The US has acknowledged Bears Ears and Grand Staircase as sacred for over a century, but keeps stripping away protections

Native religions are tied to living landscapes, not points on a map. A scholar of Indigenous studies explains why reducing the protected area has profound religious and cultural consequences.

By: Kerri J. Malloy, San José State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: July 23, 2026

Words: 1,603

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 6 days ago

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By Kerri J. Malloy, San José State University

President Donald Trump signed proclamations on July 13, 2026, cutting the size of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by roughly 90% – meaning nearly 3 million acres will lose monument status and revert to ordinary public lands management in September. The Antiquities Act of 1906 requires presidents to use proclamations to establish or modify national monuments.

The cuts followed a …

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