Common Ground: The Story of Bears Ears
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
President Obama declared Bears Ears a National monument in December, 2016. One year later, President Trump reduced the monument by 85 percent. While the political debate continues, COMMON GROUND: THE STORY OF BEARS EARS seeks to transcend the rhetoric, following the inhabitants of San Juan County, revealing the mutual ideals between opposing ideologies: love and awe of a beloved land.
Citation
Main credits
Sparks, Paige Keiter (film director)
Sparks, Paige Keiter (editor of moving image work)
Taylor, Carmen (film producer)
DeJohn, Michael (editor of moving image work)
Vincent, Nick (director of photography)
Other credits
Director of photography, Nick Vincent; edited by Paige Sparks, Michael DeJohn.
Distributor subjects
Indigenous Studies, American Studies, Environmental StudiesKeywords
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(intense music)
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(crickets chirping)
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-: We are here to celebrate something incredibly special.
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Something that has never been done before,
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it's unprecedented in a variety of ways.
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Our celebration is an exciting one,
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because one, it's an indigenous truth,
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which doesn't always come to Washington D.C.
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We are here to propose to President Barack Obama
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a national monument, asking the Obama administration
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to strongly consider the use of the antiquities act
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of 1906, to give his presidential proclamation,
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and turn into law the protection and preservation
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of these lands we call the Bears Ears.
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Woman: A battle over the question of local control
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versus federal power is playing out
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in the western U.S. once again.
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Woman: President Obama has made yet another move trying
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to cement his legacy as an environmentalist.
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Man: Republican lawmakers have suggested he shrink it,
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or simply stop funding it.
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Man: They're gonna start restricting it,
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restricting access.
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Man: The arrogance of a monument is offensive.
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(crowd chanting)
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Man: Environmentalists say they're ready
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to defend Bears Ears in court,
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an attack on one national park makes all of them fall over.
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(birds chirping)
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(indigenous music)
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-: Sometimes I come out here just to listen.
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Our ancestors, you know, they're here,
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they're still here.
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I can hear them through the breeze,
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like the birds chirping out there, and I feel like I'm home.
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There's a pottery chip here, some right there.
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That needs to be preserved and protected.
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We're about five miles from Bears Ears,
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south of Bears Ears on Cedar Mesa.
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People, they come around,
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and they ask us, why?
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Why is it so important?
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There's nothing out there.
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The juniper trees, there's gums and saps on here.
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They use it for sores and stuff like that.
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That's medicines for us.
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I don't have electricity in my home today.
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I don't have running water yet.
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See, that's how I live.
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So, when they ask me, how are you connected to this land?
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I look at them and say,
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Did I hear the question right, or? You know?
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All they do is they turn out the light,
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or they turn on their air conditioner and they're, okay.
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They turn on the TV and they're okay.
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They put the food in the microwave
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and then they're all right, you know.
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Everything is there.
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But us, over here, we live this, you know?
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(choral music)
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We need to preserve whatever we have,
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that's all we got left.
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(orchestral music)
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-: Well, this area has long been one
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of the greatest concentration of archeological sites
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in North America.
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I mean, every archeologist knows about it.
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Utah, it's geographically,
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and climatically an interesting place.
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So, there's lots of rock uplifts and rock exposures.
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And dry areas, so those things are really good
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for preserving archeological evidence of the past.
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I mean literally, there are hundreds
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of thousands of archeological sites here.
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Each one of one those sites
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is a treasure of historical information about the past.
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We don't have books left by the Anasazi,
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by the Pueblo People, they didn't write books down.
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Every one of those sites is a record of human occupation
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in the human family history.
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And they encompass all kinds of things,
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from simple scatters of artifacts,
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to magnificent cliff dwellings,
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to incredible art on the walls,
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and things of great significance to living native people.
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Before Europeans arrived and claimed the land as their own
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and forcibly drove the natives from it,
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land ownership was a completely different kind of a notion
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than we have in the historical European notion
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of land ownership.
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And most of the people who were in this region historically
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were hunter gatherers, and so they moved a lot.
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They didn't live in one place and stay there forever,
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so they ranged over large territories.
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-: The government in the 1800s decided
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to put us in various parts of the reservation.
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And spread us out,
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so that we would no longer be one united tribe.
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-: The original land that belonged
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to the Native Americans,
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today, we've only retained about 2%.
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And that's why we have Hopi, Zuni, Houma and Ute,
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Yu Tribe, Navajo,
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all of these tribes have a strong spiritual
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and historical connection to Bears Ears land.
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'Cause we've all lived there,
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or our ancestors lived there,
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and today the spirits of our ancestors
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still roam in Bears Ears lands.
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-: The last 75 years or so,
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people have done more or less as they wanted to
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with these federal lands.
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There's lots of archeological looting here,
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it was kind of a long time practice.
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Man: In monument valley,
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a driver must have strong hands on the wheel.
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Man: The archeological community bears
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on a certain amount of blame.
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Because there were archeologists
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who came down here in the early part
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of the early 1900s collecting artifacts
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for their museum exhibits,
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and they taught the local guys
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how to find the best artifacts.
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Man: This may be the grave of a basket maker Indian
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who lived 1500 years ago.
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-: We train FBI agents, enforcers, BLM,
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and other federal officers
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how to identify sites which were looted.
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Long ago, a particular site was looted,
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whatever was found, the price generally starts
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as low as quarter of a million dollars.
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Gives you an idea of what that pottery is worth.
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(orchestral music)
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-: People in Blanding went out
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for most of their lives and collected pottery,
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and they collected arrowheads and those kind of things.
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So, the FBI, under the direction of the BLM law enforcement
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conducted two separate raids of families in Blanding
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with the intention of confiscating those collections.
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Man: 1800 hours in, Dr. Jim and Jeannie Rudd.
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Nice to meet you.
-: Meet ya.
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Man: Nice house!
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Man: Thank you very much.
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You can come and sit down if you'd like.
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Man: Thank you
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Woman: Oh, I found that
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Man: Oh really? Okay.
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Woman: Baby mummy cave is what they call it,
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five babies were buried there.
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Man: Yeah baby, okay.
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Still mummies in there, or?
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Woman: They, they were.
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Um, yeah.
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-: Dr. Red delivered my second daughter.
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He would teasingly say things,
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asking, oh, I bet you know some really good areas
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on where to get pottery and rugs.
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We didn't know at the time
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that he had been stealing artifacts.
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(crowd laughs)
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-: They had this big beautiful door
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that opened up into their entry way,
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and all of a sudden, all I saw were,
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everything that was Anasazi.
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I was in shock.
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Man: How 'bout if we did, 1000 for that one?
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500, 600, and eight.
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-: Dr. Red, James Red and his family
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were caught digging in a site on State land,
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and they were excavating in a burial.
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One of their defenses was, it wasn't really human bones,
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it was just old Anasazi bones, old Indian bones.
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So, they tried to avoid prosecution
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for abuse of a dead human body,
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and unfortunately Dr. Red chose to take his own life,
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rather than face the consequences of that action.
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-: There were two other people
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that also committed suicide as a result of that raid.
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The people were, they're angry
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with BLM law enforcement in general,
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because BLM law enforcement was the leader of those raids.
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-: In our culture, those are our ancestors.
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It's basically a burial site.
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I mean, I don't think anybody
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would appreciate anyone going into any cemetery
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and taking clothes, or jewelry,
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or whatever you're buried with.
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-: And to see that dug up,
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in someone's home, like they have no respect for that?
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I no longer have respect for that person,
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because they don't have respect of who I am,
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and where I come from.
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That's just how I see blindly now.
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Man: It's a terribly sore spot down here.
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There's a lot of room for some healing
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and some understanding.
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And it's unfortunate that protection
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of heritage resources can be such a community divider.
