"Iina doonti'da [Life does not end, it goes on]." - Headman Manuelito
May 6, 2016 10:10 AM Subscribe
The Bears Ears are 9,000ft twin buttes in southeastern Utah bordering Canyonlands National Park featuring canyons, rivers, over 100,000 archaeological sites, and the possible site of a new Bears Ears National Monument. The proposal comes from a local coalition of sovereign Native nations. "They belong to everyone, and everyone should take responsibility for protecting them." (Jim Enote, Pueblo of Zuni) However there is push back from others in the local community and state legislature.
Land use battles have happened in the Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa areas for years as some members of the community fight back against conservationists. In the 1980s when environmentalists were fighting for wilderness designations in the area, Jim Shumway, the mayor of Blanding, UT, responded "We will give no more lands...We are tired of the wilderness terrorists" and threatened armed resistance. In recent years the fights for protection vs free use has escalated in part due to Bureau of Land Management raids on suspected pothunters.
In July 2015 the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition was formed to pursue greater protections in the area. The Coalition is formed by the the sovereign tribal nations of the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe. In January 2015 the Coalition pulled out of talks with the Public Lands Initiative. The PLI was launched to settle Utah land use conflicts by Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Jason Chaffetz in 2013. The PLI proposal (p23) would protect 945,389 acres by creating several small wilderness areas and two national conservation areas, but the Coalition called it "woefully inadequate" and that the draft bill "adds insult to injury." Cheffetz says that a National Monument status is not the best course as it limits involvement. The Coalition contended that the PLI was more focused on energy use and would write their own proposal.
The Coalition's proposal would create environmental protections while still allowing recreational land use (such as hiking, climbing, and ATV) alongside guaranteed Native access (for ceremonies, hunting, herb collection, and fuel collection) . A commission made up of one representative from each of the five tribes and one from each of the federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service) would oversee the monument manager.
The Department of the Interior Secretary announced that Bears Ears would be one of the locations she visits this summer on her tour, however there has been no official updates from the White House.
Defined by the Line: The Fight to Protect Bears Ears (Video by Patagonia with Friends of Cedar Mesa)
Land use battles have happened in the Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa areas for years as some members of the community fight back against conservationists. In the 1980s when environmentalists were fighting for wilderness designations in the area, Jim Shumway, the mayor of Blanding, UT, responded "We will give no more lands...We are tired of the wilderness terrorists" and threatened armed resistance. In recent years the fights for protection vs free use has escalated in part due to Bureau of Land Management raids on suspected pothunters.
In July 2015 the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition was formed to pursue greater protections in the area. The Coalition is formed by the the sovereign tribal nations of the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, and Ute Indian Tribe. In January 2015 the Coalition pulled out of talks with the Public Lands Initiative. The PLI was launched to settle Utah land use conflicts by Rep. Rob Bishop and Rep. Jason Chaffetz in 2013. The PLI proposal (p23) would protect 945,389 acres by creating several small wilderness areas and two national conservation areas, but the Coalition called it "woefully inadequate" and that the draft bill "adds insult to injury." Cheffetz says that a National Monument status is not the best course as it limits involvement. The Coalition contended that the PLI was more focused on energy use and would write their own proposal.
The Coalition's proposal would create environmental protections while still allowing recreational land use (such as hiking, climbing, and ATV) alongside guaranteed Native access (for ceremonies, hunting, herb collection, and fuel collection) . A commission made up of one representative from each of the five tribes and one from each of the federal agencies (U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service) would oversee the monument manager.
The Department of the Interior Secretary announced that Bears Ears would be one of the locations she visits this summer on her tour, however there has been no official updates from the White House.
Defined by the Line: The Fight to Protect Bears Ears (Video by Patagonia with Friends of Cedar Mesa)
Eh? What does "limits involvement" mean here? Limits the involvement of ranchers and miners who want to suckle on the public teat?
(Instead of us protecting bears why don't they protect themselves? The Bill of Rights guarantees that the right to arm bears shall not be infringed.)
posted by phliar at 11:24 AM on May 6, 2016
(Instead of us protecting bears why don't they protect themselves? The Bill of Rights guarantees that the right to arm bears shall not be infringed.)
posted by phliar at 11:24 AM on May 6, 2016
"Limits involvement" meant to be in regards to Native direction on the project. Here's the relevant snippit from the "woefully inadequate" link.
[Chaffetz] and Bishop counseled that a national conservation area, or NCA, would offer greater flexibility than a monument designated by the president under the Antiquities Act. An NCA is a better way, they said, to ensure traditional uses of this landscape, such as firewood and herb-gathering and spiritual ceremonies, sought by tribal members.
