On March 25, representatives of six southwest tribes announced the formation of the Large Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition. They follow the model of Inter-tribal coalition of bear earsThe moral force behind the 2016 establishment of the National Monument of the Bears Ears of Utah.
This elevation of indigenous voices in land management indicates a cultural change in America – and it is a transformation that deserves to be celebrated at this dark time.
These natives – including the Hopi tribe, the Navajo nation, the Kaibab band of the Paiute Indians, the Indian tribe of Paiute de l'Utah, the UTE tribe and the Zuni tribe – all have ancestral ties with this vast Monument in southern Utah Designated by President Clinton in 1996. Aboriginal groups have a unique and authority position to defend the conservation of these indigenous lands and to work with federal agencies as co-stones, preserving the resources of a sensitive monument.
The big Staircase Coalition is launching just in time to defend this particular landscape against any attempted Trump administration to modify the limits of the monument or to reduce its protections. On February 3, Trump's interior secretary Doug Burgum issued orders “US energy liftAnd forcing a “review” of public land where the development of energy is prohibited, such as the ears of Bears and the Grand Staircase.
“The tribes carry an invaluable treasure of traditional knowledge on these lands, meticulously transmitted through the generations,” said Anthony Sanchez Jr., Director General of the Zuni tribe, in a press release announcing the formation of the coalition. “Indigenous perspectives illuminate the complex interdependence of ecosystems…. The rich tapestry of oral stories, cultural stories and ceremonial traditions provides an essential context, often discovering ideas that written recordings neglect. ”
When I worked on book projects in native America in the 80s and 1990s, I listened to dozens of such stories. I interviewed and photographed several hundred cars in the 50 reserves in the Southwest and met an amazing generosity and sustainable traditions everywhere. I did my best to honor these gifts, to channel the warmth and strength of “people” (like so many cultural groups are said in their own language) in my work as a messenger, bringing native stories to general readers.
As a white man, I couldn't make these books today, and this change is both appropriate and exciting. The natives are now talking about themselves and insist on the right to do so. Young members of the tribal communities are fierce as to the claim of their voices – in writing, in art, in cinema, in public policy. The FX streaming series “Reservation Dogs”, including screenwriters and directors, and most of its actors and crews, were natives, inaugurated for authenticity on television. The tribal members were interior secretary (Deb Haaland, from Laguna Pueblo of the New Mexico) and director of the National Park Service (Chuck Sams, Cayuse and Walla Walla). Biden administration named Over 80 natives to federal positions.
President Biden has also created national monuments Arizona,, Nevada And California which protect the sacred indigenous land, responding to longtime tribal initiatives. He published a formal apology For forced assimilation practices of the federal government and established the national monument of Pennsylvania of Carlisle Indianking Interneing School in Pennsylvania, recognizing the painful heritage of the era of the Indian boarding school and the resilience of the indigenous communities and tribal nations.
During these years of an enlightenment of my work in the field, Peterson ZahThen president of the Navajo nation, said to me: “Indian life is a roller coaster. When we are at the top of the roller coaster, we have to do things to allow the survival of the Indian people. This is the only time you can do things when people are ready to listen to. ” Lakota historian, Vine Deloria Jr., noted that the United States was interested in the Aboriginal people in cycles. Every 20 years approximately, there is a brief wave of attention, then the indigenous problems disappear again from the national agenda.
In 1990, what made the headlines was the film “Dances With Wolves”. During the Oscars of 1991, Doris Leader Charge translated acceptance speeches in the Lakota language. In the following weeks, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), long-standing president of the Senateurial Indian Affairs Committee, found eminent senators hitting daily at his door, asking for a seat from his generally neglected committee. For the first time, he had an designated committee room and a full list of members. Inouye joked with Zah that the new converts were the senators of “dances with wolves”.
With the increase in co-entrees and co-management of their ancestral lands, today's natives break the cycle of attention out of sight. “Amerindians” and “Aboriginal people” can be on The list of rubbed words Government documents and websites, but the disrespect of Trump for tribes' sovereignty and disinterest in the Indian country will be a blip that passes through the “Rediscovery of America», As a native historian, Ned Blackhawk calls our new respect for the history of Aboriginal people.
The indigenous peoples who continue to interact with the landscape of the large-stroke of the stiffness can traditionally and ceremoniously trace their deepest roots in the region at least 13,000 years. “We are the living descendants of the ancestors who left their imprints and their writings through the national monument of Grand Staircase-Escalante,” explains Autumn Gillard, director of cultural resources of the Indian tribe of Paiute de l'Utah.
Aboriginal peoples have persisted, miraculously, despite the efforts of the United States to erase them. Regardless of the volatility of the evolution of political winds, we must continue to honor indigenous voices, listen to traditional ecological knowledge and insist on respect for our native neighbors. Empowerment and engagement with the inter-tribal coalition of the great Staircase-Escalante Monument Monument is a way of respecting this responsibility.
Stephen Trimble sat on the board of directors of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. His books include “The People: Indians of the American Southwest” And “Speak with clay: the art of Pueblo pottery in the 21st century. »»
