For Native American activists crossing the nation with a totem pole, sacred lands are their Notre Dame Marco della Cava, USA TODAY
Wildfire hits tribal lands in Pacific Northwest
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Two dozen Native American activists in 10 cars towing one totem pole across the country.
While this protest caravan may seem small, its message to Congress is outsized: Give Indigenous peoples a say before granting access to land that tribes consider sacred. The opposing argument: public lands are for everyone and the nation’s energy needs can’t be ignored.
Nowhere is that debate more heated than at Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, a striking archaeological and natural wonder that activists will reach Saturday.