Darren Thompson
Posted January 30, 2025
Are you ready for a little good news? Just before President Biden left the White House, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe accomplished something significant, signing a historic co-stewardship agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior. The agreement clears the way for Indigenous people to have a say in protecting traditional lands previously managed solely by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Imperial County, California.
But that’s not all. This news followed announcements of the creation of two national monuments in the same state. The Chuckwalla National Monument, situated in the Colorado Desert in Southern California, will safeguard more than 600,000 acres of sensitive desert habitat in Riverside and Imperial counties from development. To the north, the newly minted Sáttítla National Monument encompasses almost 225,000 acres within the Modoc, Shasta-Trinity, and Klamath national forests. This trio of important wins for Indigenous-led movements will preserve and protect a range of traditional Indigenous lands on the West Coast from additional harm.
Last year, with formal support from state and federal representatives, the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe launched a public campaign asking President Biden to designate its ancestral homelands as a national monument. Though that effort was unsuccessful, the tribe has still achieved protection for its lands through co-stewardship — which is an important concept to understand.
The Department of the Interior defines co-stewardship as “a collaborative agreement between federal agencies and Tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations to manage federal lands and waters. The goal is to protect tribal interests and priorities while also conserving and preserving the land.” In essence, it’s a mutual effort to manage the land and its resources, respecting Indigenous perspectives and providing opportunities to apply traditional knowledge systems.
Co-stewardship and co-management of lands are also a critical aspect of the federal government’s trust responsibility to federally recognized tribes and Native Hawaiians. They honor that unique nation-to-nation relationship by ensuring that decisions about lands, water, and wildlife include consideration by tribal nations and Native Hawaiian organizations on how best to protect the treaty, spiritual, subsistence, and cultural interests of Indigenous people.
Co-stewardship agreements can also prevent harmful activities such as new mining claims or large industrial or commercial development. During Biden’s administration, the secretaries of both the interior and agriculture departments issued a joint order — Secretarial Order 3403 — directing both agencies to consider and protect the interests of tribal nations (including Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians), honor treaty rights reserved for tribal nations and their citizens, and fulfill the federal government’s trust responsibilities to tribes.
Please join us in celebrating the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe — and all those who fought for Chuckwalla and Sáttítla — on their successful efforts to preserve the sacred. There are many other culturally significant sites which still need safeguarding, and Indigenous-led efforts by water protectors and land defenders which will need support. As the new administration takes shape and things develop, you can rest assured we’ll be here to share news and action opportunities with you. Miigwech — thank you for respecting our homelands!
Darren Thompson is the Director of Media Relations for the Lakota People’s Law Project Sacred Defense Fund.
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