Haaland visits Utah with eye on sacred Indigenous monuments

Haaland, the first Indigenous person to administer US public lands, looks to restore Utah monuments shrunk by Trump.

United States Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will kick off a two-day visit to Utah on Thursday where she will meet tribes and political officials to discuss the potential restoration of two national monuments that were slashed in size by former President Donald Trump in order to open them to mining and drilling. The visit is the centerpiece of Haaland’s first multi-state tour since being confirmed last month as the first Native American cabinet member, and will hold symbolic power given the importance of the monuments to Southwestern tribes. Haaland, whose job gives her oversight of America’s vast public and tribal lands, will visit Utah’s San Juan and Kane counties to discuss the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments as part of a review of their boundaries launched by Joe Biden on the Democrat president’s first day in office, according to the Interior Department.