Johny PrimaIn a sweeping executive action on Monday, President Donald Trump announced a dramatic reduction of two iconic national monuments in southern Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, effectively dismantling years of collaborative conservation efforts and eliminating the pioneering Bears Ears Commission, a body specifically designed to grant tribal nations a direct role in managing their ancestral lands. The proclamation slashed Bears Ears National Monument by a staggering 91% from its original 1.35 million acres, while Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument saw a 90% reduction, opening millions of acres of previously protected federal lands to potential resource extraction, including mining and oil and gas drilling. This move, which comes after a sustained campaign by the state of Utah, immediately ignited a firestorm of protest from Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, and conservationists, setting the stage for an intense legal and political battle over the future of American public lands and Indigenous sovereignty.
The Bears Ears Commission, established in 2016 alongside the monument, represented a landmark achievement in Indigenous land stewardship. Comprising representatives from the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Zuni Tribe, the commission was envisioned as a direct partnership between sovereign tribal nations and federal agencies, working collaboratively to protect the area’s immense archaeological, cultural, and ecological significance. For these five tribes, Bears Ears, or "Hoon’Naqvut" in Ute and "Skaid-Duhgai" in Navajo, is not merely a collection of geological features but a living cultural landscape, replete with sacred sites, ancient cliff dwellings, burial grounds, and a continuous history of human presence spanning millennia. The commission’s dissolution, therefore, strikes at the heart of tribal self-determination and the recognition of Indigenous knowledge in land management.
Davina Smith-Idjesa, co-chair for the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and its Navajo Nation representative, voiced the profound grief and anger felt by tribal communities. "I am angry. I am hurt, and I am tired of standing here having to explain again why Bears Ears matters to me," she stated in a press call Tuesday morning, reflecting the sentiment of countless Indigenous people for whom these lands are an intrinsic part of their identity and heritage. The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, a nonprofit formed by the five tribes, has been a tireless advocate for the monument, working to ensure that traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous cultural practices guide its preservation.
These latest cuts, encompassing a combined 3 million acres, are even more extensive than those previously attempted by President Trump during his first administration, which were later reversed under President Joe Biden. The new proclamation, widely anticipated since Trump’s return to office last year, underscores the vulnerability of protected areas and tribal co-management agreements to shifts in political power. While the Department of the Interior under the previous Trump administration had reportedly promised consultation with the Bears Ears Commission before considering boundary changes, the coalition confirmed that no such consultation ever occurred, further exacerbating tribal leaders’ feelings of betrayal and disregard for established protocols.
Legal scholars and advocates swiftly condemned the administration’s actions. Monte Mills, director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington, highlighted how the order’s language deliberately undermined the profound significance of Bears Ears. By dismissing the monument’s objects as "not of particular historic or scientific interest" and the landscape as merely "generic features" "not worthy of protection," the proclamation attempts to erase the rich history, cultural value, and scientific importance that tribes and experts have long fought to preserve. "This isn’t just about, ‘Oh, we’re going to undo this monument’," Mills explained, "but about ‘trying to rewrite and trying to erase the real history and meaning and value of this place’." He further contextualized the decision as part of "a broader project of white nationalism on the part of this administration," linking it to other efforts to minimize Indigenous histories in national narratives, such as the removal of signs featuring Native American heritage from national parks.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, established by President Bill Clinton in 1996, also holds immense scientific and ecological value, boasting a treasure trove of paleontological discoveries and unique geological formations. The Inter-Tribal Coalition for Grand Staircase-Escalante was formed last year to defend that monument and ensure tribal perspectives were incorporated into its management. Both monuments had finalized their comprehensive resource management plans in 2025, following years of extensive public and tribal consultation aimed at integrating Indigenous knowledge into conservation strategies. Bears Ears, in particular, had emerged as an internationally recognized model for Indigenous-led land stewardship, inspiring similar initiatives globally.
The recurring political tug-of-war over these monuments vividly illustrates the precarious nature of tribal co-management and broader conservation efforts when subjected to shifting political tides and powerful economic interests. Beyond these specific monuments, the administration’s actions signal a broader overhaul of public lands management. Mills warned that the week’s events represented "the fundamental destruction of public-lands management as we know it," citing simultaneous changes to grazing rules, oil and gas leasing regulations, and the Endangered Species Act. He described the Bears Ears rollback as the federal government "fully stepping back from its obligations" at the "behest of Utah politicians."
Indeed, the state of Utah has long harbored a contentious relationship with federal land designations within its borders, advocating for increased state control and resource development. In blistering public comments submitted in 2024 on a draft of the Bears Ears resource management plan, the state accused federal agencies under the Biden administration of a "focus on eliminating the State’s rights from this land" and showing "wholesale deference" to the Bears Ears Commission, claiming an attempt to "create a new ‘Indian Country’" through the national monument. Utah also controversially requested agencies be "more inclusive of living, non-Indigenous people," asserting that the plan granted "less respect, dignity and protections to their heritage when compared to the heritage of the area’s Indigenous people." The state had previously sued over President Biden’s restoration of the monuments in 2022, underscoring its consistent opposition. Trump echoed Utah’s long-standing complaints at Monday’s proclamation signing, falsely claiming restrictions prevented hunting, fishing, or even walking in the monuments, all of which were permitted under their existing management plans.
The President’s authority to modify or revoke national monuments designated under the 1906 Antiquities Act remains a subject of intense legal debate. While presidents have historically used the act to create or expand monuments, the power to shrink them has been challenged repeatedly in court. The Native American Rights Fund (NARF), representing three of the Bears Ears commission tribes, swiftly announced its intent to pursue every available legal course of action, arguing that the president lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally reduce national monuments. Matthew Campbell, NARF Deputy Director, declared, "We will pursue every available legal course of action to stop these illegal attacks on Native homelands, culture, and people." This legal battle is expected to reach the Supreme Court, potentially setting a crucial precedent for presidential powers over public lands.
Hillary Hoffmann, professor of law at the University of Wyoming and former co-director of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, emphasized that the decade-long cycle of boundary changes "should be a signal to the judiciary that resolution is needed on these legal questions." Many advocates believe that only Congress can provide a permanent solution by legislatively protecting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante and enshrining tribal co-management into law, thereby insulating these vital landscapes from future political whims. Despite the setback, Hoffmann expressed optimism, stating, "I don’t think that this strikes any kind of death knell for collaborative management or co-stewardship," highlighting the enduring commitment of tribal nations to their ancestral territories.
The creation of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition predates the monument itself, born from the collective will of the five tribes to protect their shared heritage. That unwavering commitment, tribal leaders affirmed this week, will continue unabated. "Our connection to Bears Ears did not begin with a presidential proclamation, and it will not end with one," Smith-Idjesa powerfully declared, encapsulating the deep spiritual and historical bond that transcends political decrees. "You can abolish a commission, you can redraw a boundary, but you cannot erase our prayers from this land. You cannot erase the footprints of our ancestors from this land. You cannot erase us. We are still here." This resilience underscores a global movement by Indigenous peoples to reclaim stewardship over their traditional territories, asserting that their cultural identity and ancestral responsibilities are inextricably linked to the land, regardless of governmental actions. The fight for Bears Ears is thus not just a regional dispute but a crucial front in the ongoing global struggle for Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and the preservation of irreplaceable cultural heritage.