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There were proposals going back 60, 70, 80 years
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to protect some of this area as a national monument,
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or a national park,
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but for political reasons, it never was.
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(orchestral music)
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-: These environmental organizations,
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they proposed a massive Red Rock wilderness bill.
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It just hasn't got much traction
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until about three years ago,
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when there was some talk about a public land initiative,
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or a PLI.
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-: The county appointed a certain number of citizens
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to be on a council to recommend various ideas
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of designations that we felt would
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be appropriate for the county.
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And in that time, we came up with some wilderness,
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some conservation areas.
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We had definitely a mining corridor.
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Everyone would get a piece of the pie.
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-: As much as we don't lobby for federal designation
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or local resources, maybe we could get something
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out of it.
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So, the county, by saying we agree
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to large swaths of wilderness,
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we would get some extractive ability in the other places.
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-: That PLI process went on for a couple years,
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and we were holding public meetings with
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our constituency, we were presenting maps and plans.
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Some of the groups that were involved
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with us decided they didn't like
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what we were doing, and so they pulled out
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of that process.
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(wind blowing)
(birds chirping)
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-: The tribes wanted to show,
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we wanted to engage, we wanted to be able
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to say we want to actively be at the table of negotiations.
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We can't live with what's written
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into the document at that time,
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because we just needed to just smooth over
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and get a better understanding.
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It was rather disturbing when we were told
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that not much was going to change out of that document.
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-: By the time it left the county,
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and it went to Ron Bishop
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and then everybody else had their say on it.
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There wasn't a citizen, or a person on that council
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that really liked the final product.
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(crowd booing)
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-: What we are trying to do
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with the public lands initiative
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is come to a balanced approach.
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You help out to our recreationists,
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you have conservation needs,
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you have energy development,
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you have a whole host of--
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(crowd boos)
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-: The hearing will come to order.
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The subcommittee on federal lands meets today
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to hear a testimony on HR-5780,
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the Utah public lands initiative act.
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Unfortunately, the bill strays significantly
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from the time tested management language
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that this congress and other congresses
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have used for decades when it protects public lands.
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-: HR-5780 falls far short of what it would take
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to reach a legitimate compromise
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and leaves many of the stakeholders,
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including the regional Native American communities,
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no choice but to oppose the legislation.
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-: The environmental communities started backing the proposal
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by the Five Tribe Coalition.
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They started proposing for Bears Ears national monument.
00:15:29.730 --> 00:15:33.480
-: Up to that point, the movement was originating
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from a grass roots organization
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and the voices from community people
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who were bringing forth those conversations
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of preservation and conservation
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and continued access, and were gettin' nowhere
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in their conversations with the county and the state.
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After six long years,
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they decided to change up the whole approach.
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And we're going to exercise the one thing
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our people have always had.
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And that's sovereignty.
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We have that honor and right to march to D.C.
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-: Can you talk a little bit more about why you chose
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to leave the negotiations?
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-: On December 31st,
00:16:18.880 --> 00:16:21.100
we all gathered in White Mesa,
00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:25.190
and were supposed to have a meeting with staff members,
00:16:25.190 --> 00:16:28.240
and that morning we received a letter
00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.740
that that wasn't going to happen.
00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:34.040
-: Many of the indigenous tribes in this country
00:16:34.040 --> 00:16:37.763
are feeling that need to be heard.
00:16:37.763 --> 00:16:39.930
Because I don't think a lot of people,
00:16:39.930 --> 00:16:41.530
even our closest neighbors
00:16:41.530 --> 00:16:44.550
quite understand some of the historical traumas
00:16:44.550 --> 00:16:46.900
that my people have endured.
00:16:46.900 --> 00:16:48.380
-: We have attempted to,
00:16:48.380 --> 00:16:50.710
to try to continue the conversations
00:16:50.710 --> 00:16:53.720
with Chairman Bishop and Chaffetz
00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:57.500
and through several of those meetings,
00:16:57.500 --> 00:17:00.160
we just didn't feel quite like we were taken seriously.
00:17:00.160 --> 00:17:02.070
-: The day that I testified was a day
00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:04.430
that I totally did not expect.
00:17:04.430 --> 00:17:07.533
I had started making my testimony,
00:17:08.410 --> 00:17:09.860
and had been cut off.
00:17:09.860 --> 00:17:11.533
-: What state do you live in?
00:17:12.600 --> 00:17:14.610
-: I live in Toya, Colorado.
00:17:14.610 --> 00:17:15.710
-: In Colorado, okay,
00:17:15.710 --> 00:17:18.603
this bill affects the State of Utah,
00:17:19.520 --> 00:17:22.100
could you tell me how many of your board of directors
00:17:22.100 --> 00:17:25.840
are from Utah, or in particular from San Juan County?
00:17:25.840 --> 00:17:28.950
-: We do have federal trust lands, as well as--
00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:32.340
-: Okay, so if the national monument's such a good idea,
00:17:32.340 --> 00:17:34.910
can you explain why you support on in your home state,
00:17:34.910 --> 00:17:38.040
but you do support one imposed against the wishes
00:17:38.040 --> 00:17:40.230
of the local community in another state?
00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:43.480
-: They mentioned if I would support the Sleeping U Mound
00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.670
becoming a national monument, that's the reservation,
00:17:46.670 --> 00:17:49.250
in all actuality, the tribe does have--
00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:50.083
-: Thank you, I'm gonna have to cut you off,
00:17:50.083 --> 00:17:51.760
because my time is short.
00:17:51.760 --> 00:17:55.100
-: Pretty much badgered by a majority of the committee.
00:17:55.100 --> 00:17:56.320
-: You made a statement in there
00:17:56.320 --> 00:17:59.930
of the December meeting in which a staffer
00:17:59.930 --> 00:18:01.600
was supposed to attend.
00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:03.000
And you were told it wouldn't happen,
00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:04.490
and that was the trigger
00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:06.030
that allowed you no longer
00:18:06.030 --> 00:18:08.160
to actually deal with us.
00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.040
Do you know what that staffer was not able
00:18:10.040 --> 00:18:12.143
to attend that Christmas time meeting?
00:18:13.331 --> 00:18:15.940
-: No, I stated that that was the trigger
00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:17.530
that launched the discussion--
00:18:17.530 --> 00:18:18.920
-: Do you know what that staffer
00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:20.783
was unable to attend the meeting?
00:18:23.470 --> 00:18:27.120
-: If I recall correctly, a loss of a family member.
00:18:27.120 --> 00:18:29.720
-: He was attending his father's funeral.
00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:31.510
Now with all due respect,
00:18:31.510 --> 00:18:34.113
do you not think that's a wiser choice of his time?
00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.640
-: Well yes, but--.
00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:38.020
-: That's all I had, which is why I
00:18:38.020 --> 00:18:40.440
was very offended by the statement that you made,
00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:41.910
that hurts very deeply,
00:18:41.910 --> 00:18:44.170
and I'm sorry, that's the wrong type
00:18:44.170 --> 00:18:46.260
of approach to take on this type of legislation.
00:18:46.260 --> 00:18:48.030
Woman: Well, if I, with all due respect--
00:18:48.030 --> 00:18:51.530
-: No, no, I'm sorry, I wanted that to be very clear.
00:18:51.530 --> 00:18:53.320
That was the proper approach,
00:18:53.320 --> 00:18:58.100
and if that was the trigger, then shame on you.
00:18:58.100 --> 00:19:01.047
With that, Mr. Chairman, let me go back to you.
00:19:05.303 --> 00:19:07.883
-: I've never been treated like that.
00:19:09.020 --> 00:19:13.083
I have people that I call my family.
00:19:15.370 --> 00:19:16.613
They're not native.
