A federal judge has ruled against the participation of three Arizona Tribal Nations in a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden's designation of nearly one million acres as the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – 'Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.' According to AZPM, Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen McNamee stated that the tribes did not demonstrate a need for their own representation as the United States’ interests supposedly align with those of the tribes in relation to the monument.
In the detailed ruling, McNamee referenced the extensive involvement of the Tribal Nations in the original advocacy for the monument, as well as their sacred connection to the land, nevertheless, the ruling leaves the Tribal Nations without their own legal voice and now dependent on U.S. legal counsel, despite historical instances where U.S. representation has fallen short of protecting tribal interests, such as when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government was not obligated to the Navajo Nation in matters of water rights which echoes such precedence reinforcing concerns about adequate representation. Matthew Campbell, Deputy Director of the Native American Rights Fund, who represents the Havasupai and Hopi tribes, emphasized that the U.S. has not always stood up for tribal rights, "In that case, it was very similar," Campbell told AZPM, "The tribes moved to intervene, but their motion was denied because the United States could adequately represent those interests. Then we see 50 years later that the United States did not stand up for those rights and those interests."
While there are concerns that the decision undermines tribal sovereignty, Campbell remains optimistic that there may be opportunities in the future for the tribes to intervene if a rift in interests between them and the United States emerges because, as the court notes, it's a matter that almost swayed decision the other way. The case in question has drawn wider attention as it also includes denials of intervention by 10 conservation groups, while Governor Katie Hobbs was granted the ability to intervene – a decision showing the complexity of interests vying for influence over the fate of public lands.
The tribunal's verdict not only impacts the tribes but also informs a larger debate over President Biden's authority, with Republicans alleging that his monument designation is an unlawful overreach and an affront to the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984, which includes the newly restricted land and while these legal battles unfold, all 22 of Arizona's federally recognized tribes, which helped to pen the language of the designation are bound in an uncertain wait to see how their ancestral heritage and their voice will be regarded in the eyes of the law.
