Letters: Enjoyed Quintero’s, Beyal’s pieces

I especially appreciated two stories in this week’s Aug. 25, 2016 Navajo Times.

First, the story by Donovan Quintero about the artist who had a broken hip. I have especially appreciated seeing what an excellent writer he is, how close he is to people, and how he will include their stories in news stories. I look forward to seeing his writing.

I also appreciated Duane A. Beyal’s column about how his mother would move on from grief and “turn the page.”

I found both these stories personally uplifting and inspirational.

Thank you for publishing them.

Diane Joy Schmidt
Albuquerque, N.M.

Escalade ‘an outrage’

Yáʼátʼééh iʼííʼą́! T’aa shoodi shíká inlyeed! Shí éí Eric Miller yinishyé.

My respect from the Navajo is well earned. I have managed a lot of construction projects throughout the Navajo Nation. Always fighting for a fair wage, and protecting them from the local workers’ union police who try to boot them off projects simply for not paying their union dues!

As you can tell, I have learned how to speak/write a little Navajo. Also I have a deep understanding for the Navajo and their culture. That right there has earned me the name Nah Tah Na Cha or “Great White Chief” with my fellow Native workers and Native friends.

On to the issue, I don’t know if you have been following this or not, but there are a bunch of white contractors that are proposing to put a tram that reaches inside of the Grand Canyon. This resolution, if approved, will approve the Master Agreement with accompanying legal documents for the development of the Grand Canyon Escalade Project in the Bodaway/Gap Chapter, approve a funding application and negotiation for $65 million by the Navajo Nation for the development of the off-site infrastructure of the Project, authorize the Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise to enter into a development and operating agreement in the Project area, accept the land withdrawal for the development of the Project in the Bodaway/Gap Chapter, approve a covenant not to compete in the development of the Project and waive certain provisions of the Navajo Nation Code relative to the Nation’s dispute resolution law. NOTE: waiver of 7 N.N.C. §§ 1101-1118 requires a two-thirds vote of the Navajo Nation Council. Section 9.2.2 says if the NN does not come up with preconstruction funding, that CP will impose a 10 percent interest rate on the remaining amount every year.

3.4. Non-Interference.

The Nation and the Enterprise acknowledge and agree that during the term of this Agreement, neither the Nation nor the Enterprise shall give orders or instructions to employees of CP, including without limitation, the general manager or any other manager or involve themselves in any way with the day-to-day operations of CP, and warrant to CP uninterrupted, exclusive control of the development and operations of the Project, subject to the rights of the Nation and the Enterprise as provided by this Agreement.

To me, this is an outrage considering what I have tried to protect the Navajos from! And in reality, it is damaging the Grand Canyon and the environment! Now I have only been there a few times, but I can say that it is one the most sacred places on earth. I do not want to see the Navajos being taken advantage of. I would rather see Navajo tribal funds being spent on vital needs such as housing, sanitation, telecommunication, and water supply projects across the entire Western Navajo lands.

Remember that the people who direct these development corporations are descendants and students of the men who made empty promises and signed treaties with every Native nation on this continent (and then casually broke those so-called treaties and promises whenever it benefited them).

PLEASE OPPOSE this proposed development and preserve the sacredness of the Grand Canyon.

Ahéhee’ for all that you do!

Eric Miller
Sandy, Utah

At DC, ‘new’ is not better

It only gets worse. For the past six years, Diné College has been embroiled in one turmoil after another. Reputations have been maligned. People have lost their jobs and savings defending their name. One side blames the other, and we are all made to believe that things will be better once new leadership takes over.

But once again, it’s the same old same old.

I have been a witness – an insider – to all these controversies, terminations, and strife at the College over the past six years. I have been accused of being on one side or the other. And like many other former and current Diné College employees, my name and reputation has been maligned.

In each conflict, the common complaint made by each side during these years has been favoritism, misuse of funds, violation of policy, terminations, and abuse of power to name a few (note: There’s more, but these are the main ones).

But each one is happening once again.

Favoritism — Current leadership has appointed key people in key positions without even internal advertising and in some cases, without public advertising.  New positions have been created that are unnecessary. Since the acting president has been appointed, staff have also been allowed to travel for no legitimate reason or purpose, while the opposition has been profiled and harassed continuously.

Misuse of funds — Current administration have been using college funds to benefit themselves such us putting up fences around their homes, purchasing furniture for their homes and offices, and renovating their offices to their liking.

Abuse of power — Constantly looking to terminate. Since Dr. Ahumada has taken over, his administration has terminated over 10 staff/faculty and placed five on leave. They are always looking for ways to terminate people who do not support their agenda. Current administration continues to violate policies and if you challenge them, they terminate you. There is a high turnover rate in some departments, why? It comes down to leadership.

All of these accusations are the same complaints received under the Dr. Maggie George administration. She was accused of favoritism, etc., but the current leadership under Dr. Martin Ahumada is doing the exact same thing.

The College has been accused of making no progress during these years. Our sister College, NTU has passed us and is outrunning us. Why? Because Diné College continues to fight amongst each other instead of working hard for the students. The students need a lot of things on campus and yet the money is being spent by the administrators. Payroll has gone up over $300,000 but services to students continue to go down.