00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:20.113
They're farmers, they're settlers, they're ranchers.
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.730
And I call 'em my uncles, I call 'em my brothers,
00:19:27.730 --> 00:19:30.053
and I've never been disrespected like that.
00:19:32.410 --> 00:19:34.602
Woman: Thank you Mr. Chairman, first Ms. Whiteskunk,
00:19:34.602 --> 00:19:35.435
I just wanted
00:19:35.435 --> 00:19:36.960
to give you a chance to follow up
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.040
on your answer to Chairman Bishop.
00:19:39.040 --> 00:19:39.970
-: Thank you,
00:19:39.970 --> 00:19:42.670
If I recall correctly, we'd received an email
00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:45.530
that morning that that staff member
00:19:45.530 --> 00:19:47.193
was not going to be there.
00:19:48.170 --> 00:19:49.950
I would have figured that
00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:51.810
if the funeral was scheduled that day,
00:19:51.810 --> 00:19:55.155
we would've received some more leeway
00:19:55.155 --> 00:19:55.988
in terms of--
00:19:55.988 --> 00:19:59.430
Woman: When we asked Representative Rob Bishop
00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:01.220
and Jason Chaffetz if they knew
00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:03.773
where the headquarters to the Yuma tribe is,
00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:08.010
they didn't know, not one of the representatives
00:20:08.010 --> 00:20:11.120
ever knocked about the door of the Yuma Tribe.
00:20:11.120 --> 00:20:14.090
-: And with that, I yield back glad though,
00:20:14.090 --> 00:20:15.650
that as the circus begins,
00:20:15.650 --> 00:20:19.200
I'm gonna hear from my cohort down there, Chaffetz,
00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.290
who has a master at the art of circus,
00:20:21.290 --> 00:20:23.821
he's mastered the high wire act perfectly.
00:20:23.821 --> 00:20:26.360
-: There's this great place in Bears Ears we
00:20:26.360 --> 00:20:30.600
can put this high wire and, I'm just teasing.
00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:32.502
-: And we decided, if they're not going
00:20:32.502 --> 00:20:33.579
to take us seriously,
00:20:33.579 --> 00:20:35.750
we're not going to extend the courtesy
00:20:35.750 --> 00:20:37.690
of engaging in the conversation
00:20:37.690 --> 00:20:40.810
for the public lands initiative, we're done.
00:20:40.810 --> 00:20:42.743
We're going straight to D.C.
00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:57.580
-: A controversial announcement from the White House today,
00:20:57.580 --> 00:21:01.580
President Barack Obama designated Utah's Bears Ears area
00:21:01.580 --> 00:21:04.340
as a national monument, now the announcement comes
00:21:04.340 --> 00:21:07.310
after years of input from tribes elected officials,
00:21:07.310 --> 00:21:10.560
and proposed legislation introduced in congress.
00:21:10.560 --> 00:21:12.030
-: I think the statement that's being made
00:21:12.030 --> 00:21:14.021
is one of politics,
00:21:14.021 --> 00:21:16.960
and that the process involved is really disappointed
00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:19.773
to me, because clearly as we know,
00:21:19.773 --> 00:21:22.530
that 60% of people in Utah are opposed
00:21:22.530 --> 00:21:23.580
to a national monument.
00:21:23.580 --> 00:21:28.580
-: The arrogance of a monument is offensive.
00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.290
For all the lip service the democrats give
00:21:31.290 --> 00:21:33.120
to bipartisan and meeting,
00:21:33.120 --> 00:21:34.540
and we wanna accomplish this,
00:21:34.540 --> 00:21:36.427
it seems to be their way or no way.
00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:45.270
-: The antiquities act
00:21:45.270 --> 00:21:48.400
does not give the federal government unlimited power
00:21:49.320 --> 00:21:52.943
to lock up millions of acres of land and water,
00:21:53.980 --> 00:21:58.663
and it's time we ended this abusive practice,
00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:01.920
and now we're going to free it up.
00:22:14.290 --> 00:22:17.170
-: I loved Monitcello, I went to elementary school,
00:22:17.170 --> 00:22:18.410
high school here.
00:22:18.410 --> 00:22:20.360
Monticello was a quiet town.
00:22:20.360 --> 00:22:24.060
Everybody knows everybody on a first name basis.
00:22:24.060 --> 00:22:26.330
There's not a lot of high paying jobs,
00:22:26.330 --> 00:22:29.610
there's not a lot of big money in Monitcello.
00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:33.771
If you can scratch out a living
00:22:33.771 --> 00:22:35.790
and raise your kids here
00:22:35.790 --> 00:22:38.300
and have some good experiences,
00:22:38.300 --> 00:22:40.500
that's really why people live in Monticello.
00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:46.660
-: This little tiny chunk of land right here
00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:49.300
that's in white is private property.
00:22:49.300 --> 00:22:51.230
That's all of the private property out
00:22:51.230 --> 00:22:53.500
of 5 million acres we have.
00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:56.280
8% of the county is private property.
00:22:56.280 --> 00:22:58.270
-: So we went in earnest
00:22:58.270 --> 00:23:01.630
for a good two years on that public lands initiative
00:23:01.630 --> 00:23:06.400
and everything that we offered was taken
00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.080
by the Bears Ears monument designation
00:23:09.080 --> 00:23:12.530
by President Obama, with absolutely nothing given
00:23:12.530 --> 00:23:14.570
as a quid pro quo.
00:23:14.570 --> 00:23:16.110
So, that's not a good way
00:23:16.110 --> 00:23:19.670
to engender feelings of team work and trust.
00:23:19.670 --> 00:23:21.010
Yet that's what they wanna come back
00:23:21.010 --> 00:23:23.010
and say, hey this is good for everybody.
00:23:25.830 --> 00:23:28.960
-: We don't think the federal government
00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:31.930
has to be looking over our shoulder every time
00:23:31.930 --> 00:23:34.623
we try to do something on that public land.
00:23:42.350 --> 00:23:45.490
-: Well, we're blessed to live in a public lands county.
00:23:45.490 --> 00:23:47.460
And all my life growing up,
00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:50.030
that just meant that you could hunt,
00:23:50.030 --> 00:23:51.410
and you could gather firewood,
00:23:51.410 --> 00:23:52.880
and you could do a lot of things without having
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:54.250
to try to get permission.
00:23:54.250 --> 00:23:58.150
In the recent decades, that's kind of changed a little bit,
00:23:58.150 --> 00:24:01.800
and you start to find yourself more and more a trespasser,
00:24:01.800 --> 00:24:05.663
in what has been your area and where you live.
00:24:12.830 --> 00:24:16.160
Blanding is the community that wakes up and sees Bears Ears
00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.580
on the horizon.
00:24:17.580 --> 00:24:18.930
I've seen it my whole life.
00:24:18.930 --> 00:24:22.310
It's not a Obama thing, it's not a Trump thing,
00:24:22.310 --> 00:24:25.200
people should live in an area like this
00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.483
without fear of being blind.
00:24:30.540 --> 00:24:32.650
-: So we looked at our administrative assistant
00:24:32.650 --> 00:24:33.920
in commission meeting one day
00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.840
and we said, call Secretary Zinke's secretary,
00:24:37.840 --> 00:24:39.150
and see if we can get an appointment
00:24:39.150 --> 00:24:42.090
to go visit him in Washington D.C.
00:24:42.090 --> 00:24:44.240
So, we got on the airplane, we flew out,
00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:45.970
went to the department of interiors,
00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:48.610
sat down, met him, tried to show him
00:24:48.610 --> 00:24:51.003
what existed on the ground.
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:56.400
Part of the information that I gave Secretary Zinke
00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:00.780
was a resolution from the San Juan county commission,
00:25:00.780 --> 00:25:04.233
asking him to rescind the monument.
