The United States is full of great sights! Some spots are national monuments. On August 8, a new monument joined the group. It’s called the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni. Its name in English is the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
The name honors two native groups. Both live around the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Baaj Nwaavjo means “where peoples roam” in the language of the Havasupai people. The other native group is the Hopi. In the Hopi language, I’tah Kukveni means “our footprints.”
The Grand Canyon became a monument in 1903. It was named a national park in 1919. The new national monument will protected areas. This includes areas important to native tribes. One area is the Kaibab National Forest. Companies won’t be able to mine in the area.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the for the monument on August 8. Biden visited the area. He met with lawmakers and tribal leaders. Maya Tilousi-Lyttle is a youth leader for the Havasupai and Hopi peoples. She talked about the importance of the monument.
Tilousi-Lyttle said the monument would “protect our ancestral lands.” She added, “This is our home.”
After that, it was Biden’s turn to speak. “More than a dozen tribal nations have lived, gathered, and prayed on these lands,” he said. The president added that this was “the right thing to do.”
Updated August 9, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Tyler Burdick
