to designate as a national monument to ensure protections of lands considered sacred. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: In this June 22, 2016, photo, Jonah Yellowman, a Navajo spiritual adviser points skyward in Kane Gulch, near Blanding, Utah. Tribal members visit the “Bears Ears” land named for a set of rock formations to perform ceremonies, collect herbs for medicinal purposes and do healing rituals. “Every monument has its purpose. This one has medicines here. This one has prayers, offerings, something that is very spiritual to us,” Yellowman said. “We’d like to keep it that way.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

: This June 21, 2016, photo, Malcolm Lehi, a Ute Mountain Tribal Commissioner points to a rock formation near Blanding, Utah. “We don’t want to forget about our ancestors,” said Lehi. “Through them we speak. That’s the whole concept of protecting and healing this land. They are still here among us as the wind blows.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

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