Permission granted as long as the author, origin (our paper) and
copyright notice ((C) 1996 The Gallup Independent) are kept intact. --
M. Brenner, Web Vassal
By Aaron Osterby
THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT
April 9, 1997 page 1
Dine' Bureau
HOPI PARTITIONED LAND _ Leo Yellowhair lives with his mother and brother
in a traditional hogan overlooking Coalmine Canyon.
Including the hogan, there are three dugout structures set in the side
of the steep drop-off into the canyon and a storage shed thatched with
sticks and blankets.
``The traditional ways are still in my spirit today. I never really got
used to the white man's ways,'' says Yellowhair, who is looking forward
to building a new house this Summer.
The simple act of putting up another building was against the law until
he signed a lease offered by the Hopi Tribe. The lease says Yellowhair
can remain on the land that Congress gave to the Hopi Tribe in 1974 for
75 years, or until he breaks Hopi laws three times.
``If I had the lumber and supplies, I could start working,'' said
Yellowhair, who plans to put up two new buildings on a flat area near
the dirt road that leads to Highway 264. The BIA pays for most of his
building materials and the Navajo Nation picks up the rest.
The lease Yellowhair signed has been controversial among Navajo
residents of Hopi-Partitioned Land, but Yellowhair saw it as the best
chance he had to stay on the land where he was raised. He signed Dec. 4,
soon after the deal was first offered. The last chance for eligible
Navajos to sign was March 31.
``That was the only choice I could make,'' Yellowhair said. ``I love my
land. If I move I might get homesick or something. I might get lonely
every day.''
The important thing is to be willing to work with the Hopi Tribe, says
Yellowhair, who has a black and white photo of when he signed the lease
deal. It shows him signing the document with Hopi Chairman Ferrell
Secakuku and his staff watching.
``If I can work with them, everything should be alright,'' he said.
A major part of the reason he signed was to get a grazing permit,
Yellowhair said. Right now, he grazes 15 sheep, which he says is only
enough for one person.
The sheep are not on a grazing permit, but because he signed the lease
agreement he expects that the BIA and Hopi Tribe will leave his animals
alone. Yellowhair will have to wait until the Navajo Nation divides up
the 2,800 sheep units among all the Navajos who signed leases before
he'll get his permit.
``I don't think they can bother me,'' said Yellowhair. ``That's what
they told me.''
Navajo President Albert Hale has said the grazing allocations will take
a while to complete. Work has not yet begun as the official number of
people who signed the so-called ``Accommodation Agreement'' is not yet
known.
``The BIA does not need to exacerbate or create a situation by
impounding livestock on HPL,'' Hale said. ``It is important that federal
offices... help the two nations and their people by not creating any
adversarial or confrontational situations.''
Yellowhair figures about half of the Navajo residents of HPL did not
sign the lease deal offered by the Hopis.
``That's their choice. That's their problem,'' Yellowhair said. ``I'm
not worried about that. I want to work with the Hopi Tribe.''
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
There is also an interesting looking page to be found at the _Gallup
Independent_ site at "http://www.cia-g.com/~gallpind/dine%27/index2.htm"
which reads:
| The Navajo Nation is a Native American tribe of the Athabascan language
| family. The people call themselves Dineh and live on the largest
| reservation in the U.S. -- largely in northeastern Arizona but
| overlapping into New Mexico and Utah.
and has links to more information using the following labels:
| History
| Contemporary Life
| Government
| The Navajo Hopi Land Dispute
| Bibliography
|
| (Last updated: -28 January 1997-)