Today, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging the Biden Administration to support a national monument designation at Bahsahwahbee (Swamp Cedars). It's a big step and we are very grateful to the Senators for their support and leadership.
As the Tribes' National Monument Director, I'm honored and privileged to be a part of this effort for the benefit of the indigenous Newe people, particularly the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, and Ely Shoshone Tribe.
Swamp Cedars (Bahsahwahbee) was once a ceremonial and pilgrimage site where thousands of indigenous Newe peoples gathered every year. But during the 19th century, the valley became the killing fields as the Newe suffered eleven massacres. Bahsahwahbee is at the heart of the three largest massacres, one being the largest known Indian massacre in US history, which all occurred at times of religious gatherings.
Bahsahwahbee is singular as a place of religious gathering comparable to the Vatican or the Kumbha Melas, a place of genocide too similar to Auschwitz, and a mass graveyard not unlike Arlington National Cemetery.
The Newe hold that the sacred grove of Swamp Cedars embodies the spirits of the men, women and children who were killed. Indigenous peoples from across the Great Basin still go to Bahsahwahbee to visit their ancestors, pray, and hold healing ceremonies.
Tribal Nations are now calling for these federal public lands to be commemorated and protected as a National Monument within the National Park System. We are asking for people to support this effort. You can do so by signing the petition at swampcedars.org.
