Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Zinke today testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about the Indian Affairs priorities for the Trump Administration. During the hearing, Crow Nation Chairman Alvin Not Afraid, Jr. delivered a treaty in support of grizzly bear protections to Congressional leaders. “The Grizzly: A Treaty of Cooperation, Cultural Revitalization and Restoration” is only the third cross-border First Nations/Native American treaty executed in over 150 years, and is the most-signed treaty in history. Currently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is deciding whether to strip the bears of endangered species protections.
Also testifying at the hearing was Chairman of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, Paul Torres, who spoke of the importance of the Bears Ears area in Utah and called for the preservation of the Bears Ears National Monument.
The hearing and treaty delivery comes just two days before a large Native Nations march in Washington, D.C.
In response Athan Manuel, director of the Public Lands Protection campaign for the Sierra Club issued the following statement.
“Tribal Nations are making their voices heard. Time and again Sec. Zinke has said that sovereignty should mean something. His actions now on the Bears Ears National Monument and on grizzly bear protections will demonstrate whether sovereignty actually does mean anything to the Department of the Interior.
“These two decisions also speak more broadly to the commitment of Sec. Zinke to preserving our public lands and wildlife that are at the heart of so many communities and economies across the country.”
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