00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:14.690
Secretary Zinke was coming to San Juan county,
00:25:14.690 --> 00:25:16.450
we had no idea.
00:25:16.450 --> 00:25:18.290
We all met at the Blanding Airport.
00:25:18.290 --> 00:25:21.590
The governor had ordered three black hawk helicopters
00:25:21.590 --> 00:25:23.250
to meet us there.
00:25:23.250 --> 00:25:26.103
We had planned a flight over the Bears Ears.
00:25:27.090 --> 00:25:30.200
In two day, they probably spent close
00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:31.805
to eight hours with us.
00:25:31.805 --> 00:25:33.770
(crowd clamoring)
00:25:33.770 --> 00:25:38.770
He wanted to hear what the local people who live here have
00:25:39.560 --> 00:25:41.170
to say about the monument.
00:25:41.170 --> 00:25:42.937
All: Stand with Bears Ears!
00:25:42.937 --> 00:25:44.670
Woman: It wasn't the warmest welcome
00:25:44.670 --> 00:25:47.585
for department of interior secretary Ryan Zinke today.
00:25:47.585 --> 00:25:48.418
-: We would like
00:25:48.418 --> 00:25:51.990
to see the Bears Ears National Monument preserved.
00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:53.930
For our children.
00:25:53.930 --> 00:25:57.900
-: I'm here to get acquainted with the issue.
00:25:57.900 --> 00:25:58.733
Woman: And a big part
00:25:58.733 --> 00:26:01.880
of the issue is protecting tribal sacred lands,
00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:04.410
Zinke says, which is why today he met
00:26:04.410 --> 00:26:06.940
with Utah's top Native American leaders.
00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:09.010
-: This is the first time they're at the table.
00:26:09.010 --> 00:26:14.010
And there is distrust of previous efforts
00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:20.200
that the tribe and tribes in this case, aren't heard.
00:26:20.320 --> 00:26:22.260
But the secretary promised the voices
00:26:22.260 --> 00:26:24.410
of the tribal leaders will be heard
00:26:24.410 --> 00:26:27.883
and so will the voices of others in the communities.
00:26:28.860 --> 00:26:33.680
-: Zinke only met with the Coalition of Five Tribes
00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:36.710
for only one hour in Salt Lake City.
00:26:36.710 --> 00:26:40.283
When he came down the Blanding,
00:26:41.330 --> 00:26:45.130
we were outside, tribal leaders in the parking lot,
00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:47.370
and they left in the helicopter.
00:26:47.370 --> 00:26:51.842
They left us alone, they didn't invited us.
00:26:51.842 --> 00:26:53.982
Woman: Zinke, is there a reason why you're not listening
00:26:53.982 --> 00:26:56.196
to tribal leaders?
00:26:56.196 --> 00:26:57.986
Zinke are you gonna visit with the tribes more?
00:26:57.986 --> 00:26:59.346
-: Be nice!
00:26:59.346 --> 00:27:00.179
Woman: I'm so nice.
00:27:00.179 --> 00:27:01.012
-: Be nice.
00:27:01.012 --> 00:27:05.750
-: In contrast to when former Secretary
00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:07.703
of Interior Jewel came down,
00:27:08.910 --> 00:27:12.563
she spent about a week meeting with both sides,
00:27:14.053 --> 00:27:19.053
and she gave equal timing for the people supporting
00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:22.330
the monument and the people who were against the monument
00:27:22.330 --> 00:27:23.790
in the county.
00:27:23.790 --> 00:27:26.270
-: You know, I strongly believe there was fair time
00:27:26.270 --> 00:27:27.103
for both sides.
00:27:27.103 --> 00:27:30.160
And I know people that say, well, he just ignored us.
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.330
But as the secretary of interior,
00:27:32.330 --> 00:27:33.977
one of the most important people you can meet with
00:27:33.977 --> 00:27:35.340
are the elected leadership,
00:27:35.340 --> 00:27:37.330
because they're the ones that really speak for the people.
00:27:37.330 --> 00:27:39.693
So, he did spend a lot of time with elected officials.
00:27:39.693 --> 00:27:40.920
-: There's some of the narratives are
00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:44.160
that the Native Americans were supportive
00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:46.830
of the monument and it was white people
00:27:46.830 --> 00:27:48.210
that were opposed to it.
00:27:48.210 --> 00:27:50.760
And it was interested that of the Navajo nations
00:27:50.760 --> 00:27:54.290
that do support the monument, there's one that doesn't.
00:27:54.290 --> 00:27:55.570
It's the one that's there.
00:27:55.570 --> 00:27:56.730
-: In San Juan county,
00:27:56.730 --> 00:28:00.110
there are seven Native American chapters
00:28:00.110 --> 00:28:03.200
of those seven chapters, there's only one
00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:07.270
that is predominately Utah residents.
00:28:07.270 --> 00:28:12.270
The other six have Utah and Arizona residents.
00:28:12.330 --> 00:28:14.550
-: Some of the things that you see on the surface,
00:28:14.550 --> 00:28:17.620
you say, well, there's a Native American population
00:28:17.620 --> 00:28:18.453
that wants it.
00:28:18.453 --> 00:28:20.828
I think the Utah Navajo are opposed to it.
00:28:20.828 --> 00:28:22.960
And I think that's reflective in the fact
00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:25.990
that there's three commissioners in San Juan County.
00:28:25.990 --> 00:28:29.910
Two of 'em are white, one of 'em is Native American,
00:28:29.910 --> 00:28:30.840
Rebecca Benali.
00:28:30.840 --> 00:28:34.830
She as elected by a strong majority to represent her people,
00:28:34.830 --> 00:28:37.500
and she is adamantly opposed to this monument.
00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:38.860
-: Do I have the correct information,
00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:40.427
or is it true that six
00:28:40.427 --> 00:28:44.240
of the seven Navajo Nation Utah chapter houses
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.700
have passed resolutions in favor
00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:48.300
of the monument in the proposal.
00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:51.160
-: It depends how you read it.
00:28:51.160 --> 00:28:54.730
Some of those resolutions say national conservation area
00:28:54.730 --> 00:28:56.200
or national monument.
00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:58.830
-: The 26 southwestern tribes,
00:28:58.830 --> 00:29:00.880
the 250 plus members
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:02.702
of the National Congress of American Indians
00:29:02.702 --> 00:29:05.129
that have passed resolutions in support,
00:29:05.129 --> 00:29:09.243
specifically in support of Bears Ears National Monument.
00:29:12.855 --> 00:29:13.688
Aren't these resolutions
00:29:13.688 --> 00:29:16.217
from sovereign units of government
00:29:16.217 --> 00:29:18.820
important in the decision making?
00:29:18.820 --> 00:29:21.160
-: Again, I will qualify my answer by saying,
00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:22.490
how many people were there
00:29:22.490 --> 00:29:24.850
to actually pass these resolutions?
00:29:24.850 --> 00:29:27.310
Because some of these resolutions were only passed
00:29:27.310 --> 00:29:29.460
by 17 or 18 people,
00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:34.460
versus there's over 2000 grassroots Utah Navajos
00:29:34.530 --> 00:29:35.970
that live in the county
00:29:35.970 --> 00:29:37.720
that would affect them, that are opposed
00:29:37.720 --> 00:29:39.540
to a national monument.
00:29:39.540 --> 00:29:43.660
-: Unfortunately, sadly, Rebecca Benali
00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:46.390
is a member of a Navajo Nation,
00:29:46.390 --> 00:29:51.390
but she supporting the conservation agenda.
00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:53.540
She promised a war with everybody,
00:29:53.540 --> 00:29:55.960
but when she got elected,
00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:58.880
she turned 180 degrees.
