A Tribal Commission to collaboratively manage the Bears Ears National Monument
Many Indigenous peoples hold deep traditional, cultural, and community connections to the lands and waters that make up the Bears Ears National Monument. We see the health of ourselves, our communities, and the natural world as interconnected.
When Bears Ears was designated as a National Monument in 2016, President Obama affirmed the importance of Tribal participation in the care and management of the Monument and established the Bears Ears Commission (BEC) to inform the management of its lands and resources.
How the Commision and the Inter-Tribal Coalition are Connected
The BEC consists of Tribal leaders from the five Tribal Nations that founded the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC) in 2015—the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe.
Originally, the BEITC assisted the Tribes in advocacy efforts to restore and designate Bears Ears as a National Monument. Today, the Coalition continues to support the Commission by providing it with operational capacity, technical expertise, land planning capacity, communications expertise, and funding.
A Timeline of the Bears Ears National Monument
July 2015
The Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe founded the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (BEITC). Using a model based in Tribal sovereignty, the five Tribes submitted a proposal for the creation of a new national monument.
December 2016
President Obama’s Proclamation establishes the Bears Ears National Monument and the Bears Ears Commission.
December 2017
President Trump reduces Bears Ears National Monument by 85%, leaving the Monument vulnerable to looting of ancestral belongings, vandalism to sacred places, irresponsible visitation, and open to extractive industries.
October 2021
President Biden’s Proclamation restores the Bears Ears National Monument and again recognizes the Bears Ears Commission as collaborative managers of this sacred landscape.
June 2022
The five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission entered an unprecedented cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), formalizing collaborative management and ensuring that Traditional Indigenous Knowledge informs the management plan for the Bears Ears National Monument.
March 2024
The Bears Ears Commission, BLM, and USFS released a draft resource management plan (RMP) for public comment. Alternative E, the preferred alternative of the Commission and the federal agencies, incorporates the most Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and reasonably balances public access with the protection of the cultural and natural resources that are integral to the five Tribes’ ancestral lands.
Be a part of history, learn more about the draft RMP and submit a comment today. Help the Bears Ears National Monument be managed sustainably for generations to come.