FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2024
MEDIA CONTACTS:
● Skylar Begay, Director of Tribal Collaboration in Outreach and Advocacy, Archaeology Southwest
skylar@archaeologysouthwest.org / (520) 367-5338
● Mike Quigley, Arizona State Director, The Wilderness Society
mike_quigley@tws.org / (520) 334-8741
[WASHINGTON D.C.] Today, members of the Respect Great Bend coalition joined Tribal leaders, members of Congress from across the West, and community advocates in Washington D.C. to present over 40,000 petition signatures calling on President Biden to designate the proposed Great Bend of the Gila National Monument in central Arizona.
“I ask President Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate a Great Bend of the Gila National Monument," said Skylar Begay, Director of Tribal Collaboration with Archaeology Southwest. "The Great Bend of the Gila is the hub in a great wheel with spokes that reach out to all corners of the Southwest. Over a dozen sovereign Tribal Nations from Arizona, New Mexico, and California maintain deep connections to this part of the Gila River. The Great Bend has also played an integral role in the earliest history of this Nation. It is our hope that once this place is protected as a national monument, that interested Tribal Nations will manage the monument alongside the Bureau of Land Management as equals."
The “Monumental Call to Action” event was a platform to showcase the diverse support for expanding and designating national monuments across the country using the Antiquities Act. Campaign representatives presented a jaw-dropping 800,00+ petition signatures, representing special places across seven states: the Great Bend of the Gila in Arizona; the expansion of San Gabriel Mountains and Berryessa Snow Mountain (Molok Yuluk) national monuments, and designations of Chuckwalla, Sáttítla - Medicine Lake Highlands and Kw'tsán in California; Dolores Canyons in Colorado; 1908 Springfield Race Riot in Illinois, Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools sites in Illinois and Maryland; Bahsahwahbee - Swamp Cedars in Nevada; and Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon. Speakers at the event included Senator Alex Padilla (CA), and Reps. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-25), John Garamendi (CA-08), and Nikki Budzinski (IL-13); representatives from the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, and Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Pit River Nation, and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians.
To date, no national monuments have been expanded or designated in 2024, underscoring the Respect Great Bend coalition’s cause to protect the cultural, ecological, and natural values of this place that has shaped much of the Southwest’s history and heritage.
PHOTOS / VIDEO
Watch the press conference here: https://www.facebook.com/MonumentsForUSA/videos
Photos for media use: Monumental Call to Action album
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Stephen E. Nash, President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest, said, “We and our partners have been working to understand and protect the public lands of the Great Bend for many years now. From bighorn lambing areas to waterfowl habitat, from pristine Sonoran Desert ecology to Indigenous living libraries upon the earth, the Great Bend of the Gila is a national treasure and should be recognized as such—permanently. These lands are sacred, beloved, fragile, and under threat. The moment is now.”
Rev. Katie Sexton, Arizona Faith Network said, “Arizona Faith Network stands in solidarity with Tribal Nations in Arizona advocating for the Great Bend of the Gila to be designated as a national monument. We urge President Biden to use the Antiquities Act to protect this sacred land, significant to Indigenous communities across Arizona, New Mexico, and California. This land holds profound spiritual and cultural significance, serving as a vital space for traditional rituals and the freedom of religious practice. As stewards of the earth, we know it is critical to preserve such sites for future generations. Let's honor our nation's diverse heritage by respecting these sacred landscapes.”
DJ Portugal, Organizing Director of Chispa Arizona, said, “Chispa AZ supports our indigenous relatives who have been calling for the protection of The Great Bend of the Gila. Public lands like the Great Bend are important for the preservation of history and critical to understanding the rich diversity of our state’s stories and the experiences of indigenous, Latinx, and other communities. For thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples have called the Great Bend of the Gila home, drawing sustenance from the life-giving waters of the Gila River and cultivating vibrant communities sustained by its irrigable soils. We ask that the Biden administration hears the call of the original caretakers of this land, to protect The Great Bend of the Gila, and also center indigenous voices in how this land and its legacy is managed in perpetuity.
Sanober Mirza, Arizona Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), said, "This culturally significant landscape is rich with the stories of the Southwest dating back to time immemorial, and many sovereign Tribal Nations hold deep ties to the Great Bend of the Gila. We have a chance to protect some of the most biologically diverse areas of the Sonoran Desert while preserving the invaluable stories woven into the landscape's ancient dwellings, irrigation canals, and petroglyphs. National monuments are some of our greatest storytellers, and Indigenous stories and histories deserve to be protected and interpreted."
Sandy Bahr, director of Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter, said, “Sierra Club supports designating this remarkable landscape as a national monument to ensure the cultural, historic, and natural resources are safeguarded for future generations, The Great Bend of the Gila has been home to Indigenous Peoples for millennia and people have used the Gila River valley as a travel corridor for thousands of years. Several ancient and significant Indigenous trails cross this terrain. The lands included in the Great Bend of the Gila are also important to the active recovery of the endangered Sonoran pronghorn and are important habitat for Sonoran desert tortoises, mule deer, and desert bighorn sheep, among many other animals and plants.”
Mike Quigley, Arizona State Director of The Wilderness Society, said, “We thank the thousands of supporters who want to protect this critically important cultural and ecological landscape. Permanent protection of the irreplaceable natural and cultural values of the Great Bend of the Gila landscape will help safeguard these fragile lands and ensure that all can experience these places for generations.”
MORE INFORMATION
13 federally recognized Tribal nations with cultural, historical, spiritual, and ancestral ties to the region include: Ak-Chin Indian Community, Cocopah Indian Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, Fort Yuma-Quechan Indian Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Tohono O’odham Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe.
About the Respect Great Bend coalition: The Respect Great Bend coalition is united in efforts to permanently protect the natural and cultural landscapes of the Great Bend of the Gila, a stretch of river valley and surrounding Sonoran Desert between the cities of Phoenix and Yuma, Arizona. The public lands of the Great Bend of the Gila must be better protected in a way that recognizes their importance to Tribes, their cultural and historical values, and the role of these lands in providing habitat for plants and animals, combating climate change, and redressing water scarcity.
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