00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:00.920
-: We're close to the New Mexico border,
00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:02.484
Utah border, Arizona.
00:30:02.484 --> 00:30:05.220
Indian tribes didn't have borders,
00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:07.514
they didn't have imaginary lines that say,
00:30:07.514 --> 00:30:09.750
you live here in this area.
00:30:09.750 --> 00:30:13.560
They roamed, they walked, they fished, they hunt,
00:30:13.560 --> 00:30:15.860
and they took their families to different places
00:30:15.860 --> 00:30:18.450
that, this was the territorial range
00:30:18.450 --> 00:30:20.410
of many, many Indian tribes.
00:30:20.410 --> 00:30:23.495
-: In all actuality, when you say Native Americans,
00:30:23.495 --> 00:30:26.700
you have to really almost break it down
00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:29.360
into what tribe, and what community.
00:30:29.360 --> 00:30:33.040
Because, there is that movement
00:30:33.040 --> 00:30:35.280
that began to change from being supportive
00:30:35.280 --> 00:30:36.600
to being non supportive.
00:30:36.600 --> 00:30:39.500
Because of a lot of missed information.
00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:41.060
It's how they put it out,
00:30:41.060 --> 00:30:43.240
and how people are understanding it,
00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:44.883
which get rather confusing.
00:30:45.738 --> 00:30:47.593
-: And this is a democratic society.
00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.757
Majority, vast majority of Navajo,
00:30:55.124 --> 00:30:56.080
of Native Americans
00:30:56.080 --> 00:31:01.080
in San Juan county support Bears Ears National Monument.
00:31:02.926 --> 00:31:04.523
But for some reason,
00:31:05.890 --> 00:31:10.890
we have a small group supporting this obstructive objective.
00:31:11.970 --> 00:31:14.050
-: Go monument, that's what it means.
00:31:14.050 --> 00:31:16.260
Yay, go monument.
00:31:16.260 --> 00:31:18.421
Yay, go monument.
00:31:18.421 --> 00:31:20.450
Yay, go monument.
00:31:20.450 --> 00:31:22.370
Yeah, go monument.
00:31:22.370 --> 00:31:23.254
Yay, go monument.
00:31:23.254 --> 00:31:24.087
-: You know when I look at the political atmosphere
00:31:24.087 --> 00:31:25.130
of San Juan country right now,
00:31:25.130 --> 00:31:28.210
what I'm really seeing is a horrendous amount of fear,
00:31:28.210 --> 00:31:29.700
a fear of change.
00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:31.740
If the Native Americans are 52%
00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:34.380
of the population of San Juan county,
00:31:34.380 --> 00:31:36.923
they've always had a marginal say.
00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.410
I can see a lot of the problems
00:31:41.410 --> 00:31:43.530
that they faced on the reservation
00:31:43.530 --> 00:31:46.610
by not having full say in a lot of things
00:31:46.610 --> 00:31:47.783
can be corrected.
00:31:51.790 --> 00:31:55.740
-: This is an area where the Native Americans outnumber
00:31:55.740 --> 00:31:57.433
the white population.
00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:02.713
Yet very, very few elected officials are Native.
00:32:04.224 --> 00:32:09.224
-: You know, it's interesting when you look at the history,
00:32:09.660 --> 00:32:12.687
the legal challenges of San Juan county,
00:32:13.651 --> 00:32:16.810
racism has always been here.
00:32:16.810 --> 00:32:20.670
-: I didn't really know much about racial slurs.
00:32:20.670 --> 00:32:23.650
Especially because it was used so much.
00:32:23.650 --> 00:32:24.483
I grew up with it,
00:32:24.483 --> 00:32:26.430
I grew up thinking that that's who I was,
00:32:26.430 --> 00:32:31.430
a savage, or a redskin, or dirty skin.
00:32:33.150 --> 00:32:34.790
-: Sometimes it can be very difficult,
00:32:34.790 --> 00:32:36.960
because I just feel there are those
00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:40.240
that are ignorant to understanding our ways,
00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:42.400
understanding who we are.
00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.390
It would be great to have them come down here
00:32:44.390 --> 00:32:45.510
and say, look at this,
00:32:45.510 --> 00:32:47.660
this is where I live.
00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:49.310
Because me just going and telling them
00:32:49.310 --> 00:32:52.460
is just gonna go in one ear and out the other ear.
00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.920
-: Today, with Bears Ears,
00:33:08.920 --> 00:33:13.920
it kind of reinforced the thinking of non Native American.
00:33:17.690 --> 00:33:19.287
Especially the white people living
00:33:19.287 --> 00:33:22.293
in border towns, you know?
00:33:30.264 --> 00:33:34.050
-: I think there is an amount of racism that exists.
00:33:34.050 --> 00:33:39.050
There are Navajo people who do not like white people,
00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:43.594
and think that white people do not like Navajos.
00:33:43.594 --> 00:33:44.977
There are white people I think,
00:33:44.977 --> 00:33:47.240
that feel the same way about Navajos.
00:33:47.240 --> 00:33:49.740
I'm certainly not one of those people.
00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:51.290
I'm the first to recognize
00:33:51.290 --> 00:33:54.010
how difficult it has been for those people
00:33:54.010 --> 00:33:54.843
on the reservation.
00:33:54.843 --> 00:33:57.160
Many of 'em are educated people,
00:33:57.160 --> 00:34:00.240
they have gone away and got college degrees.
00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.610
But they want to live at home.
00:34:03.610 --> 00:34:05.640
Just like many of the people
00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:07.490
from Monitcello and Blanding.
00:34:07.490 --> 00:34:10.040
But there just hasn't been an economy
00:34:10.040 --> 00:34:13.270
to support those children to come back
00:34:13.270 --> 00:34:14.393
and make a living.
00:34:17.040 --> 00:34:18.940
In my opinion, the federal government
00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.880
has caused the problem.
00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:23.140
When you have all of the land tied up
00:34:23.140 --> 00:34:26.700
in trust lands, so that they really can't
00:34:26.700 --> 00:34:30.440
do the things that you can on private property.
00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:33.820
It creates a situation where it's a no win
00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:35.043
for the Navajo People.
00:34:42.710 --> 00:34:47.180
-: I've come to Utah to take a very historic action.
00:34:47.180 --> 00:34:49.850
To reverse federal overreach
00:34:49.850 --> 00:34:54.060
and restore the rights of this land
00:34:54.060 --> 00:34:55.693
to your citizens.
00:35:00.470 --> 00:35:02.200
-: Secretary Zinke said,
00:35:02.200 --> 00:35:05.270
you understand that this is a really difficult thing
00:35:05.270 --> 00:35:07.033
for the president to do
00:35:07.033 --> 00:35:11.380
because he's not doing it to be political.
00:35:11.380 --> 00:35:14.840
There's 15,000 voters in San Juan county.
00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:17.370
15,000 voters don't make the difference
00:35:17.370 --> 00:35:20.003
in a national presidential election.
00:35:21.075 --> 00:35:23.825
(crowd chanting)
00:35:27.992 --> 00:35:30.742
(Native singing)
00:35:32.560 --> 00:35:35.040
-: All of politics ends up being adults fighting
00:35:35.040 --> 00:35:36.350
over adult systems.
00:35:36.350 --> 00:35:38.460
When we appropriate dollars and people control
00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:41.380
how dollars are spent, any time you interrupt that,
00:35:41.380 --> 00:35:43.270
you create upheaval.
00:35:43.270 --> 00:35:45.440
The best public policy we're gonna come to,
00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:48.117
understanding everybody's gonna have their cake,
00:35:48.117 --> 00:35:49.108
and their turf,
00:35:49.108 --> 00:35:51.160
is to be committed
00:35:51.160 --> 00:35:54.470
to letting good information drive good decisions.
