Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
Name	Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
Formation	2015
Type	Tribal coalition
Purpose	Tribal advocacy, cultural preservation, land protection
Headquarters	San Juan County, Utah
Region served	Bears Ears National Monument area
Leaders	Leadership Council of tribal representatives

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition The Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition formed in 2015 to represent a consortium of Native American tribes in efforts to protect the Bears Ears region near San Juan County, Utah, Cedar Mesa, and the Abajo Mountains. The Coalition engaged with federal entities including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Department of the Interior to advance proposals related to the Bears Ears National Monument designation and management. It worked alongside scholars from institutions such as University of Utah, Harvard University, and Smithsonian Institution and consulted with activists connected to Sierra Club, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Native American Rights Fund.

Background and Formation

The Coalition emerged from a convergence of tribal leaders, cultural specialists, and advocates in the wake of advocacy by figures associated with the Obama administration and consultations involving officials from the Interior Department and Antonia J. C. (Ken Salazar)’s era, and was catalyzed by the work of preservationists connected to Utah Diné Bikéyah and The Wilderness Society. Early organizing included meetings near Blanding, Utah, negotiations influenced by court matters such as litigation before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and outreach to policymakers in Washington, D.C., including staff with ties to the United States Congress and lawmakers from Utah and neighboring states. The Coalition drew on legal frameworks like the Antiquities Act and interacted with public interest organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Trust for Public Land, and the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable.

Member Tribes and Leadership

Member tribes included federally recognized nations such as the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Hopi Tribe, the Zuni Pueblo, and the Uintah and Ouray Reservation community, along with other Pueblo and Ute groups. Leadership comprised elected and traditional leaders, cultural practitioners, and legal representatives with ties to entities like the National Congress of American Indians and the Association on American Indian Affairs. The Council coordinated with representatives from regional offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal attorneys who have worked on precedents involving cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, the Tenth Circuit, and state-level venues such as the Utah Supreme Court.

Goals and Advocacy

The Coalition’s goals prioritized protection of archaeological sites, sacred places, and landscapes tied to ceremonies associated with Pueblo peoples and the Diné (Navajo) tradition, while seeking co-management models similar to arrangements in places like Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Advocacy targeted policies at the Department of the Interior that affect monument boundaries, resource extraction overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, and scientific research protocols involving institutions such as American Anthropological Association and the Society for American Archaeology. The Coalition promoted legislation and executive actions, engaging with members of United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives and forming alliances with environmental advocates from The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and local chapters of the Audubon Society.

Legal Actions and Policy Influence

The Coalition participated as plaintiff and amicus in litigation concerning monument proclamations issued under presidents associated with the Obama administration and the Trump administration, appearing before judges and filing briefs that invoked legal authority under the Antiquities Act and precedents considered by the Supreme Court of the United States. Their legal strategy aligned with advocacy by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the Native American Rights Fund, and involved coordination with environmental litigators from firms that have argued cases in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and federal district courts in Utah. Policy influence included consultations with officials from the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, participation in rulemaking for national monuments, and engagement with congressional hearings alongside members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Cultural and Archaeological Stewardship

Stewardship activities emphasized protection of rock art, cliff dwellings, and ritual sites documented in surveys conducted by archaeologists affiliated with University of Colorado Boulder, University of Arizona, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The Coalition advocated for tribal authority over excavation, repatriation processes governed by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and collaborative curation with museums like the Field Museum, National Museum of the American Indian, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art when collections involved ancestral materials. They worked with cultural resource managers from the National Park Service, heritage conservators linked to ICOMOS, and legal specialists versed in Federal Indian Law.

Public Engagement and Partnerships

Public outreach included educational programs with schools in San Juan County School District, partnerships with conservation nonprofits such as Friends of Cedar Mesa and Conservation Lands Foundation, and advocacy campaigns involving media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and regional newspapers. The Coalition collaborated with outdoor-recreation groups tied to the Outdoor Industry Association and tourism boards for Utah Office of Tourism, while engaging community organizers connected to Black Mesa Water Coalition and Indigenous rights networks that intersect with entities like Idle No More and the Native Youth Leadership Alliance. International scholarly exchange involved partnerships with institutions such as Oxford University and the University of Cambridge for research respecting tribal protocols.

Category:Native American organizations Category:Protected area advocacy groups