"When the number of COVID-19 cases soared on the Navajo Nation's reservation last May, tribal President Jonathan Nez pleaded with then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to keep nearby Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona closed to prevent an influx of tourists from further spreading the coronavirus.
Nez, who leads the nation's largest Native American tribe, said his request was quickly dismissed, with Bernhardt telling him that all national parks would be reopening to comply with an order from then-President Trump.
Nine months later, those type of rebuffs and lack of consultation may be history.
Flexing their newfound political muscle, the nation's 574 federally recognized tribes are gaining momentum in their long drive to co-manage the country's national parks and other public lands — and they've got a new occupant in the White House who may help make it happen."
Advertisement 
