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Southern Nevada’s Avi Kwa Ame moves closer to formal national monument designation

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Avi Kwa Ame
Justin McAffee / Courtesy

After President Joe Biden announced his intent to designate 450,000 acres of Southern Nevada, known as Avi Kwa Ame, as a national monument, advocates “eagerly await” a formal proclamation.

Biden’s comments came during the White House Tribal Nations Summit on November 30. Honor Avi Kwa Ame—a broad coalition of tribes, residents, business and government partners that has gathered more than 110,000 petition signatures this year—responded with a statement urging the president and Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to honor the land boundaries that the tribes had proposed.

“This effort to expand federal protection for Avi Kwa Ame has been years in the making, and finally it is nearing success. However, we strongly urge the administration and its officials to designate the monument in accordance with the boundaries proposed by tribes who have been organizing this effort and passing down the importance of this land for generations,” reads a statement from the coalition and its partners.

According to the coalition, Avi Kwa Ame translates from the Mojave language as “Spirit Mountain,” and is regarded by the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and other Yuman-speaking tribes as the “spiritual birthplace” of their ancestors.

Biden’s announcement follows a well-attended public meeting with Bureau of Land Management officials in Laughlin on November 17, and Haaland’s September visit to the proposed monument site, which surrounds the town of Searchlight southeast of Las Vegas.

In February, Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, introduced legislation to designate the site. Biden and Haaland’s formal proclamation would make it Nevada’s fourth national monument.

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Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller joined Las Vegas Weekly in early 2022 as a staff writer. Since 2016, she has gathered a smorgasbord ...

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