The Continuing War Against the Dine` People of Big Mountain
And What You Can Do About It
By Patrick O'Connell
BACKGROUND & UPDATE
Since 1974, the traditional Dine` (Navajo) people living on Black Mesa in
northeastern Arizona have been targeted for removal from their ancestral
homelands by the United States government. The actual plan to target this
specific area, known most commonly as Big Mountain, was drawn up much
earlier, in the late fifties and early sixties.
It was at this time that the energy companies and the local government
officials made the decision to use the easily accessible coal from this
region to power pumps to bring water to southern Arizona by the Central
Arizona Project. In order to get at the Land, the traditional people living
upon it would have to be removed.
Today, this process has almost been completed. The few thousand left,
out of the estimated 10 to 15,000 original inhabitants, are the strongest.
They have had to be. They have endured almost eighteen years of:
* livestock impoundments, which have reduced their sheep herds, the
basis of their subsistence lifestyle, by 90%;
* a ban on any construction;
* fencing, that has separated their sheep from scarce water sources
and destroyed many religious shrines;
* harassment by Bureau of Indian Affairs police and officials, and by
low-flowing military attack jets; and most difficult
* watching their children, clan members and neighbors give up and
leave or die because of the unrelenting stress they have been under.
After 18 years of constant pressure, a dispute has been created between
Dine` and Hopi. This was the original excuse for the relocation policy. While
the traditional Elders on both sides still support one another, the gulf
between the two peoples as a whole is widening day by day.
By portraying this as a dispute among Indians, those who support the
relocation have been able to portray Big Mountain supporters as outside
agitators. Big Mountain supporters have also been portrayed as anti-
Hopi. Many never thought to question why the United States government
would actually care about the well being of the Hopi. While support could be
more effective, most involved believe they are standing up to their own
government for the destruction it is causing through this relocation.
Most people who choose to accept the relocation policy have overlooked
other key questions, such as:
* What, in its 200+ years of attempting to assimilate or destroy
Indian people, would lead anyone to think that the United States
government would actually care about justice for any Indian people
within its borders?
* Has the U.S. ever cared about justice when white people had taken
Indian Land?
* Why weren't 15,000 white people in Arizona relocated to provide
the Land needed by the expanding Hopi population (since all white
people are living on Indian Land)?
GENOCIDE AT BIG MOUNTAIN
Whether or not there is a dispute is quite irrelevant in this case. The
only people who are suffering from this Act are the traditional Dine` living
on the wrong side of the fence in the "Joint Use Area". They have been
forced to endure or have given up over the past eighteen years of constant,
ever-escalating pressure to relocate.
As a non-Indian, I have no right to speak as an expert on Indian
spirituality. However, I do know that these people's traditional spirituality
is directly connected to and reliant upon the Land on which they live. For
them, there is no separation between their spirituality and all other aspects
of their lives. Any attempt to remove them from their Land is an attempt to
destroy their spirituality, an attempt to destroy them. For the communities
effected, this is genocide.
Genocide is defined in the Genocide Convention Implementation Act as:
"...acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated
to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;..."
Those who originally designed the relocation process may not have
"calculated to inflict conditions of life that would destroy these people".
But through the work of supporters and the testimony of the traditional
Din themselves, in Congressional hearings and face-to-face meetings, it
has been made clear to those responsible that this Act was going to destroy
them. It has destroyed the lives of many thousands already.
In many ways, our survival depends on how we respond to what is
happening at Big Mountain. If enough people understand that destroying
these people's spirituality, their connection to their Land, is
genocide, we might be able to stop the relocation and begin re-learning our
connection to the Earth from their example. This process began in 1989,
when the San Jose Big Mountain Resistance & Support Group first presented
the Genocide Demand to the U.S. Attorney in San Jose.
THE GENOCIDE DEMAND
Since 1989, other Big Mountain Support Groups have been bringing this
demand to the U.S. Attorney in their area. It calls for the the government to
prosecute all those responsible for the relocation policy for the crime of
genocide. Over the years this demand has become more specific and more
clear as to why, legally, this relocation is genocide. Our updated demand no
longer names specific persons that should be prosecuted. It calls for a
complete investigation of the charges that are outlined in the demand, and a
complete moratorium on all aspects of relocation until this investigation is
completed. It leaves it to them to decide who to prosecute. While it may
have been easy to dismiss a demand calling for the prosecution of
George Bush, et al for the crime of genocide, it will be much harder to
dismiss a demand for an investigation of what most nations agree is a most
heinous crime. We have documentation to back up the charges.
