Keith Schneider reports that 11 months ago, descendants of these ancient people (of the west) notched one of the great political achievements in Native American history. Following 14 months of negotiation between the United States and five Native American tribes, President Obama signed Proclamation 9558 (as a parting shot before leaving office). The proclamation, made under the presidential authority of the Antiquities Act to protect public lands, conserves over (an incredible number of some) 100,000 Native American archaeological and cultural sites within the newly established 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument.
Much of the history of Native Americans in the centuries after European settlement is a ledger (or memory) of lost land, getting pushed off lands they considered sacred (after being asked to assimilate in the larger cities of the area). This time, they gained protection for their land in a way that had never happened before. But, that achievement is now under siege by the new administration administration, also in an unprecedented way. He may not (but must have) known it at the time, but when President Obama signed Proclamation 9558, he set in motion a far-reaching confrontation over land, resources and political influence that could reshape rural communities and decide stewardship of the West’s public domain for the rest of the century, (although one of the actual reasons for this must have been to project the existing large ranches from being subdivided over the generations). Others can only be assumed, e.g., limit development by any American citizens, be they native or other decedents from other cultures).
Passage of a new bill would mark a decided tilt in favor of industrial and political forces that have worked for decades in the West to dismantle safeguards for federal land and the environment. Its defeat would strengthen the influence of conservationists and tribes to develop and install new safeguards. To some extent, the differences between Obama and the new administration in managing the public domain are familiar for the West. Recent Democratic presidents have tended to side with environmental and Native American advocates, Republicans with grazing, mining and energy interests that support greater development of public lands.
The president’s public lands program has deep support in the regions of the rural West, like San Juan County, Utah, where grazing, mining, and oil and gas production still have economic relevance. It reflects long-standing frustration about federal management practices that are perceived as heavy-handed. “The truth is, you’ve got a community of people who care about each other and care about the land and have protected it,” said Phil Lyman, a 53-year-old accountant and San Juan County commissioner whose opposition to federal land managers has gained national prominence. “All we want to do is be peaceful and have quiet enjoyment of our surroundings. The monument designations dramatically affect that.”
read on ...there is much more in the article about the beautiful wild west.
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