Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument

A large group of Tribes called the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition is proposing to designate more than 1 million acres of public land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. Baaj nwaavjo means “where tribes roam” in the Havasupai language and i'tah kukveni means “our ancestral footprints” in Hopi.

Designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument would safeguard underground aquifers and critical drinking water supplies for nearby communities and the entire Colorado River Basin from the threat of uranium mining, while also protecting the natural, recreational, and scientific resources of the region. President Joe Biden is on the precipice of deciding to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument.

The Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition includes members of the Havasupai, Hopi, and Hualapai Tribes, as well as the Kaibab Paiute Tribe, the Las Vegas Band of Paiute, the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Navajo Nation, the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

Listen to a special Postcards episode of The Landscape podcast to hear the Center for Western Priorities' conversation with Carletta Tilousi, a former tribal councilwoman who has helped lead the effort to establish the monument, and Stuart Chavez, a former tribal councilman who serves on the Havasupai Anti-Uranium Subcommittee, as they talk about their involvement in the fight for the monument and how it would help protect their homeland.