Navajos reiterate sacred-site concerns to feds
By Noel Lyn Smith
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, March 18, 2011
In a March 14 listening session sponsored by the Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Tribal Relations, Diné medicine men and other concerned people said more needs to be done to protect sacred sites.
They also told the officials access to sacred sites for ceremonial plant gathering or to leave offerings is sometimes a problem, and that more needs to be done to help the public understand what sacred sites mean to tribes.
The Window Rock event was one of three listening sessions held this week on the Navajo Nation. The others took place at Coalmine Canyon and Shiprock chapters.
"As a non-Indian, its important that I do my best to understand how the things that are sacred to you that are in our stewardship, our responsibilities that we take care of them in the right way," said Corbin Newman, regional forester with the Southwestern Regional Office.
Steve Darden, a commissioner with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, presented the commission's stance on sacred sites, particularly two of the four sacred mountains that are under current threat from proposed development, Dook'o'ooslííd (San Francisco Peaks) and Tsoodzil (Mount Taylor).
Federal laws like the American Indian Religious Freedom Act should have protected both mountains, he said.
"It is unacceptable that a nation that proclaims to be the world's advocate on protecting human rights has objected to the recognition of indigenous human rights and implements laws and policies that diminishes our rights," Darden said.
He noted his own moving experience traveling near each of the four mountains held sacred by Navajos - Dook'o'ooslííd, Tsoodzil, Dibé Nitsaa (Mount Hesperus) and Sisnaajiní' (Mount Blanca).
"I was telling my brother and fellow commissioners, 'I don't get to witness that everyday,'" Darden said.
Preventing the further desecration of Tsoodzil and Dook'o'ooslííd was on a number of people's minds throughout the session.
Norman Patrick Brown, a founder of Diné Bidziil Coalition, suggested USDA officials should press for an executive order from President Obama to ban uranium mining on Tsoodzil and artificial snowmaking on Dook'o'ooslííd.
Brown supported the move to close Tsoodzil to further uranium mining, which began in the 1980s and gained strength three years ago when the mountain was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties.
It was a victory, Brown said, but now is threatened by repeal. He wants the Forest Service to work with the tribes to fight repeal of the listing.
Brown also urged easier access for traditional practitioners to gather herbs and plants on Forest Service lands.
"We want complete access without any impediment. We deserve that, I think we earned that," Brown said.
Anthony Lee, a member of the Diné Hataali Association, said he has experienced difficulty getting a permit to access certain areas on the San Francisco Peaks and on Forest Service lands near Cortez, Colo.
He also explained that importance of the four sacred mountains to Diné life.
"These mountains are representative of our physical makeup," Lee said.
The white peaks of Sisnaajiní' represents bone, the blue associated with Tsoodzil means blood, the yellow of Dook'o'ooslííd reflects the organs, and the black of Dibé Nitsaa represents hair, he said.
"They are the four elements that makes life possible," Lee said. "If one is desecrated, abused, threatened certainly it's going to have a tremendous amount of negative impact on our livelihood. This is what we're talking about."
Lee warned that based on past experience, many people think the listening sessions are useless.
"What's the outcome going to be? Are they really going to do something about our concerns? This is the thinking of the Diné people." Lee said.
In a joint statement, the Diné Hataali Association, the Diné Medicine Men Association and Azee' Bee Nahagha' of the Diné Nation stated that the sessions were conducted without consulting the Navajo Nation and without adequate notice to the public.
The three groups urged both the Forest Service and the Office of Tribal Relations to schedule more sessions in more Native communities.
For years, tribal leaders, tribal members and traditional practitioners have voiced their concerns with both agencies about the need to protect sacred sites.
In response, the Forest Service is reviewing existing laws, regulations and procedures governing sacred sites.
The goal is to integrate that protection with its other policies to sustain health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands.
The agencies are expected to issue final report, along with recommendations, by November.
Send written Dan Meza, Tribal Relations, U.S. Forest Service, Southwestern Region, 333 Broadway SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, or via e-mail TribalSacredSites@fs.fed.us.
Information: www.fs.fed.us/spf/tribalrelations/sacredsites.shtml
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