Senator, tribal leaders, and Representative Grijalva announced plan to designate 1.1 million acres of land in Northern Arizona surrounding the Grand Canyon as a new National Monument
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema, tribal leaders, and U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07) today unveiled a proposal to designate approximately 1.1 million acres of land for a new Grand Canyon National Monument in Northern Arizona.
The Senator was joined by members of the Havasupai, Hualapai, Hopi, Kaibab Paiute, San Juan Southern Paiute, and Colorado River Indian Tribes to urge the Administration to create a new National Monument using authorities to preserve land with cultural and natural resource significance under the Antiquities Act.
“The Grand Canyon is one of Arizona’s many natural treasures and an important part of our history and heritage. That is why we worked side by side with Tribes and other partners to find agreement on the location and size of the monument to protect the Grand Canyon,” said Sinema.
The monument would be called the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument — Baaj Nwaavjo meaning “where tribes roam” for the Havasupai Tribe and I’tah Kukveni meaning “our footprints” for the Hopi Tribe.
Sinema and Representative Grijalva announced they will introduce legislation outlining the location and size of the proposed monument, how it will be managed, and more. The legislation will serve as a framework to work with the Administration and the coalition of tribes to create the monument under the Antiquities Act.
The Antiquities Act authorizes the President to proclaim national monuments on federal lands that contain historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest.
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