The Antiquities Act & National Monuments

“I have spent much of my career representing the field of anthropology in the public sphere. Anthropology is a field dedicated to the protection, preservation, documentation, and interpretation of cultural resources. Two things that must be said about cultural resources:

1. All cultural resources are local. They are woven together in a patchwork over space and time that help us collectively retain and treasure our Nation’s heritage. Just like a patchwork quilt, resource protections cannot be removed in one localized area, claiming to serve a larger national interest, and at the same time keep the integrity of the Nation’s heritage intact.
2. And once a cultural resource (such as an archaeological feature or site) is harmed, this resource is irretrievably lost.

“In my view, continued Monument status will provide more diligent National Park Service surveillance of sensitive locations.

“Monument status will also keep in place vehicle access restrictions to important archaeological sites and features and thus reduce the risk of disturbance to poorly described archaeological sites and features. Continued Monument status will provide a buffer area around these sites and features to maintain their integrity, since the monument boundaries are larger than the precise edges of the sites and features. Monument status also makes the study and preservation of these archaeological sites and features eligible for federal financial assistance through National Park Service cultural heritage grant programs.

“Without Monument status, study and preservation of these important sites and features will not be financially supported, providing a significant disservice to the public interest.

“The lands within the present boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monuments have a remarkable archaeological record, including an estimated more than 100,000 archaeological sites. These lands were first occupied during the Paleoindian period more than 10,000 years ago and were most intensively occupied in the 1100s and 1200s of the Contemporary Era (CE). By 1200 CE, the area was home to thousands of indigenous people, in all likelihood more than the region’s total population today.

“Their history is recorded in an extensive network of roadways, archaeological sites, towers, and a prolific collection of rock art—all set within a remarkable and coherent archeological context.

“Then, around 1300 CE, the area experienced an astonishing and almost complete abandonment. What happened to precipitate this sudden change? Where did the people go? What lessons can we learn about adaptation to changing environmental and political conditions from this crucial set of pre-historic developments?

“These kinds of questions are essential to anthropology and illuminate the significant contemporary impact anthropological research and anthropologists can make.

“The answers to these questions can be found by applying increasingly sophisticated archaeological research techniques, in close collaboration with descendant communities distributed across the Colorado Plateau, but only if the rich pre-historic and historic record remains intact.

“I am deeply concerned about the potentially harmful and irretrievable loss of cultural resources that are as valuable to Native peoples of the region as they are to anthropological research.

“The recent historical track record is not good. In 2017, the Trump Administration defied the Antiquities Act and severely restricted the boundaries of both Monuments to facilitate mineral extraction, off-road recreational vehicle use, and other surface disturbing activities.

“Mining operations started up on land President Trump excluded from the Monuments, one each in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. There is clear interest in future mineral development. Increased foot and off-road vehicle traffic in the area threaten to overwhelm the local management capacity, and destruction of valued cultural heritage resources has already been reported.

“This damage cannot be undone. If the boundaries were to be shrunk again, we can only assume that further irreparable harms would result.

“Further, if state and local officials have their way, the monuments would be eliminated altogether, and land management responsibilities in the area would be transferred to state and local authorities.

“Eliminating the Monuments could lead to even more extreme results, like the disposition of irreplaceable resources or lands to private entities. If mining claims are patented to private owners or lands are transferred to state government, the new owners may not be interested in allowing research activities on their property.

“Even if the lands remain under federal control but are no longer protected by monument status, I am deeply concerned that resource protections afforded by resource management planning and monitoring processes would be insufficient to prevent human interference through activities that simply would not be permitted if the lands retain monument protections. Surface damaging activities permitted on lands outside national monuments would likely have irretrievable adverse impacts on cultural heritage resources that have up to now remained intact for thousands of years.

“The American Anthropological Association, which I had the privilege to serve for more than 20 years, first as a Board member and then as executive director, was instrumental in helping with the enactment of the Antiquities Act of 1906.

“This is the law that addressed what remains a timely need for a coordinated federal response to protect important cultural heritage resources across the country. Then, as now, much of the western United States was comprised of public domain lands. Multiple federal agencies hold jurisdiction over these lands, meaning a consistent and coordinated response across the federal government is needed to protect important cultural resources, preserve their integrity, and enable archaeological research to advance our collective understanding of human history.

“From its earliest days, the AAA has focused on preserving historic and pre-historic structures, other sites and features of historic or scientific interest, and equally important, land areas sufficient to ensure the proper care of these resources and the integrity of the data they may yield.

“Such information helps advance our understanding of land use, settlement patterns, social organization, and other important aspects of the ever-evolving human condition.”

Dr. Liebow served as Executive Director of the American Anthropological Association from 2012-2023.

Before being named AAA director, Ed enjoyed a long career with the non-profit Battelle Memorial Institute, where he was director of the Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation and for 27 years conducted research on a variety of environmental, public health, and social policy issues.

He received his PhD from Arizona State University and maintains affiliations with the University of Washington and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He was a Senior Fellow of the Fulbright Commission and has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Anthropological Institute, and the Society for Applied Anthropology.

He currently serves on the board of the World Anthropological Union and scientific advisory committees for the National Institute of Social Sciences and the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund. He has previously served on the boards of the National Humanities Alliance, the Consortium of Social Science Associations, the Society for Applied Anthropology, the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Community, and the American Anthropological Association.