Aggies stand in support of Bears Ears monument

This week, university campuses across Utah — including Utah State University — joined a movement to protect the Bears Ears Native American reservation in southern Utah.

About a year ago, the Native American Ute Mountain Ute, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Uintah Ouray Ute tribes, along with representatives from the Black Lives Matter Movement, Forest Service and Park Service groups, gathered to create a national monument in honor of Bears Ears.

This region is home to over 100,000 cultural and historical sites, yet a significant portion of the region is under threat from proposed fossil fuel developments. The area also faces threats from off-road vehicle use, looting and vandalism. 

Gov. Gary Herbert told the Salt Lake Tribune “a multi-tribe proposal for a national monument is a political tomahawk that that will do more to foment conflict than to protect the Bears Ears region considered sacred by Native Americans.”

Logan Christian, an active participant in the movement, is furious with the government’s stance on this issue.

“I’m furious and tired of our politicians portraying their work with Native Americans as a compromise … it’s time for people to come together and put their foot down,” Christian said.

Students have been taking photos with the hashtag “#ProtectBearsEarsNow,” along with a caption of why they feel it’s important to protect Bears Ears.

In addition to posting pictures on social media, students are also signing a petition to encourage Pres. Obama to designate Bears Ears before he leaves office.

A group of students met on Old Main Hill on Wednesday to discuss the issue and take their pictures with “#ProtectBearsEarsNow.”

“I’m here because I feel like it’s really important to stand up for this issue and show that there’s a lot of broad based student support in Utah,” said Casey Trout, a student studying environmental science and statistics.

Darren Bingham, a student passionate about environmental issues, said he felt the government has had a history of systematically exploiting or killing marginalized groups to make way for a select few.

“Whether it’s the idea of Manifest Destiny, The Homestead Act, the resettlement to reservations or crony capitalism, the first nations of America have been displaced and marginalized for the greed of others,” Bingham said.

Other students also felt the government has treated Native Americans unfairly, and wanted to support the monument.

“We see it happening all over in places like South Dakota with the Standing Rock protest and we see it here where their agenda is to roll out more fossil fuel development,” Christian said.

Anders Hart, a sophomore studying restoration conservation ecology, said he is participating in the movement to show solidarity and support with the tribes whom this land is sacred to.

While students were passionate about the issue, some also expressed fear.

“I’m afraid too many people are buying into framework that just promotes destruction of land and cultural resources when they let their representatives convince them not to support expansions of public land,” Christian said.

If they succeed, the monument will be located in the Bears Ears region in southeastern Utah, near Lake Powell.

—aligirl123@att.net

@alison__berg