Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

President Biden visiting Southern Nevada for designation of Avi Kwa Ame

Joe Biden

Evan Vucci / AP

President Joe Biden delivers remarks to the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference, Monday, March 6, 2023, in Washington.

President Joe Biden is expected to be in Nevada as soon as next week to officially designate Avi Kwa Ame, also known colloquially as Spirit Mountain, as the newest U.S. National Monument, according to a source with knowledge of the announcement.

The news comes months after Biden in December announced his intent to designate the Native American holy site a national monument. The source, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, said Biden plans to travel to Nevada on March 15 to make the designation. News of the visit was first reported by the Nevada Independent.

In a Tweet sent Tuesday, Nevada Democratic U.S. Rep. Dina Titus — an ally of Biden who has long advocated for federal protections for Avi Kwa Ame — said “Tribal leaders, conservationists, and local officials have pushed to designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument for 20 years.”

Titus continued: “I’ve worked alongside them to lead that fight in Congress. Now this sacred land will finally be protected for future generations.”

The move was lauded by several local tribal groups. In a statement, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe said it welcomes Biden’s upcoming trip to Nevada, as well as Biden’s approach to tribal relations.

“The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe welcomes President Biden’s upcoming trip to Southern Nevada,” the tribe said. “President Biden’s Administration continues to demonstrate through their government-wide approach to Tribal Consultations the great opportunities that exist to respond to climate challenges when Tribal Nations are included in the solutions.”

Taylor Patterson, executive director of the Native Voters Alliance Nevada, lauded Biden’s upcoming trip as well.

“This land is considered sacred to the Tribes who trace their creation story to this land and it deserves to be protected,” Patterson said in a statement. “Tribes have been involved in this effort to protect Avi Kwa Ame for years, and for us at NVAN, it’s thrilling to be part of the culmination of this effort.”

Biden is able to declare the site a national monument under authority given to him via the Antiquities Act. The 450,000-acre site is located about 80 miles from Las Vegas, near Laughlin. It is considered the sacred center of creation by 10 Tuman-speaking tribes, as well as the Hopi and Chemehuevi Paiute tribes.

“When it comes to Spirit Mountain, and its surrounding ridges and canyons in Southern Nevada, I’m committed to protecting this sacred place that is central to the creation story of so many tribes that are here today,” Biden told attendees of the White House Tribal Nations Summit in December. “There’s so much more we’re going to do to protect the treasured tribal lands.”

Titus told the Sun in December that the fight to earn Avi Kwa Ame federal protections has been a long time in the making.

“I’m just ecstatic because it means so much to so many people,” Titus said in a phone interview. “And so many people have worked so hard to see this come to fruition. And having him (Biden) announce it at the tribal summit with the Secretary of Interior (Deb Haaland) and so many members of tribes from across the nation who were excited about it, it was just so perfect.”

Last November, tribes, conservation groups and activists called on the Biden administration to designate 380,000 acres to make Avi Kwa Ame a national monument. The designation officially makes it Nevada’s fourth national monument and protects it from development.

Beyond being the site of creation for the 12 above tribes, Avi Kwa Ame also serves as a place to gather sacred medicines and to trade with other tribes. It’s also part of the Salt Song Trail for Southern Paiute tubes, which tells the traditional life cycle of the Southern Paiute people.

“Establishing a new National Monument at Avi Kwa Ame will safeguard an area of cultural importance to Tribal nations that is rich with wildlife and incredible natural beauty,” Sen. Jacky Rosen said in a statement. “I’ve firmly supported the movement to honor Avi Kwa Ame, and this welcome announcement from the President will ensure that this land remains permanently protected in Southern Nevada.”

In the late 1990s, the mountain and its surrounding 48,000 acres were designated as a traditional cultural property on the National Register of Historic Places. A couple of years ago, a company proposed using the area as a wind farm with a project known as the Crescent Peak Wind Project, but the proposals were denied.

When the Crescent Peak Wind Project proposal was rejected, the Fort Mojave Indian Council passed a resolution in September 2019 and sent a letter to the Nevada congressional delegation requesting that the area be protected as a national monument. In 2020, national and local conservation groups launched a public awareness campaign to garner support.

Efforts to protect the area were renewed in 2021, when Crescent Peak Renewables LLC submitted another application to the Bureau of Land Management for a 308-megawatt wind farm called the Kulning Wind Energy Project, which would be located nine miles west of Searchlight.

Those efforts to develop the land, however, were generally met with swift opposition. In February, Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft introduced a resolution supporting designating Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument. In a statement Tuesday, Naft said the move will preserve Nevada’s natural beauty and inspire recreationalists from all over to visit the spot.

“We invest in this land not only because it is the right thing to do for future generations, but it is truly the prudent financial move as well,” Naft said in the statement. “Nevada’s outdoor recreation economy supports 49,000 jobs and generates $3.9 billion for the state in annual economic activity.”

Boulder City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support as well as the Searchlight Town Advisory Board. And last November, the Laughlin Town Advisory Board voted 3-1 to support the designation of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.