Russell Begaye: “The bill stifles the tribal voice in monument management, and the bill eliminates protection for our cultural patrimony.”

H.R. 4532 retains the same failing as the Trump proclamation: it does not protect the Bears Ears landscape in a way that is meaningful and lasting.

This is incorrect. The Navajo Nation and the other tribes of the five-tribe Bears Ears Inter-Tribal coalition were not consulted with prior to the introduction of H.R. 4532.

Navajo culture and language preservation is a top priority for the Navajo Nation because Dine Bizaad (Navajo language) retains our heritage legacy and individuality as Native people.

We cannot support a further congressional reduction in the area of the monument, much less the drastic reduction proposed by H.R. 4532.