President Joe Biden designated a new national monument near the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, protecting almost one million acres from uranium mining in a massive win for his environmental agenda and Indigenous rights.
The new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument protects lands that are sacred to Native Americans, after tribes were forced off the land in 1919 when the Grand Canyon National Park was established. The land contains some of the most biodiverse habitats in the region and is home to bighorn sheep, bison, and bald eagles. Many of the streams in the area contribute to the Colorado River, a critical water source for the Southwest that is at an all-time low due to climate change.
“Today I’m proud to use my authority under the Antiquities Act to protect almost one million acres of land around Grand Canyon National Park as a new national monument—to help right the wrongs of the past and conserve this land … for all future generations,” Biden said during the designation ceremony at Red Butte Airfield in Arizona.
Tribal nations and conservationists had been calling for years to designate the land as a national monument. This is the fifth national monument Biden has designated, after Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, and Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, both of which he restored as national monuments after Donald Trump stripped their protective status.
Although existing uranium mining claims on the Arizona land will be allowed to continue, the new designation protects the land from any future mining claims. Native tribes will be able to use the land for religious ceremonies, as well as for hunting and gathering. The designation is also an important sign, not just for Indigenous people, but for everyone.
Native American history “is American history,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet secretary, said Monday. “Feeling seen means being appreciated for who we are: the original stewards of our shared lands and waters.”
Haaland on Tuesday highlighted the importance of protecting such sacred lands, while Biden stressed the significance of acknowledging all parts of history.
“At a time when some seek to ban books and bury history, we’re making it clear that we can’t just choose to learn only what we want to know. We should learn everything that’s good, bad, and the truth about who we are as a nation,” he said.
Biden also said he would invest $44 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to “strengthen climate resilience across our national park system.” Climate change is especially pertinent to Arizona, which has borne some of the worst parts of a heat wave that has boiled the Southwest. The heat finally broke (relatively speaking) last week in Phoenix, when the city’s high temperature was below 110 degrees for the first time in a month.