"Prayer for the Bear" in Yellowstone

Members of several American Indian tribes plan to gather in Yellowstone this weekend to protest any move by the federal government to remove grizzly bears from endangered species protection.

Grizzly numbers have rebounded in Yellowstone and Grand Teton in recent decades but the bears remain protected under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species.

The "Prayer for the Bear" event is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at Sedge Bay on Yellowstone Lake.

Event organizer Sara Mathuin said 26 American Indian nations have ancestral connections to Yellowstone. Mathuin said the general public is welcome to attend the protest.

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