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Still Robbing Indian Land

By VVAW

All of us remember from school days the story of how the Dutch settlers purchased Manhattan Island for $24 from the native inhabitants. It was one of the biggest real estate swindles in history!

Three centuries later most of us have changed our consciousness about the American Indians. We realize that our government has historically treated them with indignity and deceit, violating nearly all our treaties soon after we signed them.

All that's past, right?... Wrong! Our Congress—which represents you and me—is even today in the midst of another land grab from native Americans, this time from the Hopi and Navajo tribes of Arizona.

We can stop this tragedy if we act quickly. Here's a summary of the facts and what we can do about the situation:

• Public Law 93-531, passed in 1974, requires the Navajo to be forcibly removed from the Big Mountain area of Arizona, in what is now known as the joint Use Area (JUA) of the Hopi and Navajo land. The purpose of this removal is to ameliorate so-called "tribal warfare."
• The Navajo, who are nomadic shepherds, and the Hopi, who are village-dwelling farmers, have shared this area (JUA) for at least 100 years in peace.
• The only serious conflict between the two tribes exists between their so-called "tribal councils." These tribal councils were created by the U.S. government to regulate the Native Americans. (The fist "tribal council" was appointed the Department of the Interior in 1923—at the request of Standard Oil — to authorize drilling leases.)

At the urging of major business interests, the U.S. government is continuing a centuries old campaign to steal Indian land. At Big Mountain, Arizona, the government plans to forcibly remove 14,000 Navaho and Hopi people from land on which they have lived for centuries—so that coal and uranium companies can build strip mines. The corporations will have the "gift" of stolen Indian land: The U.S. taxpayers will be left with a tax bill for over a billion dollars. No more than 15% of the people turn out to vote for these councils; most natives do not recognize the legitimacy of white sponsored native councils that claim the ability to sell or lease ancestral lands.

Thomas Banyacya of the Hopi traditional council of elders says, "There is no land dispute between the Navajo and the Hopi. The traditional people never recognized the tribal councils. It is the tribal councils and big energy companies and the U.S. government who are in dispute against the Navajos and the Hopis. The Great Spirit didn't want the land dug up to create nuclear weapons...I call upon the U.S. and the so-called tribal councils to refrain from invading Big Mountain and allow the traditional people to remain in their homes."

• Relocation was concocted to benefit big mining interests: there is enormous coal and uranium deposits on tribal lands, which will be available to leasing by the "tribal councils" once the lands are vacated.
• Among the tiny minority of natives pushing for relocation are several Hopi millionaire businessmen, who were educated in white schools, are Mormon converts, and have abandoned their ancestral spiritual traditions (the Mormon scriptures teach that all dark races are accursed).
• Relocation for the Navajo means that people who once lived on the land in complete self-sufficiency are moved to city suburbs. Often they speak no English, can't find work, are forced to go on welfare, and even lose their homes to unscrupulous loan sharks. Their children are prey to alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide. The older ones literally die of broken hearts.
• The move, originally estimated to involve 3,300 people and to cost $37 million, will actually involve 10,000-15,000 people and will cost a total of $1.5-2 billion before it is over.

For more information, write the Big Mountain Legal Offense/ Defense Committee and ask to be on their mailing list. Include your phone number for their emergency phone campaign. If you can send a much-needed donation. The address is: Big Mountain Legal Defense/Offense Committee, 2501 N 4th St, Suite 18-19, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. (602) 774-5233.