Malcolm Lehi is the White Mesa Council Representative and serves as the Ute Mountain Ute representative for the Bears Ears Commission. He was part of the group who worked to establish the original Bears Ears National Monument in 2016.

Dear Editor,

Protecting the Bears Ears National Monument (BENM) is not just an environmental issue; for the Ute people this landscape is a vital aspect of our cultural, historical, and spiritual identity. Bears Ears is a sacred place where the past is always present, and we can still hear the voices of our ancestors in every canyon and on every mesa top.

The prominence of Bears Ears is not limited to the extraordinary landscape. The BENM is the first national monument to be established at the request of five Tribal Nations, the first to have a collaborative management mandate codified into federal law, and the first time a coalition of Tribes collaborated with two federal agencies on a draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) for any public lands or waters.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Zuni Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe make up the Bears Ears Commission (BEC) and we have been working in collaboration with our federal partners to incorporate our Traditional Indigenous Knowledge to ensure sustainable resource management for the Monument.

The March 8, 2024 draft RMP for Bears Ears includes aspects of our knowledge and expertise, and Alternative E is most consistent with Tribal values and recommendations.

Join members of the BEC, along with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, at the upcoming in-person meeting in Blanding to learn more about our proposal for the management of the BENM. We invite you to learn about and support the Commission’s preferred alternative, Alternative E.

Our ancestral lands stretch far beyond the current boundaries of the BENM, and, prior to disruption by non-Native settlement, the Utes followed a seasonal cycle throughout this entire region. All aspects of Ute life took place on these lands including hunting, farming, raising livestock, gathering wild plants for food and medicine, firewood gathering, and burial of the dead.

Bears Ears is a physical and spiritual map of Ute history and cosmology, where landmarks embody stories, songs, and ceremonies, defining our identity and worldview. This landscape has sustained us physically and spiritually for centuries.

Collaborative management of the BENM recognizes Ute sovereignty and our right to protect our cultural heritage. Protecting this place ensures that future generations can walk in the footsteps of our ancestors, learn from the land and its stories, and continue traditions that have been passed down through generations.

In preserving Bears Ears, we protect not just a monument, but a living cultural landscape, a museum of human history, and a sacred place that embodies the spiritual heritage of the Ute people. We must listen to the voices of those who have been the stewards of this land for centuries and we invite you to support our efforts to protect it.

The second in-person public comment meeting will be held in Blanding on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MDT. The meeting will be at Utah State University Blanding,
576 West 200 South, Blanding, UT 84511.

This letter was published in the San Juan Record on April 17, 2024 – Volume 109, Number 29