"It would be ill-advised to go with a monument. It sells our nation and our state short. You can't do nearly as much with a designation as you can with this bill," Chaffetz said. "We will have more Native American participation of what we can do in a congressional direction than the president can do unilaterally."
posted by Deflagro at 11:30 AM on May 6, 2016
[Chaffetz] and Bishop counseled that a national conservation area, or NCA, would offer greater flexibility than a monument designated by the president under the Antiquities Act. An NCA is a better way, they said, to ensure traditional uses of this landscape, such as firewood and herb-gathering and spiritual ceremonies, sought by tribal members.
"It would be ill-advised to go with a monument. It sells our nation and our state short. You can't do nearly as much with a designation as you can with this bill," Chaffetz said. "We will have more Native American participation of what we can do in a congressional direction than the president can do unilaterally."
posted by Deflagro at 11:30 AM on May 6, 2016
I don't think Rubio-endorser Chaffetz is too concerned about Native involvement. "Greater flexibility" means a wider range of activities, so he's gonna want professional bureaucrats to handle it, and so maybe Natives should work their way up to the top of the Dept. of Interior if they want to have a hand in how things are run.
posted by rhizome at 11:57 AM on May 6, 2016
posted by rhizome at 11:57 AM on May 6, 2016
Rob Bishop on Native American Art, "“There is nothing that Obama did today that had anything to do with an antiquity,” Bishop said. . . .When asked about the Native American artifacts at the Basin and Range National Monument site in Nevada, including cave paintings, he said, “Ah, bull crap. That’s not an antiquity.”
That population from the Wasatch front, loves the wilderness, and gets away from it all, down on the south portion of the state. Billions of dollars flow in from tourists that go there to enjoy the pristine and breathtaking beauty of the deserts, mesas, and canyons. Blanding, Utah is a hard place to make a living unless you ranch or mill Uranium. Well, and there is significant natural gas, and oil there as well. The most universal statement I hear regarding the Navajo, and it never fails to piss me off, is, "We gotta get those folks educated and off that reservation, and mainstreamed into our society!"
I had the occasion to be driving a suburban full of young women to Farmington New Mexico, to buy prom decorations, and dresses. We were driving back in the night, when there was a collective sigh, from all eight of them. I asked what just happened, and they said, "We're back on the res!" I asked if that was a good thing, and they all agreed that they were happy to be home, again.
I have spent time in the Bears Ears area, and hiked in Natural Bridges National Monument that is on the Bears Ears Pass road. It is definitely worth saving, and Utah is trying to walk all over the Native Americans, again. Mike Noel a Utah representative to the state is from Shawna Cox's town, and he is over-speaking the Native American coalition every step of the way, and investigating who funds them, as if they haven't a thought of their own, and are run by "greedy environmentalists" from the Wasatch Front, these are his words.
If the Federal Government does not protect the character of the area, the locals will not. They have proven themselves unworthy stewards of the area, again, and again.
posted by Oyéah at 12:07 PM on May 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
That population from the Wasatch front, loves the wilderness, and gets away from it all, down on the south portion of the state. Billions of dollars flow in from tourists that go there to enjoy the pristine and breathtaking beauty of the deserts, mesas, and canyons. Blanding, Utah is a hard place to make a living unless you ranch or mill Uranium. Well, and there is significant natural gas, and oil there as well. The most universal statement I hear regarding the Navajo, and it never fails to piss me off, is, "We gotta get those folks educated and off that reservation, and mainstreamed into our society!"
I had the occasion to be driving a suburban full of young women to Farmington New Mexico, to buy prom decorations, and dresses. We were driving back in the night, when there was a collective sigh, from all eight of them. I asked what just happened, and they said, "We're back on the res!" I asked if that was a good thing, and they all agreed that they were happy to be home, again.
I have spent time in the Bears Ears area, and hiked in Natural Bridges National Monument that is on the Bears Ears Pass road. It is definitely worth saving, and Utah is trying to walk all over the Native Americans, again. Mike Noel a Utah representative to the state is from Shawna Cox's town, and he is over-speaking the Native American coalition every step of the way, and investigating who funds them, as if they haven't a thought of their own, and are run by "greedy environmentalists" from the Wasatch Front, these are his words.
If the Federal Government does not protect the character of the area, the locals will not. They have proven themselves unworthy stewards of the area, again, and again.
posted by Oyéah at 12:07 PM on May 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Here is a moving epitaph, from the former Utah State Archeologist.
posted by Oyéah at 5:37 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by Oyéah at 5:37 PM on May 7, 2016
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posted by msbutah at 10:52 AM on May 6, 2016 [3 favorites]