We need thousands of people around the world to bring this demand to U.S.
Attorneys, Congresspersons or the U.S. Ambassadors stationed in their
country. Those responsible for the relocation need to hear that there are
still thousands who support the traditional resistance at Big Mountain, and
that we all understand that this relocation is GENOCIDE. It has been easy to
dismiss Big Mountain supporters, especially since their numbers have
dropped to almost nothing since 1986. This was the deadline the
government gave for completion of relocation. After the excitement of the
deadline came and went, support began to drop off dramatically. (Why this
happened is an separate story in itself!)
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DIRECT ACTION FOR BIG MOUNTAIN
We are calling people to take this action on February 27th, 1992, an
internationally coordinated Day of Direct Action for Big Mountain. This day
will mark the 19th anniversary of the start of the traditional
Lakota/American Indian Movement resistance at Wounded Knee in 1973.
This is an appropriate day to both commemorate and support ongoing Indian
resistance. On that day, communities wishing to take a stand against
genocide should bring this demand to whomever seems like the best target
in your area and stay until they agree to take appropriate action. They may
end up taking some of us to jail. Our crime would be asking them to perform
what is morally and legally their jobs.
Chances are, they will say they have no jurisdiction over an event
happening in Arizona. We should not let them get away with "forwarding
this information to the appropriate authority". If the target is a member of
Congress, s/he can organize other members to implement an immediate
moratorium on all aspects of relocation, hold their own open investigation
into the charges of genocide occurring at Big Mountain, and call on the
Attorney General to begin an immediate and thorough investigation of
these charges. Local U.S. Attorneys can organize other U.S. Attorneys to
pressure the Attorney General to initiate the investigation, and pressure
Congress to implement an immediate moratorium. Those outside the U.S. can
pressure the U.S. Ambassador to call for this investigation and can ask your
government to issue a call for an investigation into these charges
(especially if your government has signed the Genocide Convention). These
are the appropriate actions these officials can take. Make them all
accountable to halt this genocidal policy being carried out by the U.S.
government.
This action does not require you to give up your issue. The government
needs to hear that there are thousands who still support the people of Big
Mountain. It could be seen as a day to take action against genocide, a day to
do something concrete in support of indigenous people in preparation for the
Quincentennial of the arrival of Columbus.
The guidelines for the actions are:
1) The Elders at Big Mountain have asked us to remember that this is a
spiritual struggle, we must keep this in mind at all times during
our actions;
2) We are accountable to the people of Big Mountain for our actions,
and must act out of respect for them and their culture, and with
the understanding that their survival is at stake;
3) All actions taken must be nonviolent.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Those wishing to take part in this International Day of Direct Action for
Big Mountain should contact Pat O'Connell at (408)971-4277, or write SJ
Big Mtn. Resistance & Support Group, PO Box 1960, San Jos, CA 95109. All
participants will be sent a copy of the demand. It is best that our actions
are as unified as possible. Its is only 3 pages, so it won't be too hard for
you to copy and insert the proper name of the official you will be presenting
the demand to. We also have a packet of articles and reports which
document the charge of genocide. They may be obtained for a fee of $5 to
$10 to cover the costs of printing and mailing. This documentation will
make it much easier to back up your demand. It might also be a good idea to
present the demand and the documentation to whomever is your target a few
weeks before February 26th, and tell them you will be back on the 27th for
their reply.
Two weeks before the action, we'll send a letter out to everyone who will
be taking part on the 26th, listing all the other groups who will be holding
actions across the country and in other countries. You can use this list in
your publicity and media statements on the 26th. We would also like you to
call after you hold your action with a report, so we can coordinate whatever
follow-up seems appropriate.
We understand if folks aren't in a position to face arrest. But if there
are, it will bring more publicity and focus on the genocide demand, which is
the goal of this Day. If no one can risk going to jail, presenting the demand
to someone appropriate in your area will be a big step in and of itself. It
will put the government on notice that there is a growing awareness of the
consequences of the relocation at Big Mountain and of genocide as an issue.
This might force them to rethink their whole policy and give in before the
whole country becomes aware of genocide and of the meaning of Earth-based
spirituality.
CLOSING
We all have a chance, especially those of us of European ancestry, to take
one step toward ending 500 years of genocide of the indigenous peoples that
began with Columbus' arrival. Big Mountain is not the only Indian issue. But
the destruction of 15,000 more Indian people, in this case the traditional
people of Big Mountain, should not be the legacy we leave for our future
generations. Join us on this day and take a stand against genocide.