If a Bears Ears National Monument is created its area will include the Colorado Plateau. (Photo by Jeff Mitton)
Re: “Make Bears Ears a national monument,” Nov. 25 guest commentary.
Add my voice, along with many others, to the strong call from Walt Dabney and Steve Martin for President Obama to respond to the request from a coalition of sovereign tribal nations to protect sacred and historical lands by designating Bears Ears a national monument.
This is an opportunity for healing — between peoples and between people and the land. Bears Ears contains over 100,000 cultural sites considered sacred by multiple tribes and pueblos.
Monument designation, a tool every president has used, is the right tool to move forward at a time when Congressional vehicles have stalled and the Public Lands Initiative negotiations have ignored the voices of Native Americans. Action now will put an end to degradation of these lands from looting, off-road vehicles, mining, and fossil-fuels extraction, allowing future generations of American Indians to connect to their heritage embedded in the land. Now is the time for healing.
Susan Jacobson, Denver
This letter was published in the Dec. 2 edition.
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