‘Letting life speak’: Summer Gathering allows descendents to reconnect at Bears Ears National Monument

The 8th annual Bears Ears Summer Gathering was in person for the first time after a COVID hiatus, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, unspecified date | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Surrounded by the history of Native American ancestors etched into the rocks within the wide-open rugged land of the Bear Ears National Monument, descendants held the eighth Summer Gathering.

Bears Ears National Monument view of the Indian Creek area, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah, unspecified date | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, St. George News

Among the tribes in attendance were the Navajo Nation, Hopi, Ute Mountain, Pueblo of Zuni and Ute. Representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance also attended. The event ran July 22-24 and was the first in-person Summer Gathering since the COVID-19 hiatus in the southeast corner of Utah.

“The reason we have the summer gatherings is to bring indigenous communities together so that they can reconnect with their tradition, values, culture and beliefs to become more educated and be more rooted in all their traditional teachings,” said Reem Ikram, communications director for the Utah Diné Bikéyah. 

Bears Ears is a sacred area where indigenous communities go to gather firewood to conduct ceremonies and heat their homes. They also make the pilgrimage for healing and essentials and to pray for the future of the land and foster appreciation for their ancestral teachings.

“I can’t speak for what everyone else’s experience was. That was my first time attending. I left with the feeling of a deeper connection of my inner being, and more rooted towards who we are as people in this grand scheme of things, living on this giant planet,” Ikram said. “It puts everything into perspective. For me, it felt like it was focused more on human connection and how to have relationships. Not transactional relationships, but more focused on humanity and engagement and being present.”

The unveiling of the official Bears Ears National Monument
Traffic sign which commemorates the restored boundaries of 1.36 million acres of Bears Ears National Monument, Bears Ears National Monument, unspecified date | Photo Courtesy of Reem Ikram, St. George News

This year, Utah Dine Bikeyah Bears Ears Summer Gathering’s theme was: Iina bi’gaal, which translates to “letting life speak.” Ikram said the campout brought families from all walks of life to reconnect to their inner beings and realign and connect with Mother Earth and the Creator. She said that the theme reminded attendees that nature is strong and insightful. 

Ikram said one of the memorable moments at the gathering was when participants honored veterans. Horse riders came over the hills in Bears Ears National Monument and into a meadow. They paid tribute to veterans and the group’s late board members, Albert Holiday and Mary Jane Yahzee. She said the riders also brought along a riderless horse to represent the ones who have died.

Other activities at the gathering included a Gourd Dance, blessing ceremonies, 5K race, camping, veteran appreciation and Ultimate Frisbee.

A group of concerned citizens formed the nonprofit Utah Diné Bikéyah in 2012 to help protect the Bears Ears National Monument. The Navajo phrase “Diné Bikéyah” translates to “the human relationship between the sole of your foot and the earth,” and further encapsulates their mission of reciprocity, relationships and healing. 

“Bears Ears will continue to be a place we hold up as an inspiration, a place that orients our prayers and a landscape where people from all cultures can come to pray, to heal and to restore our minds and bodies,” said Woody Lee, executive director for the Utah Diné Bikéyah.

In Lee’s 10-year anniversary of the organization presentation, he said Navajo elders across Utah and the Four Corners region have asked many questions at Chapter House meetings since President Joe Biden restored the monument in October 2021.

Lee said questions included: “Can we return to our old ways?” “Can we hold traditional dances and ceremonies at Bears Ears?” “Can we harvest wood to build our hogans?” “Can we hunt using traditional methods and not be harassed by state game wardens?” “When boys are ready, can we have their coming-of-age ceremonial sweats up at Bears Ears?”

When President Biden restored the monument, it reversed former President Donald Trump’s decision that opened the land for mining and other development of hundreds of thousands of acres. Home to ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and sacred to Native Americans and covering 1.9 million acres of land in San Juan County, Bears Ears National Monument was originally designated by former President Barack Obama in 2016.

Another milestone, Lee said, was the recent agreement that allows collaborative management alongside the federal government and the five Coalition Tribes in the area. The agreement formally reestablishes the Bears Ears Commission to oversee land management decisions of the 2,125 square-mile Bears Ears National Monument.

Also, a new traffic sign commemorates the restored boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument. The sign displays the five tribal seals. 

“This designation is a push for Indigenous land stewardship,” according to a press release issued by Utah Dine Bikeyah. “It is a push to ensure that in the future, all Tribes may protect their ancestral homelands and sacred spaces. As we celebrate the new sign, we should reflect on all the hard work done to restore the boundaries of Bears Ears.” 

Lee also noted the following additional successes:

  • Bears Ears is permanently protected and expanded to 1.9 million acres
  • Tribes co-managing Bears Ears in partnership with federal agencies
  • Native grassroots people can securely access lands for gathering resources and practicing traditions
  • Families and communities increasingly can rely on traditional foods, farming, crafts, and arts
  • Community Cultural Center has been established for arts, foods and language and to instruct youth and visitors
  • Sacred cultural sites are protected and respected through education and management
  • Maintenance of Bears Ears landscape and non-human persons as healthy and vital
  • Tribal coalition is strong. Sovereignty and self-determination are respected locally, nationally and internationally
  • Maintain racial harmony in local communities

Native Americans use this land for gathering herbs and religious items and firewood to heat their homes. This land has around five working cattle ranches and visitors enjoy hiking, camping, rock climbing, biking, ATV, motorbikes and more. There is also some mining and oil and gas exploration throughout the area.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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