“The administration is removing protections for Chaco Canyon and Bears Ears to allow oil, gas, and mining. These are sacred tribal lands. I will fight to protect them in Congress and in the courts.”

“Mr. Speaker, this week the administration has continued its assault on our public and sacred lands, repealing critical protections for Chaco Canyon and Bears Ears, two of our most sacred cultural landscapes. For New Mexico’s Tribes and pueblos, these are not relics of the past. They are living, sacred places where history, culture, religion, and identity endure. They hold thousands of ancestral sites that are central to ceremonies, traditions, the stories, and the people who have cared for these lands since time immemorial. These repeals disregard years of Tribal consultation and open the door to oil, gas, and mining, threatening sacred sites that are irreplaceable. Let me be clear, though. This fight is not over. We will stand with our Tribal Nations, our communities, and everyone fighting on the front lines. We will fight back in the courts, in Congress, and alongside our Tribal Nations and the American people because our sacred sites are not for sale.”