Seeking Common Ground on Public Lands: Voices and Views from Bears Ears Country
Channel: ArchaeologySouthwest
Date: 2019-10-29

In this Tea and Archaeology lecture, Rebecca Robinson and Stephen Strom discuss the many views and debates surrounding the future of Bears Ears. 

The battle over Bears Ears National Monument—the original designation, the reduction, the ensuing litigation—is rife with controversy. In this presentation, the fervor informing the battle is captured vividly in the voices who speak passionately about the importance of protecting Bears Ears, and those who thought their livelihoods and cultural connections to the land had been lost. Listening to these voices provides context for understanding the challenge of balancing the needs of residents living adjacent to public lands, tribes who trace their connection to these lands to time immemorial, and the American people whose charge it is to steward these lands for future generations.

Rebecca Robinson and Stephen Strom are a grandfather-granddaughter team who have spent decades exploring the landscapes of Bears Ears country. Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon. Strom is a photographer and retired astronomer.