Seeds of Change: a movement for co-stewardship at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante is the cultural homeland of countless Tribes and Native peoples of the Southwest. This film highlights the importance of this landscape to Native communities and their enduring ties to it, despite removal and sometimes decades of absence. Though they can trace their ancestry to the canyons and mesas of this land through dwellings, rock writing, and oral histories, many Native peoples have never visited Grand Staircase. GSEP has been working with our Tribal partners to support re-engagement with Grand Staircase, including sponsoring site visits, supporting the submission of public comments for the new Resource Management Plan, currently in progress, and spearheading co-stewardship efforts. We are also working to incorporate indigenous knowledge into our conservation, advocacy, and stewardship programs in ways requested by Tribes. This film is intended to focus solely on furthering these efforts; creating a movement for co-stewardship on this Monument and on public lands important to tribal traditions, culture, and ways of life. Click to view the film.

Co-Stewardship

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Paiute, Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, Ute, Pueblo tribal nations, and other Indigenous communities.

We recognize the enduring relationships between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional homelands. Indigenous peoples have been living, working, and residing on this land from time immemorial.

We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this land and we recognize that truth, reconciliation, and healing will only come with cultural and economic reparations and other restorative actions.

We commit to work directly on action steps to heal the trauma and wounds of history, and be part of the movement of reconciliation, healing, and a bridge to bring all human beings together. This includes supporting co-stewardship for this landscape, respect and reciprocity for tribal communities, and a better understanding of opportunities for Tribes to participate in land management decision-making.

We support Tribes with resources and logistical support to return to the land, hold ceremonies vital to their traditions and culture, and ensure that their interests and priorities are considered and integrated to the greatest extent possible into management policies and decisions.

For more information about this work, please contact Tribal Liaison Georgie Pongyesva at gpongyesva@gmail.com or (928) 310-8691.

Resources:

Monte Mills & Martin Nie, Bridges to a New Era: A Report on the Past, Present, and Potential Future of Tribal Co-Management on Federal Public Lands, 44 Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 49 (2021)

Native Perspectives

GSEP has partnered with the Grand Canyon Trust to bring you a five-part teach-in series on Native Perspectives.

 

Native Perspectives

Questions about our work in Grand Staircase?

Contact Us to get involved.

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