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ANTH 2030
Dr. Meredith Wismer
Connor Philpot

Bears Ears Signature Assignment

Bears Ears is a long stretch of acres of land in southeastern Utah. The environment has a

rich history, both archaeological and historically. Many native peoples and their ancestors

consider this land to be sacred, and some even live there. This also goes for some hunters that

also like to use that land since it isn’t government owned. This land. has become a part of

contention and debate in recent times. Bears Ears was classified as a monument not to long ago

by the Obama administration, but is now under watch to be used for land development and

construction. Many groups have tried fighting back against this change, especially since it covers

a long stretch of land in Utah many don’t want to become government owned. The land had

received a lot of archaeological thefts and overall damage to the land. This prompted many tribes

namely the Hopi Tribe, Uinta, Ouray, Pueblo of Zuni, the Navajo Nation, and the Ute Mountain

Ute Tribe. They formed a group known as the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. They made a

plea to then President Barack Obama at the time to make Bears Ears a national monument in

order to protect their sacred land. This action was passed by the Obama administration in late

2016, giving the tribes a vital role in administration of the land. However later in 2017 Governor

Gary Herbert signs onto a resolution to rescind Bear Ears as a national monument. Thus, taking

away the administration of said tribes achieved earlier in 2016. Then President Trump conducted

a review of many national monuments around the country, Bears Ears being included. It is

recommended by those in a higher of government to shrink Bears Ears national monument. It is

announced by former President Trump in late 2017 that there would be plans to shrink Bears
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Ears by eighty five percent. Many lawsuits are filed against these actions to stop them from

happening. It is found out that in early 2018 that one of the main reasons the Trump

administration had an interest in shrinking Bears Ears, was the supposed oil and gas deposits in

the surrounding area of the national monument. (U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land

Management, Bears Ears National Monument, blm.gov) Recent events have happened involving

Bears Ears this year as well. When President Joe Biden was inaugurated into office, one of the

first executive orders was to reevaluate if Bears Ears should have its original boundaries

restored. A new Secretary of Interior is confirmed. Secretary Deb Haaland then uses her power

as a U.S. representative to be vocal supporter and advocate of Bears Ears. She has since

sponsored and supported legislation that would restore Bears Ears to its original boundaries and

glory. She has since visited the national monument to help come to a decision on what should be

done with the land. Bears Ears has had a tough and tumultuous history when it comes to its

boundaries. The two most important groups when it comes to this debate in my opinion, would

be the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and the hunters that live on and use said land. The

Coalition wants to protect this land because it is their heritage. They feel it is their responsibility

to protect Bears Ears. Their greatest concern is the land being taken from them. They wish to see

Bears Ears be restored to its original status, boundaries and all. (Bears Ears Inter-Tribal

Coalition, bearsearscoalition.org) They have had good success in postponing and influencing

the decisions when it comes to Bears Ears and its legislation. They are one of the most vocal

groups when it comes to this debate. One of the other groups is the hunters that like to use this

land. They also want to keep these lands original boundaries, but not for the same reasons as the

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. They mainly want to keeps Bears Ears originally boundaries,

so they can keep hunting on non-government owned property. They also wish for Bears Ears to
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be restored with its original boundaries; they aren’t as vocal about it as the Bears Ears Inter-

Tribal Coalition however. So, they haven’t had as much influence when it comes to the

legislation of Bears Ears. However, they have still had an impact on it overall. Many

Archaeologists hold the belief and stance that Bears Ears should be preserved as a national

monument. Archaeologist have the unique job of preserving the past, and the history of Bears

Ears is rich and bountiful. So, when legislation happens that threaten to ruin the preserved

cultural importance of Bears Ears, many Archaeologists wouldn’t take that sitting down. That’s

why the major anthropology associations sued the President. (Burrillo R.E., The Archaeology of

Bears Ears, SWCA Environmental Consultants Inc.) Not only because they wanted to protect

Bears Ears for the Archaeological record, but also for future generations. An Archaeologists

ethical and professional obligations have a big impact on their work, so that’s why they took the

stance that they did. I would like to see Bears Ears returned to its original boundaries. This is

because of the argument of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. I couldn’t care less about the

hunting rights, oil in the area, or any of those other arguments. This land is considered sacred and

important to a lot of people, and that has been ignored time and time again for structural

building. Building in which I consider to be completely unnecessary. Especially on a national

monument. The consequences of going forward with such a change to Bears Ears, would be a

bad reputation and damaged relationships with tribes and other groups. Not only that, but the

ruining and disregard of the archaeological history of that land. So many sites would be ruined

by this change. That’s why I wish for Bears Ears to be restored to its former glory. Not only for

its history, but also for its future. It’s just too important for too many people. So overall, Bears

Ears has had a couple of rough patches. However, this just means it’s worth fighting for. My

hope is that Bears Ears is given the proper treatment, and preservation that it deserves. Not just
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of the tribes and archaeologists, but for the sake of all those who wish to see its beauty. Let’s just

hope that it gets the proper legislation.

Works Cited:

(Burrillo R.E., The Archaeology of Bears Ears, SWCA Environmental Consultants Inc.)

https://research.libraries.wsu.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2376/12868/SAAar%2011-2017-

edited.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

(Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, bearsearscoalition.org)

https://bearsearscoalition.org/

(U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Bears Ears National Monument,

blm.gov)

https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/utah/bears-ears-national-monument