On November 29, 2014, the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG), a group representing 20 Pueblo Governors from New Mexico and Texas, met in Albuquerque, New Mexico and unanimously voted to support a resolution for the “permanent, long-term protection of cultural resources and sacred sites on public lands in the Greater Cedar Mesa (Utah) region through designation such as a National Conservation Area or a National Monument.”
The endorsement of this resolution followed an October 2014 field trip to the area for APCG leaders and hosted by Bears Ears coalition members. Participants visited Ancestral Puebloan sites near the San Juan River. The purpose of the field visit was to show these important resources to APCG leaders, seek their thoughts about them, and promote tribal collaboration around the need to protect important archaeological and cultural sites for the future.
Securing the support of APGC is particularly notable because many of the numerous cultural sites in the Bears Ears area are significant to the Pueblos as the homes of their ancestors. This resolution helps to strengthen the case for protection by demonstrating that the depth of support for this nationally significant place extends across many cultures and across state boundaries.
