Declaring it good “not only for Arizona but for the planet,” President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a national monument designation for the greater Grand Canyon, turning the decades-long visions of Native American tribes and environmentalists into reality.
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00:00 It's not hyperbole to suggest that there is no national treasure, none that is grander
00:15 than the Grand Canyon.
00:16 The Grand Canyon is one of the Earth's nine wonders, wonders of the world.
00:23 Literally.
00:24 Think of that.
00:25 You know, it's amazing.
00:27 An enduring symbol of America to the entire world.
00:31 As a matter of fact, I said nine.
00:33 It's one of the seven wonders of the world.
00:36 And so today I'm proud to use my authority under the Antiquities Act to protect almost
00:42 one million acres of public land around Grand Canyon National Park as a new national monument.
00:51 Help right the wrongs of the past and conserve this land of ancestral footprints for all
00:57 future generations.
00:59 Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have traveled to the Grand Canyon, awed by
01:05 its majesty, but fewer are aware of its full history.
01:10 From time immemorial, more than a dozen tribal nations have lived, gathered, prayed on these
01:15 lands.
01:16 But some 100 years ago, they were forced out.
01:20 That very act of preserving the Grand Canyon as a national park was used to deny indigenous
01:25 people full access to their homelands.
01:28 I made a commitment as president to prioritize respect for the tribal sovereignty and self-determination,
01:36 to honor the solemn promises the United States made to tribal nations to fulfill federal
01:41 trust and treaty obligations.
01:44 I pledge to keep using all the available authority to protect sacred tribal lands.
01:50 At a time when some seek to ban books and bury history, we're making it clear that
01:58 we can't just choose to learn only what we want to know.
02:02 We should learn everything that's good, bad, and the truth about who we are as a nation.
02:08 That's what great nations do, and we're the greatest of all nations.
02:15 To the truth comes healing and justice, as I sign the proclamation establishing ancestral
02:20 footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.