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Hildale, Colorado — The Hildale City Council joined several municipalities in southern Utah and northern Arizona on June 7 to pass resolutions opposing the proposed new Burj Nwabjo Ita Kukubeni Grand Canyon National Monument. approved.
At about two-thirds of the way into the meeting, city council members agreed that the latest proposal was a “federal land grab” and opposed the city’s sister city of Colorado, Arizona, and the national monument. It unanimously approved a five-page resolution to do so.
“So many communities and counties have signed up to this solution,” Hildale City Manager Eric Dacy said.
Opponents to the memorial include Kanab County, Washington, Kane County, Fredonia Township, and Mojave County, Arizona.
A proposal for the new monument, filed on April 12 by Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema and U.S. House of Representatives Raoul Grijalva, designates approximately 1.1 million acres of land in northern Arizona. The legislators submitted the proposal along with representatives of Native American tribes in Arizona and Utah.
The proposal is supported by the Grand Canyon Tribal Confederation, which includes the following tribes: Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kaibab Paiute, Las Vegas Paiute, Moapa Paiute, and Utah Paiute Indians. Tribes, Navajo Nation, Southern San Juan Paiute, Yavapai Apache, Zuni Pueblo, Colorado River Indians.
The monument’s name is a combination of the Havasupai and Hopi languages. ‘Baaj Nwaavjo’ means ‘where the tribes roam’ and ‘I’tah Kukveni’ means ‘in our footsteps’.
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