28
Photo credit: Amanda Even
really hard for a nonnative person to understand—to even know how to be in the world in that way. We’re trying to do a better job of explaining how we are all tied in these intimate ways to the land, and to water, and to air, because it affects how we treat the natural world.
You will be moderating the keynote at the AORE Annual Conference in Salt Lake City. What can you tell us about the other two speakers from Utah Diné Bikéyah?
Jonah Yellowman is what’s called a Road Man. He is a crystal gazer who uses the starlight and crystals to help people as a spiritual advisor. He’s kind of like a psychologist, in that he helps people with social and interpersonal issues. What nonnative people sometimes have trouble understanding is his way of moving through the world, because he is deeply connected to the earth. He will show people what our relationship with the world actually is—what he has to say is intended to show people something about who they are. And Angelo Baca, our cultural resources coordinator, who is the other keynote speaker, will challenge the audience to open their minds and will provide a framework for people to understand the tangible differences between how they might think and how somebody like Jonah might think. Angelo understands both cultures, so he will help us gain some deeper intellectual insights into different ways of knowing the world. Jonah might sing a song, say a prayer, or tell a story suggesting something about you and how you are in your life.
How does this fit into what UDB is working toward?
We are trying to change our human relationships to the earth. We are doing that
by helping people see connections that they have or understand different ways of knowing that relationship that we each have—and being able to practice that or deepen that in some way.
Why do you think outdoor education and recreation professionals could benefit from this type of understanding?
In all these outdoor programs, every place that you go in our country is the ancestral land of at least one tribe. Really, we all have an obligation to know our history by knowing whose lands we’re living on and how it came to be that we’re there enjoying those lands. We should be asking: What are the societal and landscape changes that have occurred over the last centuries that have made that possible?
UDB helped get the Bears Ears National Monument designated. How are you working to protect it now?
We’re still addressing those early challenges—that Native Americans have never really had a full seat at the table in political decision-making here in Utah—so we’re doing a lot of education and outreach to change that. With President Trump reducing Bears Ears by 85 percent, we have sued him individually and are working through the courts to try to overturn that decision, and we’re also looking to that original proclamation that involves tribes in the decision-making, in bringing their traditional knowledge and wisdom to the planning table.
We’re working very closely with a lot of Native American communities to understand those deep ties and traditional stewardship practices. We’re getting information organized and getting tribal leaders into a position where they can effectively engage when the time is right. Right now, we are involved in the efforts to bring back the original monument, so we’re trying to engage the national public to help us do that. We’re building the capacity and increasing the engagement of tribes and tribal members in that process.
Four bills in Congress now are looking to do things to restore or further undo the possibility of the monument coming back, so we’re actively engaged in all of those, asking the public to help us push some of those bills and kill other bills.
What does most of UDB’s work focus on?
The majority of our work is very focused on engaging communities and listening to what they want and supporting their goals, and trying to figure out how to build collaboration that we’ve never seen before across tribes. Another big piece is the defensive work, engaging the national public, correcting stereotypes about tribes, getting positive stories out about native people’s connections to the landscapes, and connecting with people internationally. Indigenous people are doing great work around the world, and there’s a lot to learn from them, as well as from what’s happening with Bears Ears. We are studying planning documents and trying to build a new model for traditional land stewardship and incorporate it into the Bears Ears National Monument plan.
When do you think your own personal connection to the land took hold?
At birth. I’m weirdly connected to Utah—the sights and smells, and everything about being in a place where you were born. I’ve always been passionate about protecting lands and waters and the beauty around us, but also preserving and building communities—making sure we have strong connections to the places that we’re in and to each other. This also includes social justice issues. Growing up in Utah, even though I’m a white, privileged male, I became acutely aware of how differently I could be treated for what I felt were things that didn’t think matter.
How do you think nonprofits will contribute to land conservation in the future?
I think we’re in a really amazing moment for social change and for the role of nonprofits in helping us strengthen our communities. For young people who are interested in enjoying the natural world but also looking at how they want to apply their energies for the future, nonprofits are a place where you can be very creative and very solution-oriented.
There are many ways of engaging the public and private sectors to do a lot of good. A lot of people in our country aren’t that aware that Native Americans even exist. But there’s so much they could teach us—for example, the ways they engage in the public process. There’s probably dozens of sectors of our society that could get organized and provide services, and create a fuller and more complete society by participating more.
I think the people in nonprofits need to figure out how to build the kind of organizations—and how to be the kind of leaders—we need guiding us forward. I have a lot of hope in nonprofits, and there are many ways for people to define their careers in the nonprofit sector, looking at the greater good and being creative about how each person applies their energies. Nonprofits are a great place to be, and young people can get involved and look at how they can make it stronger.
10