On Public Land and Tribal Preservation
Native Perspectives
Talia Boyd, Cultural Landscapes Program Manager for Grand Canyon Trust hosts these panel discussions on “Native Perspectives—on Public Land and Tribal Preservation.” Below, you will find recordings of all these events, along with bios of the speakers.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has deep historical and modern-day connection to Native peoples, including (but not limited to) the Hopi, Zuni, Diné/Navajo, San Juan Southern Paiute, Kaibab Paiute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Tesuque Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Acoma Pueblo
We look forward to meaningful and essential Tribal engagement and leadership in the upcoming resource management planning process for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Our mission begins with “honoring the past” of this Monument. Over the years, Partners has worked and collaborated on research projects in the Monument related to Indigenous ties to the land and cataloging dozens of oral histories. You can find much of this work here.
The next part of our mission is about “safeguarding the future” of this Monument. In this regard, we recognize the importance of including more Native knowledge and participation of Native peoples in land management. With over five million Native peoples in the U.S., we are committed to doing more to include these voices in our work and practices. We are partnering with the Grand Canyon Trust to bring you a five-part teach-in series on: “Native Perspectives—on Public Land and Tribal Preservation.”
Teach-in #1 | Native Perspectives on Public Lands and Tribal Preservation
In this introductory event, Talia Boyd talks with Neak Loucks, our former Education Programs Manager, about the importance of this teach-in series, and what to expect.
Teach-in #2 | Native Perspectives on Public Lands and Tribal Preservation
In the second session of our five-part teach-in series, Talia Boyd hosted Native experts, Lyle Balenquah, Janene Yazzie, and Jim Enote, as they discussed the importance of including Native knowledge in land use practices and land management.
Panelist bios
Janene Yazzie
is the program manager of Sustainable Community Development with the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC). She has worked on climate change, water security, food security, broadband development, energy development, and nation-building with Indigenous communities for the past 11 years.
Lyle Balenquah
is a Hopi archaeologist, ethnographer, and educator who has worked in the American Southwest for 20 years. He is a member of the Greasewood Clan from the village of Bacavi and has focused his professional career on documenting and educating about ancestral Hopi settlements and lifeways.
Jim Enote
is a Zuni tribal member and CEO of the Colorado Plateau Foundation. He serves on the boards of the Trust for Mutual Understanding and Grand Canyon Trust. As a fundraiser and educator to the philanthropic community, Jim connects, engages, and leverages funding to support regional issues on the Colorado Plateau.
Teach-in #3 | Native Perspectives on Public Lands and Tribal Preservation
In the third session of our five-part teach-in series, Talia Boyd hosted Native experts, Joseph Brewer II, Ph.D., Kelsey Dayle John, P.H.D., and Cris Stainbrook, as they discussed Native land rights and land co-management—including human and animal relationships with the land.
Panelist bios
Kelsey Dayle John, P.h.D.
Diné, is an assistant professor of Gender and Women’s and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. Her work is on horse/human relationships and creating educational and research spaces that center nonhuman knowledges. She also does work on Indigenous methodologies, Indigenous feminisms, and organizes an annual horse conference on the Navajo Nation.
Joseph P. Brewer II, P.h.D
Cherokee/Oglala Lakota, is the Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Kansas. He works with Indigenous peoples on issues related to natural resources management/stewardship; energy sovereignty and self-determination; the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program, land tenure; and how Indigenous knowledge informs natural resources management agencies.
Cris Stainbrook
Lakota, is president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation in Little Canada, Minnesota. ILTF has distributed nearly $50 million in grants, contracts, and loans to land projects throughout Indian Country. He was also Community Activities Lead with Northwest Area Foundation, where he managed programs in sustainable development, natural resource management, economic development and basic human needs.
Teach-in #4 | Native Perspectives on Public Lands and Tribal Preservation
In the fourth session of our five-part teach-in series, Talia Boyd hosted Native experts, Beata Tsosie-Peña, Roberto Nutlouis, and Adesbah Foguth as they discussed the importance of visiting with respect on ancestral land and on grassroots community organizing.
Panelist bios
Beata Tsosie-Peña
Santa Clara Pueblo, is a mother, poet, and seed keeper, and has worked as the Environmental Health and Justice Coordinator for Tewa Women United for over a decade. She is a full-spectrum doula and has served on several local community boards. As part of her work, she manages the creation of the Española Healing Foods Oasis demonstration garden project and Española Healing Foods Seed Library.
Roberto Nutlouis
Diné, is from Pinon, AZ. He is Bitterwater clan, born for Big Water clan. For years, Nutlouis has been organizing on environmental justice, food security, energy efficiency, housing, and youth leadership. In his spare time, he likes to work on food security issues and traditional knowledge in agriculture with Native youth, and he enjoys hiking, river rafting, camping, and reading.
Adesbah Foguth
Diné, is an archaeologist, park ranger, and educator, who is devoted to creating interpretive talks and educational material on decolonizing Native history. A former teacher on Navajo Nation and interpretive ranger at Chaco Canyon, she currently works as a ranger for the Bureau of Land Management. Check out her work on instagram: @native_power_rangers.
Teach-in #5 | Native Perspectives on Public Lands and Tribal Preservation
In the fifth session of our five-part teach-in series, Talia Boyd hosted Native experts, Angelo Baca, Julia Bernal, and Hank Stevens, as they highlight the importance of Native-led initiatives in co-management of ancestral lands and grassroots community organizing.
Panelist bios
Julia Bernal
Sandia Pueblo/Yuchi/Taos Pueblo/Creek, is enrolled at the University of New Mexico in water resources policy management and community and regional planning. Bernal serves as the Environmental Justice Director for the Pueblo Action Alliance that advocates for the protection of Chaco Canyon, carbon pricing: false solutions to climate change, non-renewable energy divestment, and education on fracking produced water, and extractive colonialism.
Angelo Baca
Diné/Hopi, creates educational and collaborative films, including the documentary, “‘Shash Jaa’: Bears Ears.” Baca obtained his master’s degree from the Native Voices Program at the University of Washington, and is completing a doctorate in sociocultural anthropology at New York University. He is the Cultural Resources Coordinator at Utah Diné Bikéyah, dedicated to the protection of culturally significant ancestral lands.
Hank Stevens
Diné, was born and raised in NaaTsis’Aan (Navajo Mountain), San Juan County, Utah, along Lake Powell and the San Juan River. He is the president of NaaTsis’Aan community, president of the Western Navajo Agency Council representing 18 Navajo Nation communities, and also a member of the Navajo Utah Commission in San Juan County.