President Biden on Monday proposed a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in and around Chaco Canyon, a site of ancestral significance to Indigenous people. The valley in the high desert of northwest New Mexico was at the center of Chacoan culture for about 400 years beginning in the ninth century.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who this year became the first-ever Native American U.S. cabinet secretary, praised the drilling ban. She added, “Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations.” Deb Haaland previously served as a Democratic congressmember representing New Mexico.