Florence Steele
Charlottesville, Virginia
fs@pcmail.virgina.edu
Last week I visited the Navajo-Hopi joint use area at Big Mountain, Arizona
where the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Hopi tribal council have a long
standing policy of trying to force Navajo elders off the land that they have
lived on for many years. Peabody Coal and other multinational corporations
have an interest in mining the coal deposits on Big Mountain. The situation
has become very tense. The federal government is threatening to confiscate
livestock from the Navajo families living near Big Mountain as part of an
ongoing campaign of harassment. The objective is to drive the remaining
families off their land. Many elders say that they would rather die than
leave. Many animals have already been confiscated. To take the few
remaining animals means that families will face hunger this coming winter.
Roberta Blackgoat, a 75 year old Navajo woman and a spokesperson for her
people told us that the land between four sacred mountains is alive. She
said that mining coal on Big Mountain is like ripping the guts out of Mother
Earth and leaving her to die. Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke.
Please write a letter to Ada Deer, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and to Janet Reno, Attorney General to demand that no further confiscation of
livestock be carried out and that the Navajo people be allowed to live
unmolested. Please act at once. The situation is urgent.
I have prepared a sample letter that you can send.
Send to:
Ada Deer, Director Janet Reno, Attorney General
Bureau of Indian Affairs Department of Justice
1849 C Street NW 10th St & Constitution Ave
Washington, DC 20240 Washington, DC 20530
S A M P L E L E T T E R
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Dear,
Recently I have become aware that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been
attempting to foreably relocate some traditional Navajo elders living in the
joint use area of the Hopi tribal reservation in an area known as Big
Mountain in the state of Arizona.
The Navajo elders live very simply in harmony with nature and close to the
land that gives them sustenance and is a part of their spiritual lives.
Many of the Navajo elders are frightened that the federal government's Bureau
of Indian Affairs is coming to confiscate their livestock in an attempt to
force them to leave their homes.
The land is sacred to these traditional Navajo people. They cannot be
relocated. They have never relinquished their claim to this land and the
campaign that the United States government and the Hopi Tribal Council have
been conducting to remove them is morally repugnant.
Let these elderly people live in peace. Stop all efforts to relocate them
immediately. They are living in fear of the federal authorities from moment
to moment. The United States government has abused its power in its dealings
with native peoples for the last 500 years. Let the traditional people of
the tribes involved come to an agreement without the interference of corrupt
tribal councils and multinational corporations who are interested in
exploiting the land for its mineral deposits.
You say that you care about people. These people are poor. No one in
Washington is listening to them. They do not have the resources for
lobbyists and lawyers. It is within your control to stop the relocation
efforts. Please act at once to stop the Bureau of Indian Affairs from
confiscating the animals that the Navajo people need to sustain their lives
through the coming winter.
Please give this matter your immediate attention. I fear that if the BIA
attemps to confiscate Navajo livestock, the people will defend their way of
life and violence may result. I would like to receive a reply telling me how
you have acted to protect the interests of the Navajo elders.
Thank you.
Sincerely,