WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2026) | The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) condemn President Donald Trump’s proclamations reducing Bears Ears National Monument by approximately 91 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by approximately 90 percent. These actions directly attack Tribal sovereignty, sacred places, cultural resources, and hard-won advances in Tribal-federal collaboration.
NCAI’s opposition to these cuts is grounded in years of formal organizational policy:
NCAI Resolution #SEA-25-002: The resolution urged Congress to take legislative action affirming that only Congress — not the President or executive agencies — may modify, reduce, or revoke national monument designations, and called on federal agencies to obtain free, prior, and informed consent from affected Tribal Nations before altering monument boundaries or protections.
NCAI Resolution #EC-15-002: The resolution urged the permanent protection of the 1.9 million-acre Bears Ears region and the establishment of a historic Federal-Tribal Collaborative Management framework.
Amicus Curiae Briefs: As filed previously in federal court alongside the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), NCAI maintained that removing Tribal involvement and shrinking monument boundaries would inflict irreversible damage on sacred landscapes and severely fracture the government-to-government trust relationship.
Defending Resource Management Plans: NCAI continues to vigorously oppose legislative maneuvers, such as the misuse of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), that seek to overturn the hard-fought 2025 Monument Management Plans for Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which codify Tribal consultation and the use of Indigenous Knowledge in land management.
NATHPO and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers work on the front lines to protect sacred places, ancestral sites, burial places, cultural objects, and historic properties. Any federal undertaking affecting lands removed from monument protection must fully comply with the National Historic Preservation Act and other applicable laws, including requirements to meaningfully consult with affected Tribal Nations and their Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
NCAI and NATHPO call upon the administration to:
Rescind the proclamations and restore the full boundaries and protections of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.
Immediately halt new development, extraction, leasing, permitting, and other ground-disturbing activities on lands removed from monument protection while legal challenges proceed.
Engage in meaningful nation-to-nation consultation with every affected Tribal Nation.
Consult directly with affected Tribal Historic Preservation Officers before authorizing any action that could affect sacred places, cultural landscapes, historic properties, or ancestral remains.
Preserve and strengthen Tribal participation in the stewardship and management of both monuments.
Uphold the federal government’s trust, treaty, historic preservation, and consultation responsibilities.
We further call upon Congress to defend the integrity of the Antiquities Act by rejecting H.R. 2645 and any similar legislation that seeks to weaken protections for Tribal sacred places, cultural resources, and ancestral homelands.
Protecting these lands is not simply a conservation matter. It is a matter of Tribal sovereignty, religious freedom, historic preservation, cultural survival, and justice.
NCAI and NATHPO stand firmly with the Bears Ears Commission, the Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, and all affected Tribal Nations as they continue to defend the monuments in the consolidated Garfield County v. Biden litigation, which was remanded to the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah following the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ June 2026 decision. NCAI and NATHPO will also support Tribal Nations in pursuing appropriate legal remedies challenging these unlawful reductions, informed by the legal theory first advanced in the Tribes' 2017 lawsuit, Hopi Tribe v. Trump, which remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, while continuing to oppose legislative efforts to weaken the Antiquities Act.
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About the National Congress of American Indians: Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of Tribal governments and communities, promoting strong Tribal-federal government-to-government policies and a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people, and rights. For more information, visit www.ncai.org.
About the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers: NATHPO is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization, founded in 1998, of Tribal preservation leaders protecting culturally important places that perpetuate Native identity, resilience, and cultural endurance. Connections to cultural heritage sustain the health and vitality of Native peoples. We provide guidance to preservation officials, elected representatives, and the public about national historic preservation legislation, policies, and regulations. We promote Tribal sovereignty, develop partnerships, and advocate for Tribes in governmental activities on preservation issues. For more information visit our website at www.nathpo.org.