00:35:54.470 --> 00:35:56.540
I love stickin' up for the little guy.
00:35:56.540 --> 00:35:59.980
And I'm of the opinion, after 15 years
00:35:59.980 --> 00:36:01.720
of public service, if I can sit in front
00:36:01.720 --> 00:36:04.390
of someone, I can find the overlap,
00:36:04.390 --> 00:36:06.620
and I can find the areas of agreement,
00:36:06.620 --> 00:36:10.981
and I don't think in the Bears Ears monument process,
00:36:10.981 --> 00:36:13.283
we've been given that opportunity.
00:36:15.670 --> 00:36:17.930
All this was here before we were.
00:36:17.930 --> 00:36:19.790
And man, we're little ants,
00:36:19.790 --> 00:36:21.360
and you can call it anything you want,
00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:23.020
call it Disney Land if you want,
00:36:23.020 --> 00:36:27.240
it's gonna be here when we're long, long gone.
00:36:27.240 --> 00:36:29.150
I think it would be incredibly arrogant
00:36:29.150 --> 00:36:30.280
to think that man is going
00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:32.220
to completely change the landscape
00:36:32.220 --> 00:36:35.050
of the one hour tour on that helicopter I made.
00:36:35.050 --> 00:36:37.870
It is beautiful, it is pristine,
00:36:37.870 --> 00:36:41.070
particularly in some areas, but it is massive.
00:36:41.070 --> 00:36:44.400
And not you, or me, or Dr. Evil
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:47.980
if he wanted to pave the world could get a fraction
00:36:47.980 --> 00:36:50.482
of the way through before he'd die of old age,
00:36:50.482 --> 00:36:53.200
and change that area, it's so big.
00:36:53.200 --> 00:36:55.456
-: There's an interest in the environmental community
00:36:55.456 --> 00:36:57.510
to lock these lands up.
00:36:57.510 --> 00:36:58.720
That's my feeling on it,
00:36:58.720 --> 00:37:01.416
and I think there are very, very powerful people behind it.
00:37:01.416 --> 00:37:03.280
We used to manage the forests,
00:37:03.280 --> 00:37:05.360
we used to go in and thin trees and cut timber.
00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.040
They've shut down the mills, 500 people lost their jobs.
00:37:09.040 --> 00:37:11.000
It's what's happening the west,
00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:15.430
as far as allowing an extreme environmental element
00:37:15.430 --> 00:37:18.673
to take over the management of our public lands.
00:37:22.240 --> 00:37:27.240
-: I follow me heart, and it's not being influenced
00:37:29.400 --> 00:37:32.584
by outside people, or environmentalists.
00:37:32.584 --> 00:37:36.550
This is the idea of the tribes.
00:37:36.550 --> 00:37:40.423
It's not coming from nowhere else at all.
00:37:41.890 --> 00:37:46.890
So, Mike Noel is just making false claims
00:37:47.002 --> 00:37:51.860
against a vast majority of Native Americans,
00:37:51.860 --> 00:37:55.573
because they have the corporate interests.
00:37:56.490 --> 00:38:00.562
-: We have been here for the last 50 years
00:38:00.562 --> 00:38:02.600
helping manage this land.
00:38:02.600 --> 00:38:04.453
We're an extractive county.
00:38:05.570 --> 00:38:07.590
You don't see drill rigs all over the place,
00:38:07.590 --> 00:38:10.190
you don't see plunder all over the place,
00:38:10.190 --> 00:38:15.080
misuse of the land, because we respect the land.
00:38:15.080 --> 00:38:18.730
The minerals in the county exist in Hatch Point,
00:38:18.730 --> 00:38:20.580
which is North of Monticello.
00:38:20.580 --> 00:38:24.040
It doesn't exist out in the Bears Ears,
00:38:24.040 --> 00:38:26.990
and time and time again I see things on TV
00:38:26.990 --> 00:38:30.190
about the oil and gas industry wanting to come in
00:38:30.190 --> 00:38:34.480
and drill and mine and stuff in the Bears Ears.
00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:36.190
There's no minerals there.
00:38:36.190 --> 00:38:37.690
-: A closer examination of the
00:38:37.690 --> 00:38:40.000
so called conservation provisions
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:42.490
demonstrates a clear pattern of loopholes,
00:38:42.490 --> 00:38:45.150
rollback protections, and an undermining
00:38:45.150 --> 00:38:47.530
of federal land management authority.
00:38:47.530 --> 00:38:50.540
It could be said that this is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
00:38:50.540 --> 00:38:55.110
-: When the citizen of two communities were prosperous,
00:38:55.110 --> 00:38:57.660
it was during those mining times.
00:38:57.660 --> 00:39:02.660
And so, I think, thinking that it would be a possibility
00:39:03.320 --> 00:39:07.810
that is slowly being erased by a monument,
00:39:07.810 --> 00:39:09.170
is frightening to them.
00:39:09.170 --> 00:39:14.170
-: Right now, the last surviving Uranium milling operation
00:39:14.490 --> 00:39:16.130
is in Blanding, Utah.
00:39:16.130 --> 00:39:18.220
That's a huge deal, because
00:39:18.220 --> 00:39:20.225
of the need for nuclear power,
00:39:20.225 --> 00:39:23.463
and there's even a need for the milling
00:39:23.463 --> 00:39:27.170
of the waste materials on the reservation,
00:39:27.170 --> 00:39:30.240
to be able to come in, let the Native Americans
00:39:30.240 --> 00:39:33.340
take the jobs, which they would want the jobs.
00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:35.730
Make this Uranium that's sitting out there,
00:39:35.730 --> 00:39:38.050
this waste Uranium that's still radioactive,
00:39:38.050 --> 00:39:40.420
mill it, and make it usable for Uranium.
00:39:40.420 --> 00:39:41.895
There's like $3 billion that would go
00:39:41.895 --> 00:39:42.740
to the tribes.
00:39:42.740 --> 00:39:45.440
So there's some benefits by keeping that.
00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:49.220
-: Some people are okay with a nuclear power plant,
00:39:49.220 --> 00:39:50.360
some people are not.
00:39:50.360 --> 00:39:53.800
I just happen to be one that is okay with it.
00:39:53.800 --> 00:39:56.170
-: Oh, we're gonna find all our Uranium, are we?
00:39:56.170 --> 00:39:58.020
-: It's out there some place.
00:39:58.020 --> 00:39:59.480
Mountains full of it.
00:39:59.480 --> 00:40:01.550
All we gotta do is find the right one.
00:40:01.550 --> 00:40:05.020
-: Back in the 50s and the 60s, there was a rush
00:40:05.020 --> 00:40:07.630
to find uranium all over the county.
00:40:07.630 --> 00:40:10.210
There was a mill in Monticello
00:40:10.210 --> 00:40:12.840
that produced uranium and vanadium.
00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:15.200
It was a government-owned mill.
00:40:15.200 --> 00:40:20.030
The mill was emitting particulate matter
00:40:20.030 --> 00:40:21.910
out of the stack,
00:40:21.910 --> 00:40:25.260
which the prevailing winds would blow
00:40:25.260 --> 00:40:27.803
over the entire community of Monticello.
00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:32.830
There's been documented cancer cases,
00:40:32.830 --> 00:40:36.670
and deaths of nearly 800 people.
00:40:36.670 --> 00:40:38.780
So yeah, there was a lot to be learned
00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:40.963
from what happened in that mill.
00:40:44.260 --> 00:40:47.200
I think the mill at White Mesa
00:40:47.200 --> 00:40:49.183
is a much different mill
00:40:49.183 --> 00:40:51.290
than what we had in Monticello.
00:40:51.290 --> 00:40:52.760
They don't have big stacks
00:40:52.760 --> 00:40:55.813
that they emit any kind of particulate matter.
