Native American tribes including the Navajo and Hopi have formed a coalition to protect a national monument in southern Utah against potential oil and gas drilling plans by the Trump Administration.
Several tribes consider Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument culturally significant and want to make sure they’re part of its management.
Six tribes formed the coalition after new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced plans to review all public lands that were previously protected against oil, gas and critical mineral extraction.
"Opening them up to the possibility of energy development and the dismantling of a sacred cultural resource," said Autumn Gillard, cultural resource manager for Paiute Indian tribe of Utah.
Burgum’s order, titled Unleashing American Energy, doesn’t name the monument but it specifies withdrawn public lands. President Trump shrank the monument’s size in his first term; a decision President Joe Biden later reversed.
"Kind of watching what is happening within the current administration, it is a high probability that that topic will be coming down the pipeline soon," Gillard said.
The Trump administration’s blueprint Project 2025 decried the monument’s designation by President Clinton.
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A professor at Northern Arizona University teamed up with Navajo communities to test water quality in remote wells. The map is meant to help tribal members still struggling with the effects of past uranium mining. -
Cataloging information from the Confluence may also be used to potentially deter future commercial development by industries like hydropower — while the Trump administration is eyeing energy projects on tribal lands. -
The federal agency’s action — published Tuesday — contends that its decision is intended to “encourage energy production” in the midst of Trump’s self-declared national energy emergency. -
From receiving a coveted James Beard Award to taping an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” with Flavortown restaurateur and TV host Guy Fieri, the Fry Bread House has turned into a beloved local culinary staple over the last three decades. -
Appointed by George W. Bush, Judge Richard Leon in D.C. ruled last week that granting an injunction is “unwarranted” — writing he expects the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will “follow through on its guarantees of consultation.”
