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Letter: Rep. Curtis doesn't seem to care for the Native Americans in his district

(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah tribal leaders and conservation community groups gathered at the Utah Capitol rotunda Tuesday Jan. 9 speaking out in opposition to H.R.4532 and its impact on Bears Ears National Monument. At the same time in Washington D.C. the House Natural Resources Committee held a legislative hearing on Rep. John Curtis’ H.R. 4532 “Shash Jaa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument Act.” The bill would not only codify President Trump’s illegal evisceration of Bears Ears National Monument but also delegate management of the monument to local officials and tribal representatives hand-picked by the Utah delegation, foregoing input from Tribal governments. Management plans laid out in the bill exclude three of the five tribes that advocated for Bears Ears protection.

(Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah tribal leaders and conservation community groups gathered at the Utah Capitol rotunda Tuesday Jan. 9 speaking out in opposition to H.R.4532 and its impact on Bears Ears National Monument. At the same time in Washington D.C. the House Natural Resources Committee held a legislative hearing on Rep. John Curtis’ H.R. 4532 “Shash Jaa National Monument and Indian Creek National Monument Act.” The bill would not only codify President Trump’s illegal evisceration of Bears Ears National Monument but also delegate management of the monument to local officials and tribal representatives hand-picked by the Utah delegation, foregoing input from Tribal governments. Management plans laid out in the bill exclude three of the five tribes that advocated for Bears Ears protection.

President Trump dismembered Bears Ears National Monument, shrinking it by 85 percent last month. This illegal act was followed the next day by Rep. John Curtis introducing a bill designed to pardon the president.

Curtis apparently cares little for the 10,000-plus Native Americans in his district. At community meetings this fall, 98 percent of Utah Navajos passed a resolution asking the president to keep Bears Ears intact. Rep. Curtis knows this view of native citizens in his district, but sadly he has not asked us why we care about these lands, or why we want them protected.

Additionally, when Utah Diné Bikeyah staff met with Curtis in September, he committed to meeting with tribes before taking any action on Bears Ears. He failed to do so. He also agreed to be a leader to address the severe racial tensions that exist in San Juan County. Instead, his actions are ensuring that divisive politics will take root here in Utah, and Native Americans here will continue to struggle to be heard. We all deserve better than this.

Utahns, please ask Curtis to withdraw his bill, and do what no other Utah congressional official has done since Trump took office: Meet with tribes and local native community leaders.

Willie Grayeyes, Navajo Mountain

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