The Navajo Nation has passed legislation designating the confluence of the Colorado and the Little Colorado rivers near the Grand Canyon as a sacred site.
The action, taken Monday, is designed to protect the area from unwanted commercial or industrial development.
The river confluence, the Little Colorado River Gorge, and related cultural, religious and spiritual sites are now entitled to protection under the Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Protection Act, according to a release from the Navajo Nation.
For years, developers have sought to build projects near the confluence. One proposal was for a 420-acre resort with a gondola tramway to be built on the east rim of the Grand Canyon. Another was for several hydroelectric dams to be built in canyons of the Little Colorado River.
The legislation protecting the area passed 18 to zero in a special session of the Navajo Nation Council. It identifies the landscape as part of the ancestral homelands of the Diné, Hopi, Zuni, Southern Paiute, White Mountain Apache and Cibecue Apache peoples.
In the release, the legislation’s sponsor, Council Delegate Curtis Yanito, said, “Our local people have protected this area for generations, and after years of legal opinions, discussions and work with the community, it is time for the Navajo Nation to formally protect it.”
Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.