Sacred Ground

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world visit Bears Ears National Monument in Utah to hike, camp, or simply take in the views. Named for two buttes (towers of rock) that resemble the ears of a bear, the monument stretches across 1.36 million acres. Its rocky landscape includes mountains, cliffs, and sandstone valleys. 

But for the nearly 20,000 Native American people who live nearby, Bears Ears is more than a tourist attraction. To them, the land is sacred. For centuries, the area’s many landforms and waterways—including red rock canyons and winding rivers—were home to their ancestors.

Now five Tribal Nations have joined forces with the U.S. government to help preserve the land. Last June, the Pueblo of Zuni, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe, and Hopi signed an agreement to co-manage Bears Ears. The tribal coalition is working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

“We are being invited back to our homelands to help repair them,” says Carleton Bowekaty, the lieutenant governor of the Pueblo of Zuni. “Protecting Bears Ears protects our history and connection to our ancestors.”

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from around the world visit Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. They hike, camp, or simply take in the views. The monument is named for two buttes (towers of rock) that look like the ears of a bear. Its rocky landscape stretches across 1.36 million acres that include mountains, cliffs, and sandstone valleys.

Nearly 20,000 Native American people live nearby. For them, Bears Ears is more than a tourist attraction. For centuries, the area’s many landforms and waterways—including red rock canyons and winding rivers—were home to their ancestors. They see the land as sacred.

Now five Tribal Nations have joined forces with the U.S. government to help protect the land. Last June, the Pueblo of Zuni, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Indian Tribe, and Hopi signed an agreement to co-manage Bears Ears. The tribal coalition is working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.

“We are being invited back to our homelands to help repair them,” says Carleton Bowekaty. He is the lieutenant governor of the Pueblo of Zuni. “Protecting Bears Ears protects our history and connection to our ancestors.”

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now the United States. But in the 1600s, European settlers began seizing their land. This continued long after the U.S. became a country. Over time, Native peoples in the continental U.S. were pushed off approximately 99 percent of their ancestral land. 

More than 10,000 Navajo people, for example, were driven from their homeland in the Southwest in the 1860s. During a tragedy known as the Long Walk, the U.S. Army burned Navajo villages and forced the men, women, and children who had lived there to march up to 450 miles to an internment camp in what is now New Mexico. Hundreds of Navajo people died on the grueling journey, but many escaped by hiding in the sprawling terrain of Bears Ears.

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now the United States. But in the 1600s, European settlers began seizing their land. This continued long after the U.S. became a country. Over time, Native peoples in the continental U.S. were pushed off approximately 99 percent of their ancestral land.

For example, more than 10,000 Navajo people were driven from their homeland in the Southwest in the 1860s. During a tragedy known as the Long Walk, the U.S. Army burned Navajo villages. It forced the men, women, and children who had lived there to march up to 450 miles to an internment camp. That camp was in what is now New Mexico. Hundreds of Navajo people died on the grueling journey. But many escaped by hiding in the sprawling terrain of Bears Ears.

In addition to managing and protecting Bears Ears, tribal leaders plan to create educational opportunities for visitors, including a learning center where people can discover why the area is important to local Tribal Nations. Native peoples still visit Bears Ears to take part in healing ceremonies and celebrations. The site is also home to plants used in traditional foods and medicines.

“We want to share our history because it adds to the fabric of our great nation,” says Bowekaty. “It also shows our strength to younger generations.”

Tribal leaders will manage and protect Bears Ears. They plan to also create educational opportunities for visitors, including a learning center where people can discover why the area is important to local Tribal Nations. Native peoples still visit Bears Ears to take part in healing ceremonies and celebrations. The site is also home to plants used in traditional foods and medicines.

“We want to share our history because it adds to the fabric of our great nation,” says Bowekaty. “It also shows our strength to younger generations.”