Safeguarding Sacred Places Through Tribal Stewardship

In 2015, leaders from the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation established the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC) to protect the Bears Ears cultural landscape.

Following years of advocacy by Tribal leaders and the BEITC, Bears Ears National Monument became the first national monument designated at the request of a coalition of Tribal Nations in 2016.

Educational graphic about Tribal stewardship of Bears Ears

Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape.

Bears Ears is more than a monument; it's a living cultural landscape.

The Bears Ears region is home to traditional medicines and foods, and more than 100,000 cultural sites, making it central to the identity, resilience, and responsibilities of the five BEITC Tribes and many others.

For centuries Indigenous peoples have stewarded the Bears Ears region--and continue to do so today.

Today, the Tribes continue stewarding Bears Ears through collaborative management and their ongoing relationship to the land.

The Bears Ears Commission, an inter-Tribal collaborative management body, provides guidance and recommendations for the stewardship of the Monument in partnership with federal agencies.

 In 2025, the Bears Ears Commission and federal agencies finalized a first-of-its-kind management plan for the Monument. This plan affirms Indigenous expertise by incorporating Traditional Indigenous Knowledge alongside Western science into the long-term stewardship of the landscape.

Today, the Tribes continue this work to help ensure Bears Ears is cared for with respect, responsibility, and future generations in mind.