Tribal representatives call on President Biden to designate new desert national monuments in California
(KYMA, KECY) - Tribal representatives are calling on President Joe Biden to designate new national monuments in the California Desert.
In a press release, this is to protect "sacred Tribal lands and cultural landscapes and imperiled biodiversity."
The press release says the representatives issued their call to action from Cali, Columbia, "where they are participating in the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16)," and the proposed national monuments in the desert include the following:
- Kw'tsán National Monument in Imperial County
- Chuckwalla National Monument in Riverside and Imperial Counties
- SáttÃtla National Monument in northeastern California
"Indigenous people have waited long enough for our demands about protecting biodiversity to be taken seriously by state and federal governments. For us, it's about more than protecting the environment. Our culture, spirituality, and identity are connected to the ecosystems our people have inhabited for thousands of years. If a species goes extinct, if a mountain is destroyed by mining, if a river runs dry due to over-extraction - that is the same thing to us as losing a relative or having someone close to us harmed. We lose a part of ourselves and our history."
Lena Ortega, Kw'tsán Cultural Committee Member, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe
"The Desert is a rich tapestry of our heritage; it's a living, breathing testament to our people's resilience, our history, and our spiritual connection with nature. Our footprints have been etched into the landscape since the beginning of time, and we continue to provide stewardship over these lands and advocate for their protection. This profound bond is why we urge President Biden to establish the Chuckwalla National Monument."
Thomas Torez Jr., Chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians
The press release says, "To date, President Biden has designated five new national monuments and expanded two, protecting over 1.6 million acres of public lands using the Antiquities Act," but with this call to action, the press release says the president "can secure an immense achievement: protecting more public lands using the Antiquities Act of any recent president in their first four years in office."
