Maah Daah Hey National Monument Proposal

(2021 to present) The Sierra Club North Dakota Chapter is proud to be in partnership with the Badlands Conservation Alliance, the North Dakota Wildlife Federation, the Maah Daah Hey Coalition, North Dakota Native Vote, and Dakota Resource Council in support of a monumental effort:  the designation of the Maah Daah Hey National Monument.

A tribally led coalition urged President Biden to designate over 139,000 acres of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in the Little Missouri River basin as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act.  This designation would honor and protect the natural beauty, delicate ecosystem, and deep Indigenous cultural heritage of the North Dakota Badlands for future generations.  As North Dakotans we have always taken pride in the North Dakota Badlands’ natural beauty and diversity.

If designated, the Maah Daah Hey National Monument would:
⦁    Protect eleven non-motorized backcountry areas in western North Dakota.
⦁    Preserve centuries-old Indigenous cultural practices and highlight the region’s Indigenous history.
⦁    Safeguard critical wildlife habitats and maintain the land’s backcountry character by maintaining its responsible management for future generations.
⦁    Foster sustainable tourism and economic growth in harmony with the land’s natural and cultural heritage.

This initiative is about more than conservation – it’s about justice, respect, and reconnecting people to their ancestral lands.  Lisa Finley-DeVille, Dakota Resource Council and Fort Berthold POWER member, shared:

“The North Dakota Badlands are an important landscape to Indigenous people throughout the region.  I am trying to find ways to bring my people back to the land and educate our children about our ancestral ties to the land.  Designating the Maah Daah Hey National Monument would ensure Indigenous people can return with pride to our ancestral lands in western North Dakota. It would also allow for non-Indigenous people to learn our history and our ties to the beautiful North Dakota Badlands.”

We’re proud to work alongside these incredible organizations to protect this sacred landscape and ensure it remains a source of pride and inspiration for generations to come.

Please take the time to learn more about the initiative at protectmdh.com  . We will continue to promote the proposed monument and hope to have it designated in the future!  Thank you for standing with us to preserve the natural and cultural legacy of the Badlands. Together, we can make this vision a reality.