Letters | BIA’s broken trust

BIA’s broken trust

Editor,

This is a continuation of complaints against BIA Navajo Region. Range management program’s mismanagement and program corruption of our grazing permit and cropland management was and still is a primary issue for ranchers and farmers.

It started with Region non-compliance with the NEPA 1969 Congressional mandate and 1993 Agriculture Resource Management Plan that regional director emphasized in her letter. Region has no record that proves compliance to Congressional mandate.

How do I know? I regret working for BIA as a natural resource employee who retired in 2012. I knew about program wrongdoings and in 2005 I requested the program’s review/audit. No response from Region.

There are other violations not listed in last week’s Navajo Times. Region has absolutely no intention to comply with 25 CFR 2.8 guideline that requires 10-, 20-, 30- and 60-day time limit for Region to take action on appeals. I submitted proven facts and records of appeals to Region Freedom of Information that went beyond the 60-day time limit.

Region advised submitting appeals to the Washington FOIA Office of Solicitor, Washington Interior Board of Indian Appeal (BIA), DOI Office of Inspector General, and even to former DOI Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. OIG referred the appeal back to BIA. I never heard back from BIA Navajo Region. This is absolute mismanagement.

My grazing permit dispute case has gone beyond the 36 years and no solution, all due to Jerome Willie’s mistake as Fort Defiance Agency range management specialist. The mistake occurred on May 7, 1991, at a Grazing Committee meeting. As government technical adviser, he failed to advise the committee that approving two grazing permits violates 25 CFR 167.8(c) Navajo grazing regulation.

Mishandling our grazing records is abuse of trust responsibility. Complaints show BIA Navajo has not enforced standard of ethics for employees. BIA management needs to enforce accountability for personal and professional conduct. They have professionals hired as technical advisers to assist grazing permit holders and farmers to ensure policies, guidelines, regulations, and congressional mandates are followed.

Again, I welcome Mr. BIA Director to respond no later than April 30.

Nels Roanhorse
Oak Ridge, Ariz.

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Fewer Diné

Editor,

The Navajo Nation’s population numbers are once again making headlines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of Navajos registered with the tribe to access federal and state support programs. That surge in enrollment helped the Nation understand that its total population was approximately 420,000, a figure that remains fairly accurate today.

The number that has always been more uncertain is how many Navajos actually live on the reservation. In 2020, that figure was reported at 174,000. However, recent data now shows that the true on-reservation population is closer to 160,000.

This should be a serious concern for tribal leadership. A decline of 14,000 people in just six years is significant. It was expected that the closure of Navajo Generating Station and the Black Mesa Coal Mine would cause several thousand Navajos to relocate. But few anticipated a loss of this magnitude.

Census data indicates that Navajos are leaving primarily due to the lack of jobs and the shortage of available housing on the reservation. We are not retaining our people because we are not creating enough good-paying jobs. Economic development is simply not occurring at the scale needed to keep families rooted in their communities. It is likely that many of those leaving are young Navajos seeking opportunity elsewhere.

The solution is straightforward: we must create jobs. The Navajo Nation must begin welcoming businesses and companies rather than turning them away. We must stop saying no to development and economic-growth efforts. We must also remove the barriers that make it difficult for businesses to operate on Navajo land. Even basic project approvals remain a major obstacle across the reservation.

If this population decline continues, the impacts will be profound. Our culture, language, and traditions depend on strong, vibrant communities. Federal and state funding allocations – heavily tied to population counts – will also be affected. With Navajo elections approaching, it is essential to evaluate lawmakers based on their commitment to job creation and economic development.

The “brain drain” is very real for the Navajo Nation. The departure of 14,000 Navajo people in such a short time is alarming. We must act now to stop this crisis of Navajo families leaving the reservation in such large numbers.

Daniel Begay
Shiprock, N.M.

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More than a powwow

Editor,

As April ends, so will the known powwow Gathering of Nations, self-proclaimed as once the biggest pow wow. I am aware of the controversy of ownership and exploitation in various areas throughout the history of this event. However, I am coming from a perspective of my own lived experience attending GON for over 30 years. Amongst the controversy GON held space and time for Indigenous identity and community here in the Southwest, in the city of Albuquerque, where there were very few area powwow 40 years ago.

My first Gathering Nations was as a teenager in The Pit, where Diné Keyshawn Whitehorse recently rode to another PBR win. The grand entry there, you had to see the categories of dancers from all four directions filing down the stairs looked so stoic, beautiful, powerful. Saturday night grand entry, the line would scale the whole north side, go out the parking lot and west on the now Avenida Delores Huerta.

Growing up Navajo and Ojibwe, this powwow, in many ways celebrated my Ojibwe identity being born, raised predominantly amongst my maternal k’é (Diné relatives). I grew up in many ways very Navajo. Sometimes my dad reminded me, say to me, “You are Ojibwe” and then flow into a story of his childhood, growing up in Minnesota. White Earth is where I started to learn about powwow ways because of dad’s northern roots, mine too. So as a teen to my surprise I go to GON and hear the northern drums, see northern regalia, beadwork and reunite with relatives and meet new friends. It left me feeling reconnected to a part of my identity that was not usually recognized.

Over thirty years I have seen the gathering become a reunion, a social destination. Local artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, took over local venues and Natives flooded Albuquerque’s social scene. From notorious country bars, to downtown, to 49s at Nine Mile, to locals hosting epic house parties, there was a GON social scene to experience.

My own experiences of Gathering of Nations became a motivator to become involved with University of New Mexico KIVA Club and Nizhoni Days Powwow 2005-2006. The short story was me stepping up to help organize a pow wow with no prior experience, just my ancestor’s vibes. Nizhoni Days powwow was not scheduled for GON weekend, it was to be the weekend before, to kick-off the week’s events at UNM. The ancestors said no, it rained and was postponed to Sunday, the next day after GON. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience those two years from community, fellow students, UNM NAS, our families and friends; organizing, contributing, continuing.

My intent of Nizhoni Days powwow has always been based on community, providing a space for Indigenous Identity to be seen, heard, celebrated. That our students and urban Native population get to experience a powwow as part of community and not in their community. My hope is it continues to be outdoors. I love knowing the drum resonates throughout the city, my own decolonization, knowing that Albuquerque in Navajo is named for the ringing bells, reference to the church bells.

Some of us have gotten to experience a day/event if not GON itself, past or recent experiences; good or bad, hopefully lessons to keep us resilient and memories to keep us young. The scene has evolved and I see you all, it has become more about community empowerment, Indigenous take back. Just a Navajo/Ojibwe girl walking in this world, thankful for spaces that celebrate Indigenous identity, past and present.

Andrea Hanks
Gallup, N.M.

 

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