Moving the Agenda: Preserving Tribal Culture in Modern Times 2009 Arizona Fellow Vernelda Grant builds coalitions between government leaders and her Apache community to preserve American Indian Cultural traditions

Many Indian nations and tribal communities consistently face the danger of being absorbed into the dominant White American culture, causing the tribal traditions and rich American Indian culture to be lost and for the younger generations to lack a connection to their tribal history and lineage.

For Vernelda Grant, preserving tribal culture and history is more than just a hope. It is a part of her daily mission.

As the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona, she works primarily on protection and preserving cultural resources in the Apache reservations by building coalitions between tribal communities and neighboring communities outside of the reservations. Her main focus has been grassroots organizing and mobilizing individuals in her community who are passionate about preserving holy grounds and sites that are important not just to the Apache people but also to the history of the United States.

“Ultimately, we want to create a law that would protect sacred sites from being purchased and will preserve them as historic landmarks,” Vernelda explains. This “sacred sites” law would be similar to the National Historic Preservation Act, which was put in place to protect historical landmarks and property across the country.

Holding Decision-Makers Accountable
When Vernelda became the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, she made a commitment to holding business owners and government leaders accountable for preserving Apache culture.

In 2004, she was appointed to the Native American Advisory Group for the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation in Washington, DC. In 2006, Vernelda led a White House office of Intergovernmental Affairs to Mount Graham, a site in Eastern Arizona that has caused much tension between the Apache tribal community and the local and state governments who funded the building of the Mt. Graham Observatory.

In the early 90s, the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act approved the construction of two telescopes on top of Mt. Graham. This mountain is a site of historical and spiritual significance to the Apache community, where Apache crown dancers were taken to receive a blessing and accept their spiritual responsibilities. Because of this, many Apache Indians were angered by the actions of the state government and the Vatican, who funded the construction of the observatory.

That same year, Vernelda challenged the chairman of the Native American Advisory Group to make cultural preservation in Arizona a priority. She invited him along with a White House delegation to the top of Mount Graham in order to illustrate the spiritual significance of the site to her people “I wanted [these government leaders] to feel what the mountain is to my community,” she says.

At that meeting, Vernelda brought together the Chairmen of the Apache Tribe and the Native Advisory Group as well as members from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The meeting included traditional Apache prayers and songs. “To me is was very reminiscent of treaties with Indian Nations [in America's early history]; it is such a holy place to our people,” Vernelda says, “I thought that Apache leaders meeting with the White House was more important than hiring lobbyists to speak for us; it was our leaders themselves saying what we needed to say to the highest leadership.”

That meeting sparked the beginning of successful partnerships between government leaders and tribal communities, giving the Apache people a greater voice when further development and conservation plans are being discussed.

Vernelda played an integral part in influencing who is in the room when decisions of this nature are being made. Currently, there are only two telescopes at the Mount Graham Observatory, which is less than the original plan of four telescopes—an compromise that was created after 20 years of tension and controversy between the two sides.

Making Her Voice Heard
The CPL Arizona Political Leaders Fellowship gave Vernelda a unique opportunity to sharpen her messaging skills while addressing an issue she cares about. During the Fellowship, she was assigned with a Media Challenge, which gave her an opportunity to develop messaging for a campaign or a cause. For her Media Challenge, Vernelda led a letter writing campaign to express concerns over the recent Oak Flat/Apache Leap Land Exchange Bill. This bill would give business developers ownership of Apache Leap, another holy site in the Apache community.

In addition to encouraging youth to write letters to their local and state leaders, Vernelda took it one step further by writing a statement to James Anaya, the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples about the effects the Land Exchange Bill could have. In addition, she wrote a number of resolutions at the National Congress of American Indians Convention.

As a result, Vernelda's statement was read at the UN General Assembly in May 2009. She also used the talking points she developed during the CPL Messaging training for a meeting with the Secretary of the Interior about the impending Land Exchange Bill.

Vernelda's commitment to cultural preservation also has inspired her to bring cultural awareness to Apache youth in her community by bridging the gap between the youth and natural resources.

As a CPL Fellow, Vernelda felt a greater commitment to staying connected to the grassroots part of her cultural preservation outreach by making sure her community is a part of everything she does. “When I was young, I used to play in the mountains, and [was encouraged] to learn about the natural resources our land has to offer,” says Vernelda. “We've gotten away from that now; Apache is often not the primary language spoken in the household as often anymore, and I want to teach youth the importance of reconnecting to our rich culture.”

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Vernelda was a member of the 2009 Arizona Political Leaders Fellowship.