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Capturing the passion and history embedded in local conversations about public lands, CU’s Center of the American West presents a book release event Nov. 8 with Voices from Bears Ears: Seeking Common Ground on Sacred Land author Rebecca Robinson and photographer Stephen Strom.

In late 2016, President Barack Obama designated 1.35 million acres of public lands in southeastern Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump shrank the monument by 85 percent. A land rich in human history and unsurpassed in natural beauty, Bears Ears is at the heart of a national debate over the future of public lands.

Through the stories of 20 individuals and informed by interviews with more than 70 people, Voices from Bears Ears captures the passions of those who fought to protect Bears Ears and those who opposed the monument as a federal “land grab” that threatened to rob them of their economic future.

It gives voice to those who have felt silenced, ignored or disrespected. It shares stories of those who celebrate a growing movement by indigenous peoples to protect ancestral lands and culture, and those who speak devotedly about their Mormon heritage. What unites these individuals is a reverence for a homeland that defines their cultural and spiritual identity, and therein lies hope for finding common ground.

Journalist Rebecca Robinson provides context and perspective for understanding the ongoing debate and humanizes the abstract issues at the center of the debate. Interwoven with these stories are photographs of the interviewees and the land they consider sacred by photographer Stephen E. Strom. Through word and image, Robinson and Strom allow us to both hear and see the people whose lives are intertwined with this special place.

Stephen E. Strom and Rebecca Robinson

Robinson is a Portland, Oregon-based writer. Her work has been widely published, and she has received numerous awards for her work in print, radio and online media. Voices from Bears Ears is her first book.

Strom received his doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University in 1964. His photographic work is held in several permanent collections, including the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson. His most recent book is Bears Ears: Views from a Sacred Land.

CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Center of the American West works on a variety of regional issues, including water management, relationships between federal agencies and communities and economies, land planning, Native identity, recent art and literature, and the balance of power between tradition and innovation in Western life. The center takes as its mission the creation of forums for the respectful exchange of ideas in pursuit of solutions to the region’s difficulties. The center believes that an understanding of the historical origins of the West’s problems, an emphasis on the common interests of all parties and a dose of good humor are essential to constructive public discussion.

For more information, visit the  or call 303-492-4879.