Youth laud passage of green legislation

About 40 supporters of legislation establishing a framework for community-based green jobs on the reservation cheered after a press conference Tuesday on the stone steps of the Navajo Nation Council chamber.

What was striking about the members of this advocacy group was their age. Most were young - in their late teens and twenties.

Supporters, many dressed in green T-shirts bearing the slogan "Green Jobs," were ecstatic after the council approved the measure.

They cheered and gave the delegates a protracted standing ovation, eventually forcing speaker pro-tem Sampson Begay (Jeddito/Low Mountain/Steamboat) to pound his desk and call for order.

One of the organizers of the legislation, Wahleah Johns, said the establishment of a Green Economy Commission is an important move for the tribe.

"This is a first step to helping stabilize our community economies by creating jobs," she said. "It shows the council can reflect the opinion of the people they represent."

The measure was sponsored by Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan (Iyanbito/Pinedale) and Amos F. Johnson (Black Mesa/Forrest Lake/Rough Rock). The council passed the legislation by a near-unanimous vote, 62-1.

Yesterday the council passed a companion bill, the Green Economy Fund Act, which creates a tribal account to hold funding for green projects as it's acquired. The legislation did not include an allocation of tribal money.

The Navajo Nation Green Economy Commission Act establishes a five-person commission that will seek out federal and state money, such as from the federal stimulus package, to fund small-scale green projects.

Some potential projects include green manufacturing such as a wool textile mill, energy efficiency projects such as weatherization of housing, and sustainable business ventures such as farmers' markets.

At the press conference Delegate Jonathan Nez (Shonto) noted the young age of the supporters, and said, "Your legislation shows that grassroots people can persuade their lawmakers. I see a lot of young people getting involved in their government here, it's a component that's missing from the Navajo Nation government."

The legislation was brought before the council during the spring session but it was tabled over concerns by some delegates that it lacked clarity. There was confusion that it would affect large-scale renewable energy projects, such as solar plants, on the reservation.

But the goal of the green legislation is to reach more grassroots Navajos and develop green energy and other green projects on a small scale, said Tony Skrelunas, who appeared before the council to help explain the bill.

Nikke Alex, age 23 and a recent graduate of the University of Arizona, acknowledged the difficulty in getting the legislation to the floor.

"It's been challenging working with our own government," she said. "But I hope this is a catalyst for more participation in our government by young people."

While he was pleased with the outcome of the vote, Skrelunas stressed that supporters need to act quickly so as to tap federal dollars made available for green development under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"We gotta get this moving, the opportunity is now," Skrelunas said.

But Green Coalition organizers also acknowledged that there probably wouldn't be any new jobs available in the immediate future. Those will be further down the road, as they still must secure funding in the form of grants and private investment.

Enei Begay, 33, executive director of the Black Mesa Water Coalition and a member of the Navajo Green Jobs Coalition, said there are a number of pilot projects that coalition members have identified as possible projects for the new commission.

Commission members will be appointed by Morgan and will include a non-governmental organization representative, a youth representative, and at least two females.

Mary Hand, 61, of Old Sawmill, Ariz., who attended the press conference, said she was pleased with the involvement of Navajo youth and remarked on those returning with a college degree.

"We encourage them to get educated but then they come back and there are not jobs for them," Hand said. "This (legislation) addresses that. I always wondered why our younger generation was not into politics."

Chelsea Chee, 25, who earned a bachelor's degree at UA, sees the legislation as a way towards a "multigenerational" workforce whose members can shape their lives to be much closer to traditional Navajo lifeways than most modern jobs allow.

"It means I can live at home like I wanted to and work at home like I wanted to," Chee said. "It'll encourage my peers to come back to the reservation to work."

Back to top ^