00:40:57.630 --> 00:41:00.440
They capture all of that particulate matter
00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:02.120
in the milling process,
00:41:02.120 --> 00:41:05.020
nothing is released into the atmosphere,
00:41:05.020 --> 00:41:07.600
and the people that live south of the mill,
00:41:07.600 --> 00:41:10.040
they'd like to close the mill,
00:41:10.040 --> 00:41:13.440
and they say it's contaminating their ground water,
00:41:13.440 --> 00:41:15.950
it's contaminating their community.
00:41:15.950 --> 00:41:19.440
But they've monitored that for 20 years,
00:41:19.440 --> 00:41:23.553
and never found anything that substantiates those claims.
00:41:41.908 --> 00:41:45.610
-: We tried to come here a couple times a year
00:41:45.610 --> 00:41:48.350
to track conditions, since it's in close proximity
00:41:48.350 --> 00:41:49.350
to the mill.
00:41:49.350 --> 00:41:54.350
We analyze the water for a host of trace metal constituents
00:41:54.480 --> 00:41:56.570
that are abundant in the tailing cells
00:41:56.570 --> 00:41:59.003
for radioactive elements.
00:42:00.600 --> 00:42:01.690
We're really concerned
00:42:01.690 --> 00:42:04.450
about the nearby White Mesa uranium mill,
00:42:04.450 --> 00:42:06.350
and the potential influence
00:42:06.350 --> 00:42:09.290
on both the shallow groundwater system,
00:42:09.290 --> 00:42:11.160
where the spring emanates from,
00:42:11.160 --> 00:42:13.840
as well as the deeper aquifer,
00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:16.820
which supplies two community supply wells
00:42:16.820 --> 00:42:17.940
and their sole source
00:42:17.940 --> 00:42:20.813
of municipal domestic water are sourced from.
00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:25.710
-: The White Mesa mill is no longer important
00:42:25.710 --> 00:42:28.880
for mining uranium in the Colorado plateau.
00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:31.000
That era ended in the 1950s.
00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:32.540
Where the White Mesa uranium mill
00:42:32.540 --> 00:42:33.570
has become a player
00:42:33.570 --> 00:42:38.010
is as a low cost radioactive waste disposal sites.
00:42:38.010 --> 00:42:40.403
So, Canada and New Jersey,
00:42:42.210 --> 00:42:44.870
all kinds of government radioactive waste sites,
00:42:44.870 --> 00:42:47.140
industrial radioactive waste sites,
00:42:47.140 --> 00:42:50.323
are looking for a place for their waste to go.
00:42:52.470 --> 00:42:56.670
-: After the ore and feed materials are ground up
00:42:56.670 --> 00:42:59.660
and run through the solvent extraction circuit
00:42:59.660 --> 00:43:01.440
to extract uranium and vanadium,
00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.510
there's a lot of by product material left over.
00:43:04.510 --> 00:43:07.730
This material is highly radioactive.
00:43:07.730 --> 00:43:08.890
There is a history
00:43:08.890 --> 00:43:13.103
of uranium milling contamination in the area.
00:43:14.700 --> 00:43:17.760
This is the closest monitoring well
00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:20.220
to the tribe's property.
00:43:20.220 --> 00:43:22.580
And, we're really concerned with what we're seeing
00:43:22.580 --> 00:43:26.360
in the groundwater right at this location underneath us.
00:43:26.360 --> 00:43:30.513
The PH has become extremely acidic in recent years.
00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:34.790
What could come next, is increasing radioactivity,
00:43:34.790 --> 00:43:37.910
which would be impossible to clean up,
00:43:37.910 --> 00:43:40.023
to remediate out of the water.
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:44.528
-: It's just not the land, it's what's under the land.
00:43:44.528 --> 00:43:46.760
And that gives us life.
00:43:46.760 --> 00:43:51.400
If the streams were to become contaminated,
00:43:51.400 --> 00:43:56.113
it would probably mean we would have to move.
00:43:57.750 --> 00:44:00.600
People at the state and government level
00:44:00.600 --> 00:44:01.900
really need to really look at this
00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:06.900
and really feel what it feels like to be impacted.
00:44:07.578 --> 00:44:11.328
(gentle music)
00:44:20.800 --> 00:44:23.820
-: This community, we've been devastated
00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:27.170
by past uranium mines.
00:44:27.170 --> 00:44:29.970
We don't want that here no more.
00:44:29.970 --> 00:44:34.583
Once the land is disturbed, there's no way to fix it.
00:44:36.230 --> 00:44:37.440
And who's gonna fix it?
00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:39.290
These companies are not gonna fix it.
00:44:50.236 --> 00:44:52.960
-: What is the future of the Bears Ears?
00:44:52.960 --> 00:44:55.550
It used to be, you would never see people
00:44:55.550 --> 00:44:56.383
at the Bears Ears.
00:44:56.383 --> 00:45:00.870
Is it going to be a camping site for multitudes of people,
00:45:00.870 --> 00:45:03.710
and so maybe that spiritual connection
00:45:03.710 --> 00:45:06.420
will not be as available?
00:45:06.420 --> 00:45:09.003
And so there is a protection in place.
00:45:11.420 --> 00:45:14.400
When I first arrived, it was a dark road,
00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:16.480
I saw very few people.
00:45:16.480 --> 00:45:20.420
As the park was established and the road was paved
00:45:20.420 --> 00:45:22.210
in this beautiful canyon.
00:45:22.210 --> 00:45:24.400
There's two parking lots within five miles
00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:26.480
of each other and they're planning another one.
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:29.050
And so to me,
00:45:29.050 --> 00:45:33.620
it's this slow turning nature
00:45:33.620 --> 00:45:37.960
and the beauty of nature into either a parking lot,
00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:40.623
or some big vault toilet.
00:45:51.710 --> 00:45:56.240
It's very funny to think that
00:45:56.240 --> 00:46:01.240
what has been here for centuries could be destroyed
00:46:02.060 --> 00:46:05.553
through all of us loving and wanting to see it.
00:46:08.637 --> 00:46:11.580
Well the Bears Ears is definitely awakened.
00:46:12.950 --> 00:46:16.760
I would say people not only in Utah,
00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:19.330
but throughout this country.
00:46:19.330 --> 00:46:24.110
And it's awakened them to how precious our landscapes are
00:46:25.060 --> 00:46:29.700
and how spiritually connected
00:46:29.700 --> 00:46:32.217
the Native Americas to their landscape.
00:46:32.217 --> 00:46:34.940
(playing flute)
00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:36.760
And I think there's a hunger
00:46:38.010 --> 00:46:42.737
for the general population to feel that.
00:46:42.737 --> 00:46:46.636
(Native instrument rattling)
00:46:46.636 --> 00:46:49.636
(crickets chirping)
00:47:23.168 --> 00:47:26.751
(gentle music)
00:47:39.440 --> 00:47:41.960
-: I have grandchildren who are being raised very close
00:47:41.960 --> 00:47:43.003
to this area.
00:47:43.840 --> 00:47:45.633
It is their back yard.
00:47:46.490 --> 00:47:48.800
They get to see the beauty everyday.
00:47:48.800 --> 00:47:50.300
That is so powerful,
00:47:50.300 --> 00:47:52.790
because there's so many things
00:47:52.790 --> 00:47:56.423
that one draws from there, which is identity.
00:47:59.240 --> 00:48:02.283
It represents many people's past.
00:48:07.610 --> 00:48:12.610
And so, we decided to help organize everyone
00:48:12.700 --> 00:48:15.660
that would come from each of the perspective communities
00:48:15.660 --> 00:48:18.070
before we continued on down the road
00:48:18.070 --> 00:48:20.640
for pursuing the designation.