Solution — I am asking the Board of Regents to review and do the following for the well being of the college, students, staff and faculty:

1. To intervene and stop all the terminations, suspensions and unwarranted administration leave immediately;
2. To temporarily require that all termination be vetted by Board before any action is taken against any employee;
3. To immediately replace the interim president with a Navajo that understands the meaning of ke’ and its value to Diné College (perhaps Dr. Fowler) and replace the interim director of human resources with an individual that will work for the benefit of the College and its employees, not just a select few;
4. To investigate all the practices this leadership has initiated;
5. To direct the interim president to immediately terminate the contract for the outside security and respect the College security employees and let them do their job.

On another note, unlike this current administration, while Dr. Maggie George was blamed of not being a nice person to most, she was knowledgeable and understood higher education. She also did not take advantage of the College, paying rent, paying utilities, putting up her own fence, and even started a community garden using her own funds. Her biggest mistake was hiring people like Dr. Ahumada and others that are now putting the future of this institution in jeopardy.

I am no longer working for the college, but I am a community member of Tsaile, and I will continue to fight for all students. This administration needs to stop creating a hostile environment, harassing me, and those close to me.

Abraham Bitok
Tsaile, Ariz.

They had the unbreakable code

The Navajo Code Talkers were known for their unbreakable code during World War II. They fought against the Japanese. Some were honored for winning World War II and for securing the freedom of the United States of America.

Before the Navajo Code Talkers joined the war, they were taken from their families when they were children. They were taken to boarding schools and were punished for speaking their native tongue, but when no one was around they would talk to each other in Navajo. During boarding school, some native children ran away from boarding school.

The white people thought that the Navajos were savages of the devil. In 1863, the Navajos were forced to walk to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, from Fort Defiance, Arizona, 300 miles away.

When the Navajo Code Talkers were children they said they read the newspaper and heard it on the radio that the Japanese had invaded Pearl Harbor in 1941. When the Americans were in the war, they had their codes broken by the Japanese. That’s when Phillip Johnston had been in World War I and was in the war with some Natives. Phillip Johnston was raised on the Navajo Reservation. That was the reason why he suggested the Navajos join the war.

When some soldiers went to the boarding schools to get the Navajos, some Navajo boys were in 8^th grade and lied about their age and said they were 17 years old. It was easy for them to lie because they did not even have birth certificates. They did not even know if they were citizens or not. Before going to war they needed to get a Protection Way Ceremony so nothing would happen to them.

Next, they were taken to a boot camp in San Diego, California. They were taught the codes in Navajo and had to memorize it. Later, after months of training, they were sent to their bases. Some were sent on battleships. While on the ships, some Navajos prayed with corn pollen to stay protected on board.

Later, during the war the Americans noticed that the Japanese had secret tunnels underground. Some Navajos insisted on going into the tunnels. During the night, it was difficult for the soldiers because they could not see anything while fighting. They hardly even had sleep because they still had to fight. Before leaving to other bases there were 7,000 Marines dead. The code talkers plotted the United States flag on Mount Suribachi.

After the Japanese surrendered, the war ended. Some Navajos went back to the Navajo Reservation without their medals for serving the country. That was the reason why some did not get rewarded for serving their country. When they went home, they said that they had nightmares and felt like someone was following them. That is the reason why they got an Enemy Way Ceremony so the nightmares would stop. They were also told not to tell anyone their secret codes in case of another war. After a decade, the code was declassified.

Aug. 14^th is Navajo Code Talkers Day. They are the heroes for protecting America and our freedom. They are still important to the Navajo language and people.

My conclusion about the Navajo Code Talkers is how important they are to the Navajos and the country. They did it for Mother Earth and their homeland and because they did not want it taken away from them. They had the unbreakable code.

(Editor’s note: the above was a winning essay in a recent essay contest at Chilchinbeto Community School.)

Lidia Cisneros
8^th grade
Chilchinbeto, Ariz.

Council, study Escalade bill!

We are disappointed that the Escalade Legislation 0293-16 may be considered by the Navajo Nation Council.

We, members of the Save the Confluence families and other land users of Bodaway/Gap, respectfully ask the council to take time to study the Grand Canyon Escalade legislation, talk to the land users impacted and gain perspective about the proposed development.

We ask the public to help us to inform our Navajo Nation Council elected officials by submitting their comments. Inform them that we stand together respectfully from the world over to stop the Escalade and protect the Grand Canyon from an environmentally destructive project that will serve only to desecrate our sacred and holy spaces.

The legislation, tied to the proposed Escalade Project, was filed late Monday at the council’s Office of Legislative Services. The Escalade Legislation seeks a $65 million loan from the Navajo Nation, asks the council to approve a 420-acre land withdrawal and green-light a contract between the Confluence Partners LLC and the Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise.
We also ask people to contact Navajo Nation Council members now to voice your opposition. Visit the following page to participate in the 5-day comment period: comments@navajo-nsn.com. Go to www.savetheconfluence.com or Facebook page Save The Confluence.

Renae Yellowhorse
Bodaway/Gap, Ariz.

---