The Grand Canyon is Arizona’s most prominent natural formation, attracting millions of visitors each year for scenic views important to several tribal nations in the state. Yet the public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon have been targets for uranium mining for decades.

Kambria Shuyuja, a Havasupai tribe who grew up and lives at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, said he’s witnessed generations of his tribe fight the threat of the mines.

“I grew up watching these people fight for a long time, and my mother grew up watching them fight for a long time,” said Shiyuja, who hopes with her generation that this problem will eventually end and they can find peace.

“It’s our sacred place,” she said. “That’s where we live.”

Siyuja was one of many indigenous peoples who expressed their support for the preservation of the Grand Canyon’s natural resources through the creation of a national monument.

The proposed Baji Nwabujo Ita Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument would protect about one million acres of tribal ancestral homeland outside the Grand Canyon National Park.

Amelia Flores, president of the Colorado River Indian Tribe, said mining minerals, especially uranium, from sites near the Grand Canyon would only benefit a small number of people in the short term.

“This carries the risk of contaminating the water, rocks, gravel, sand and soil of the Colorado River Basin,” Flores said, adding that “the benefits for the minority do not outweigh the risks.”

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service held a public meeting in Flagstaff on July 18 to hear public comment on the memorial.

The meeting allowed local residents to comment on the management of public lands in the area, including proposals to designate existing public lands as national monuments.

Havasupai Tribe Vice President Edmund Tirusi said each tribe has its own traditional values ​​about the Grand Canyon.

“As guardians of the Grand Canyon, we have a duty not only to our ancestors, but also to our children and future generations,” Tiluci said.

For decades, the Havasupai have opposed the operation of the Pinyon Plain Mine, a uranium mine located about 16 miles south of the Grand Canyon.

The underground uranium mine is located on U.S. Forest Service land within the Kaibab National Forest in northern Arizona. The Havasupai people, who live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, claim the mine poses a danger to drinking water, natural wonders and sacred cultural heritage.

“The threat of contaminating our water is real and ongoing,” Tiluci said.

In his public comment, Tirusi reiterated his tribe’s opposition to mining and emphasized that the Grand Canyon is the tribe’s home. Sacred sites, historic buildings, cultural teachings, medicine, land and water are preserved.

“Designating these areas as national monuments protects them from pollution, destruction, exploitation and other harmful effects of mining,” Tiluci said.

More than 100 people flocked to the Doubletree Flagstaff banquet hall to hear the opinions of tribal leaders, conservationists, and state and civil servants on whether the Baji Nwabjo Ita Kukuveni Grand Canyon National Monument should be designated.

“We want to make sure your voice is heard,” said Homer Wilkes, Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment, US Department of Agriculture. “I know this land is very important to you.”

Utah Paiute Indian Tribe Chairman Corinna Bowe expressed her support for the monument at a public rally and commented to federal officials that lands must be preserved and Indigenous sacred areas and sites must be protected.

“We want to believe that you will listen to Indigenous peoples and work with us to protect and protect the lands we are supposed to protect,” said Bowe.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the planned monument site in May and met with tribal leaders, locally elected officials and local residents about their vision for preserving the natural and cultural resources of the Grand Canyon watershed.

The public meeting, held in Flagstaff, was in response to the Department’s request for the protection of the landscape as a Burj Nwabjo Ita Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument, managed by the BLM and the US Forest Service.

The Grand Canyon is the ancestral home of several Southwestern tribal nations, and the tribes still rely on the canyon for natural and cultural resources that are important and sacred to their communities.

Designation as a national monument honors the tribe’s deep cultural ties to the Grand Canyon, perpetuates a temporary 20-year mining ban, and protects the area by enhancing the area’s cultural, natural, recreational, and scientific resources.

The proposed name for the national monument is derived from a mixture of the traditional Havasupai and Hopi languages.

Baaj Nwaavjo means ‘where the tribe roams’ to the Havasupai and I’tah Kukveni means ‘our footsteps’ to the Hopi.

According to the National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park shares boundaries with three federally recognized tribes, and 11 federally recognized tribes are traditionally associated with the area.

National monuments can be created by law and presidential designation.

In April, state officials and tribal leaders from the Grand Canyon Tribal Federation called on President Joe Biden to use his powers under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the monument.

On July 12, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kirsten Cinema, with the support of Rep. Ruben Gallego, introduced the Bahji Nwabjo Ita Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument Act to the Senate, and Rep. Raul Grijalva introduced it to the House.

The bill would establish approximately 1,069,970 acres of federal land currently managed by the Arizona Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service as a new Grand Canyon National Monument.

The law establishes standards for monuments, including the establishment of Tribal Commissions, one representative from each of the 11 federally recognized members of the Grand Canyon-affiliated tribes, to help oversee development.

A public rally in Flagstaff on July 18 saw overwhelming support for the monument’s construction from local residents, tribal leaders, conservationists, local businesses and local officials.

Navajo President Boo Nigren, who was unable to attend the public rally, issued a statement that included tribal concerns about uranium mining and how indigenous peoples have been at the forefront of efforts to protect the Grand Canyon from the beginning.

“The Grand Canyon is so important that it cannot be left unprotected, but the hundreds of prospective mining sites and several active uranium mines at the site threaten to pollute the landscape and destroy sacred lands,” Niglen said. “We know first-hand the damage caused by uranium mines polluting water and poisoning animals and children.”

Nygren highlighted how uranium mining during the Cold War destroyed the Navajo people, and many became ill from the tailings and runoff that flowed into Navajo communities.

“Most of these mines are still open, unrepaired, and continue to threaten people,” said Nygren, who told how Red Valley’s Cove Day School was forced to close several years ago after school officials found radioactive material.

Nygren said protecting the Grand Canyon is the primary motivation for the Navajo to join the efforts of fellow tribesmen in Arizona to have it designated as the Burj Nwabjo Ita Kukuveni Grand Canyon National Monument.

“The tribes will continue to be involved regardless of the federal government’s decision,” Niglen added. “This land has been our home for countless generations and will continue to be for generations to come.”

During public rallies, the memorial met with opposition from state and county officials and ranchers who depended on the Arizona Strip, the vast area north of the Grand Canyon that borders Nevada and Utah.

“This proposal circumvents the powers of Congress and threatens Americans’ access to and use of federal land,” Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gossar said in a statement read at a public rally. “Furthermore, this proposal was never coordinated with Mojave County officials whose designation would permanently alter the community.”

Gosar said 50 percent of Arizona is federal land and the state can’t afford to lose any more of it.

“Designating an additional 1.1 million acres as a national monument would further reduce private ownership and adversely affect hardworking rural Americans in Mojave County,” Gossar said.