BIA Attack at Big Mountain
On Thursday, March 24, a group of people from the Big Mountain
area were meeting at Alice Benally's place when they learned that
the BIA rangers were in the area and were taking cattle. The
meeting broke up and they went down to where the impoundment was
taking place, near the ruins of the old Dinnebito Dam. When the
first group of people got there, they saw the BIA rangers
confronting Mrs. Horseherder, the owner of the stock. They saw the
BIA agents physically struggle with this elderly woman and rough
her up as they loaded six cattle into a trailer.
More Dine' arrived, mostly younger people, and they started
standing in front of the BIA truck. When the driver tried to move
forward, this is what I was told, some people put their hands on
the front of the truck and dug their feet into the dirt. The
driver was yelling and racing his engine, making like he was going
to run over the protesters. The Dine' were yelling too, but not
moving.
Anna Rondon, Earl Tulley, and the reporter Marley Shebala, all
Dine', were in Mr. Tulley's truck behind the livestock trailer.
The BIA driver looked back, then backed the trailer into the truck,
hitting it on the door. Anna Rondon told Patterson Joe that the
driver looked back again, looked right at her and the other people
in the truck and then backed the trailer into them again, hard.
After that, the BIA called in extra cops and a bunch of BIA
police and Hopi Rangers arrived. By then, four of the cattle had
gotten away and things had cooled down a little. The BIA left with
one cow and one calf. Anna Rondon was injured and was taken to the
Indian Health Service hospital in Gallup. She was treated for
contusions and neck injuries, and has to wear a neck brace.
Although there were Hopi Rangers and BIA Police at the scene,
no arrests were made.
Dan Jackson, the attorney with the U.S. Solicitor's Office in
Phoenix who has participated in the mediation since it began, said
on the radio that the U.S. is going to prosecute the Dine' involved
in federal court. Always before, when there have been arrests of
Dine', the matter has been handled in Hopi Tribal Court. This is
new, and a successful prosecution could put some of the
demonstrators behind bars for many years. Mr. Jackson did not say
what the charges would be. I'm sure he'll think of something.
Patterson Joe told me that the Navajo Nation is going to
request an investigation of the conduct of the BIA rangers. The
issue, as he sees it is that BIA personnel deliberately assaulted
and injured non-violent demonstrators and/or bystanders, including
a reporter. Mr. Joe thinks that if any charges are filed they
should be against the BIA, not the demonstrators.
This story was carried on friday in the Gallup Independent,
and also went out on Associated Press. The reporters who filed
these stories were not on the scene, and their stories do not agree
with what I was told. If I can get hold of Marley Shebala, I'll
try to get more details. I put this report together talking to
Patterson Joe, who heard everything from Anna Rondon, also I talked
to two Big Mountain Dine' who were eyewitnesses. They are worried
about the FBI coming in and trying to arrest people, and don't want
their names given out. I am worried about that too, it doesn't
make sense to send in the FBI to bust the people you need at the
table for negotiations.
Mediation will Continue
The Hopi Tribe announced on Thursday that they would modify
their proposed lease to meet the concerns raised by the Dine'
families over the last year. Lee Phillips says Judge McCue plans
this to be the last proposal. The people on the land are to meet
with the Hopis one more time on it and then they will be asked to
come in and sign up in late May. According to Lee this will be
another big, all-HPL meeting like the one at Rocky Ridge.
Meeting at Teesto
Yesterday I drove out to Teesto for the Dine' Bikeya
Committee's all-HPL meeting. I got up early, it was cold, with low
clouds moving across the ridge to the west, looked like snow on
top. I met Valerie Taliman at the Window Rock Motor Inn, we took
off. At the top of the hill it was snowing a little, some rain, I
was taking it easy. We were close to Dilkon when a big, dark car
came up from behind us like a rocket. It was Roman Bitsuie with
someone else. They blasted on by us, waved, gone. Like THAT!
When we got there the meeting was just starting, Roman was in
back and Peterson Zah was up front. That was who was riding with
him.
The place was full, about 150 people. All the Dine' Bikeya
regulars were there, also Mae Tso and her family, Katherine Smith
and Pita Wood and Ruby Biakeddy and Joella Ashike from Big
Mountain, Alfred McCabe from Sand Springs, Louise Begay from
Jeddito. Grace Smith and her husband were there. Pita Wood told me
that Arlene Hamilton was having a meeting the same time for the rug
weaving project, up at Big Mountain, so a lot of people were over
there.
Roger Attakai was running the meeting, with Alvin Clinton, Mr.
Zah, and the council delegates Marlin Scott (Teesto), Stanley
Robbins (Cameron), and Joe Dayzie (Tonalea) up front also. Lee
Phillips and Patterson Joe reported on the MANYBEADS mediation and
on Thursday's confrontation at Big Mountain.
Mae Tso spoke for a while. She looks so sad, like the load
she has been carrying is starting to carry her down. Her voice
used to be so strong, now she sounds like someone tired all the way
to her bones. This is what constant suffering does.
There were a few kids around. Cecil Miles' six-year-old
granddaughter Nasbah was all pink, pink pants, pink sweatshirt,
pink ribbons, and a pink magic marker to write with. She was all
over the place, on grandpa's lap, then showing Valerie her writing,
then me, then over to grandma, then outside looking in the window
at all us crazy adults.
During the meeting Mae Tso, Betty and Roman went outside to
meet with President Zah. The entrance to Teesto chapter house is
in an L made by the building, open to the south and west. The sun
warms that place up and it backs up the wind so it doesn't blow.
Its a place a lot of elderlies like to sit when the weather is
good. That's where they met, standing in a circle. I watched for
a while through one of the windows. Roman says that President Zah
promised to make sure the trailer he promised as compensation for
taking down their hogan was delivered to the Tso family.
This being an election year there were people coming in to
take advantage of the meeting. Cecil Largo, a candidate for
President from Eastern Navajo got up front and talked, and talked
and talked. The Dine' are so polite, they waited patiently for him
to finish so they could get back to business. Sam Begay, a
medicine man from Bitahochi said the medicine men's association
would help them if they asked.
Toward the end of the meeting Louise Benally and Marsha
Monastersky came in. Louise walked up front, handed a folder of
papers to Mr. Zah, then left with Marsha. If it is anything
important I will report later.
The Chapter House had to be closed up at 5, so Roger chose the
last few speakers and told them to keep it short. The last two
were Freddie Howard, a council delegate from Tolani Lake (Sand
Springs), and Betty Tso. Freddy took the whole time for himself.
Well its an election year. Betty was not very happy, needless to
say. She felt the meeting was just a repetition of every other
meeting they have had, lots of speeches but no work getting done
and no decisions being made. She said she wanted to raise those
points and make some suggestions, but Mr. Howard took all of his
time and all of hers too. "They're just using us, using the land
dispute to get what they want for themselves," was what she said.
Well, its an election year.
At one point in the meeting I was looking out the north window
of the chapter house, over the wide valley Teesto is in, toward the
dark buttes. The ground at Teesto is hummocky, with little sand
hills rolling up and down, like a grassy ocean. Way out over these
sandy waves, there was a spot of bright sunlight and in the middle
of it a tipi. It was all lit up by that little patch of sun,
otherwise I wouldn't have seen it. Elmer Clark told me that was
his brother's place and he was going there that night to pray.
Jon Norstog