Arizona congressman introduces bill to create Great Bend of the Gila National Monument
Aug 6, 2024, 4:15 AM
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chariman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) presides over a hearing examining Park Police response to Lafayette Square protests on June 29, 2020 in Washington, D.C. Amid protests of the death of George Floyd, authorities in D.C. cleared the largely peaceful crowd gathered in Lafayette Square on June 1 prior to President Donald Trump's walk across the park for a photo op at St. John's Church. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona introduced a new bill on Friday that would create a new national monument near Gila Bend.
If passed, the Arizona Democrat’s bill promises to protect the nearly 400,000-acres that is the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument and forge a tribal commission to engage tribal co-stewardship of the land.
The bill aims to protect the land from miners depleting the area’s natural resources while also allowing the Indigenous communities to help manage the Great Bend of the Gila region.
“The Great Bend of the Gila is a sacred place rich with history and deeply significant to all the communities connected to it,” Grijalva said in a statement. “I am proud to stand alongside the tribes and honor their years of dedication to preserving the cultural, historic and natural heritage of this magnificent landscape by introducing this legislation.
The monument also intends to honor the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Commission and the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Commission through the utilization of tribal perspectives pertaining to overseeing the landscape.
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There are 13 tribes that are federally recognized that have ties to the region, including Ak-Chin Indian Community, Cocopah Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Fort Yuma-Quechan Indian Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Tohono O’odham Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe.
“The Tohono O’odham Nation and other tribes have deep cultural and religious connections to the Great Bend of the Gila stretching back to time immemorial,” Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose, said in a statement. “We appreciate Congressman Grijalva’s leadership in working to protect this environmental and cultural treasure.”
Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) have all added their name as a supporter of the bill.
The bill has also gained support from many organizations, including Archaeology Southwest, Arizona Faith Network, Center for Biological Diversity, Chispa Arizona, Conservation Lands Foundation, GreenLatinos, HECHO, League of Conservation Voters, National Parks Conservation Association, Sierra Club, The Conservation Alliance, and The Wilderness Society.
“Bringing tribal voices to the forefront of land management is not just a moral imperative — it is key to ensuring that our natural legacy can be protected for generations to come. I look forward to continuing to work with the coalition to advance this effort, including by exploring the possibility of an Antiquities Act designation by President Biden,” Grijalva said.