00:48:20.640 --> 00:48:23.233
We needed to come from the place of healing.
00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:32.520
And through the active healing,
00:48:32.520 --> 00:48:35.670
the ancient active running.
00:48:35.670 --> 00:48:38.370
Because we had our feet before we had horses,
00:48:38.370 --> 00:48:39.730
or anything else.
00:48:39.730 --> 00:48:42.233
We communicated by walking and running.
00:48:44.040 --> 00:48:48.380
I really wish that the community there in Blanding
00:48:48.380 --> 00:48:51.050
really, really looks at the history
00:48:51.050 --> 00:48:53.843
of our native people there that resided there.
00:49:00.020 --> 00:49:04.000
Change for them is irrelevant.
00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:05.880
They don't want change.
00:49:05.880 --> 00:49:09.560
We've had change for centuries.
00:49:09.560 --> 00:49:12.328
We've had our homes taken away from us.
00:49:12.328 --> 00:49:16.023
We were cattled into what we call reservations.
00:49:21.430 --> 00:49:24.880
I don't think Blanding community would ever fathom that,
00:49:24.880 --> 00:49:28.393
because they were never taken.
00:49:29.300 --> 00:49:31.950
I mean right to this day, they still claim
00:49:31.950 --> 00:49:33.593
they were the first to be there.
00:49:34.650 --> 00:49:38.550
So Bears Ears is very important for me, and my people.
00:49:38.550 --> 00:49:40.530
'Cause we know what it meant for us
00:49:40.530 --> 00:49:44.343
to be there and to live there, and to seek refuge there.
00:49:49.060 --> 00:49:52.000
-: This whole issue has divided our county.
00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:54.840
It's divided families, it's divided neighbors,
00:49:54.840 --> 00:49:56.870
it's divided friends.
00:49:56.870 --> 00:49:58.520
I want the Native American people
00:49:58.520 --> 00:50:00.100
to know how much I love 'em.
00:50:00.100 --> 00:50:03.810
How much I want them to exist in this county.
00:50:03.810 --> 00:50:05.720
To remain part of this country.
00:50:05.720 --> 00:50:09.130
To be part of the decision making in this county.
00:50:09.130 --> 00:50:11.460
They are my friends.
00:50:11.460 --> 00:50:12.560
they're my neighbors.
00:50:12.560 --> 00:50:15.610
I wanna help them get the services that they need.
00:50:15.610 --> 00:50:18.630
We need to sit down and talk about things
00:50:18.630 --> 00:50:22.900
rather than just try to influence legislators.
00:50:22.900 --> 00:50:25.040
We need local input into decisions
00:50:25.040 --> 00:50:26.833
on public land in this county.
00:50:31.690 --> 00:50:35.800
I would regret if in these interviews that you're doing
00:50:35.800 --> 00:50:37.130
if people were to watch that
00:50:37.130 --> 00:50:40.080
and see such strident positions
00:50:40.080 --> 00:50:41.900
that people are left with thinking
00:50:41.900 --> 00:50:44.050
that there is no middle ground.
00:50:44.050 --> 00:50:45.860
That we really can't find consensus,
00:50:45.860 --> 00:50:47.630
'cause I actually believe we can.
00:50:47.630 --> 00:50:48.900
I really do.
00:50:48.900 --> 00:50:50.410
But what it takes is,
00:50:50.410 --> 00:50:52.570
everybody coming through the front door,
00:50:52.570 --> 00:50:54.600
really expressing what those concerns are,
00:50:54.600 --> 00:50:56.400
what those goals are,
00:50:56.400 --> 00:50:58.510
and not letting perfect be the enemy of good.
00:50:58.510 --> 00:51:00.130
If you can get in that environment,
00:51:00.130 --> 00:51:02.853
I think you can get some smart policy.
00:51:04.520 --> 00:51:09.520
-: I mean, I don't see any of our leaders for you to hear,
00:51:10.570 --> 00:51:12.380
here in Monument Valley.
00:51:12.380 --> 00:51:15.570
I don't ever see any of them coming down here to ask.
00:51:15.570 --> 00:51:17.200
It's kind of just like,
00:51:17.200 --> 00:51:18.340
this is what I'm gonna do,
00:51:18.340 --> 00:51:19.617
you're gonna do it.
00:51:19.617 --> 00:51:22.172
(birds chirping)
00:51:22.172 --> 00:51:24.320
-: We have two county commissioners
00:51:24.320 --> 00:51:29.320
representing this Ojito chapter.
00:51:29.320 --> 00:51:31.353
That's Bruce Adams, and Rebecca Benali.
00:51:32.430 --> 00:51:35.060
And they stopped coming to our meetings,
00:51:35.060 --> 00:51:36.870
to this very room.
00:51:36.870 --> 00:51:39.833
We put them on the agenda for over three years.
00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:44.733
Listen to us.
00:51:47.170 --> 00:51:51.190
Listen to our values,
00:51:51.190 --> 00:51:55.113
listen to our interests, listen to our beliefs, listen.
00:51:57.190 --> 00:52:00.130
When you do, you will find out why we fight
00:52:00.130 --> 00:52:02.233
for this monument.
00:52:04.263 --> 00:52:08.083
You will learn and understand our purpose.
00:52:18.457 --> 00:52:21.810
-: This land map, the hidden part of it,
00:52:21.810 --> 00:52:23.093
that's the main thing.
00:52:26.410 --> 00:52:29.023
If you as a Native,
00:52:29.023 --> 00:52:32.920
if you put an offer in here, for Mother Earth, say,
00:52:32.920 --> 00:52:34.420
don't be afraid to touch Mother Earth,
00:52:34.420 --> 00:52:35.750
they say that, you know.
00:52:35.750 --> 00:52:38.313
Pick that up and talk to Mother Earth.
00:52:39.300 --> 00:52:41.930
And even just between us,
00:52:41.930 --> 00:52:43.923
different nationalities,
00:52:44.770 --> 00:52:47.163
just coming to an understanding.
00:52:48.300 --> 00:52:51.580
There's a healing going on right now.
00:52:51.580 --> 00:52:54.680
You make other people understand,
00:52:54.680 --> 00:52:57.350
there'll be healin' right there,
00:52:57.350 --> 00:52:59.303
there'll be hope up ahead.
00:53:01.500 --> 00:53:06.063
They say love thy neighbor in their Bible.
00:53:07.110 --> 00:53:08.210
We're their neighbors.
00:53:16.457 --> 00:53:19.207
(Native singing)
00:53:57.577 --> 00:54:01.200
-: When you go through certain moments in your life
00:54:01.200 --> 00:54:04.900
that are very pivotal, you wanna take those moments
00:54:04.900 --> 00:54:08.240
and just back off from what you're doing and sit still.
00:54:08.240 --> 00:54:10.560
I always say sometimes people get scared,
00:54:10.560 --> 00:54:12.180
especially those that are used
00:54:12.180 --> 00:54:14.283
to being in real active environments.
00:54:15.140 --> 00:54:18.860
You get scared when you start to hear your own heartbeat.
00:54:18.860 --> 00:54:20.350
You have to confront that fear
00:54:20.350 --> 00:54:22.300
before you can actually
00:54:22.300 --> 00:54:25.690
take that nice slow cleansing breath,
00:54:25.690 --> 00:54:29.710
and learn to be quiet.
00:54:29.710 --> 00:54:31.830
In my language, we say (speaking in foreign language),
00:54:31.830 --> 00:54:32.733
sit still.
00:54:37.261 --> 00:54:40.761
(birds chirping)
00:54:57.730 --> 00:55:00.480
(Native singing)
00:56:20.216 --> 00:56:22.812
(Native drumming)
00:56:22.812 --> 00:56:26.645
(Native chanting and singing)