“This designation is a top priority for the Hopi Nation,” said Timothy Nuvanyaoma, tribal chief for Northern Arizona. “We must protect the beauty and magnificence of this place that many tribes call home.”

Arizona tribes are trying to use Biden’s powers under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to persuade him to designate more than a million acres (about 1,560 square miles) of land.

The announcement at the virtual press conference came just days before Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland was scheduled to visit Nevada. The state has a newly designated monument, Abiqwaame, in the desert mountains northwest of Laughlin, the southernmost and largest community in the state, which some Native Americans consider sacred. increase. Harland will join a delegation from the Nevada Legislature and tribal leaders in Las Vegas on Friday to celebrate the move.

Biden last month designated the Castner Mountains at Fort Bliss, Texas, as a national monument and moved to create a national marine sanctuary in the central Pacific around the outlying islands.

Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, an influential member of the House Natural Resources Committee and a Democrat representing southern Arizona, has designated land adjacent to the Grand Canyon as a national monument called Burj Nuwavujo Ita Kukuveni. He said efforts to do so are part of a sustainable plan. Efforts to protect Indigenous sacred sites and cultural heritage.

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

After soaring uranium prices in 2008 and more than 10,000 applications for mining rights on public lands, Grijalva introduced legislation in 2008 to withdraw about 1,560 square miles around the park from mineral development.

The move prompted the Department of the Interior to begin an environmental analysis of uranium mining in the area and in 2012 to suspend new claims for miles of state land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park.

Mr Grijalva said the 20-year ban would remain in effect, but it would take the state to provide permanent protection against mining, which could damage not only the environment but also the areas imported by the tribes. I said it should be designated as a memorial.

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, locally elected official, also supported the campaign to make the Grand Canyon a national monument.

Tribes and conservationists were surprised in 2020. $1.5 billion proposal The administration of then-President Donald Trump, in an attempt to support the nation’s nuclear fuel industry, has taken steps to boost operations at dormant uranium mines in the West, including outside Grand Canyon National Park. encouraged one company.