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BLM AZ Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument (Polygon)

Metadata Updated: September 26, 2025

This feature-dataset depicts the boundaries of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona. Baaj nwaavjo (BAAHJ – NUH-WAAHV-JOH) means “where Indigenous peoples roam” in the Havasupai language, and i’tah kukveni (EE-TAH – KOOK-VENNY) means “our ancestral footprints” in the Hopi language. The name reflects the significance of the Grand Canyon area, not just to one, but to many Tribal Nations. This designation, which marks the fifth new national monument established by President Biden, honors Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting sacred ancestral places and their historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands, protecting wildlife habitat and clean water, and supporting local economies. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument conserves nearly 1 million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. The monument protects thousands of cultural and sacred sites that are precious to Tribal Nations in the Southwest – including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. These sites include Gray Mountain, called Dziłbeeh by the Navajo, which is a part of Navajo ceremonial songs, stories, and rituals. The President signed the proclamation at Red Butte, a sacred site called Wii'i Gdwiisa by the Havasupai, which towers above the southern portion of the monument. The monument is made up of three distinct areas to the south, northeast, and northwest of Grand Canyon National Park. It is bordered by the Kanab watershed boundary and Kanab Creek drainage in the northwestern area and the Havasupai Indian Reservation and Navajo Nation in the southern area, and stretches from Marble Canyon to the edge of the Kaibab Plateau in the northeastern area. The monument spans 917,618 acres of public lands managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service. The national monument only includes federal lands and does not include State and private lands within the boundary or affect the property rights of the State or private land owners. The national monument designation recognizes and respects valid existing rights. The proclamation specifies that maintenance and upgrades to water infrastructure for flood control, utilities, water district facilities, wildlife water catchments, and other similar uses may continue; and that utility lines, pipelines, and roads can continue to be maintained, upgraded, and built consistent with proper care and management of the monument objects. Existing mining claims – predating a 20-year mineral withdraw initiated in 2012 – will remain in place, and the two approved mining operations within the boundaries of the monument would be able to operate. The proclamation respects existing livestock grazing permits on lands within the monument. The Antiquities Act of 1906 grants the President authority to designate national monuments in order to protect “objects of historic or scientific interest.” President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Statue of Liberty, Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients, and New Mexico’s Gila Cliff Dwellings. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is President Biden’s fifth new monument designation, following the creation of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi, the Castner Range National Monument in Texas and Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada, and the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: us-pd

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date September 25, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 26, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI BLM DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 25, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 26, 2025
Publisher Bureau of Land Management
Maintainer
Identifier https://blm-egis.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=71a4e27d70a446ed91eaad78cdb920bc&sublayer=0
Data First Published 2023-08-09T19:46:30Z
Data Last Modified 2023-08-09T21:55:21Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:04
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/blm-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 318efeac-1c10-41cf-91aa-532b07d08505
Harvest Source Id ceb4b469-e13a-40f5-af40-5fe065f74ffa
Harvest Source Title DOI BLM DCAT-US
Homepage URL https://gbp-blm-egis.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/BLM-EGIS::blm-az-baaj-nwaavjo-itah-kukveni-ancestral-footprints-of-the-grand-canyon-national-monument-polygon
License http://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -113.0056,37.0073,-111.628,35.7309
Program Code 010:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 5e34d9be3b358edeca39a16c70fffc9dfb4a1214ca5dc37b35d5ce1ab74d5147
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -113.0056, 37.0073, -113.0056, 35.7309, -111.628, 35.7309, -111.628, 37.0073, -113.0056, 37.0073}

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