Letters | Safety concerns at Shiprock Flea Market
Safety concerns at Shiprock Flea Market
Editor,
The seemingly temporary location of the flea market in Shiprock, New Mexico, has been by the riverbank of the San Juan River for a while now. Many canopies and vehicles get clustered in close proximity to one another as people gather to sell or to buy on many weekends.
There are some safety concerns which have not been addressed nor remedied. The parking and walking areas, sanitation, and the traffic flow are not safe. The uneven sandy surface of the ground makes it more difficult for patrons with wheelchairs or canes to maneuver. Free portable toilets need to be set up away from all vending for sanitary reasons. Furthermore, unreasonable charges for the use of the outhouses are unnecessary. Additionally, congestion of incoming and outgoing traffic creates a bottleneck at the turnoff from the highway. Not to mention windy conditions cause sand to swirl and create problems of discomfort or inconvenience at the flea market.
As a governing body, the Shiprock Chapter House would be the most likely responsible party to address these safety issues. If there is an entrepreneur running this flea market, then he or she would be accountable. Who is responsible for providing a better location for the popular flea market?
Wilford R. Joe
Shiprock, N.M.
Coal heat comes at a cost
Editor,
Navajo Mine (Navajo Transitional Energy Company) in Fruitland, New Mexico, provides free coal for our people during the heating season annually, which is a good community effort. While this gesture addresses immediate heating needs, it overlooks a critical concern. There are no warnings or educational materials about the health risks associated with burning coal in the home. In contrast, many everyday products come with clear safety advisories, yet this potentially hazardous resource does not.
I want to bring out some safety hazards of burning coal in the home. According to e-how, there are dangerous health risks such as toxic chemicals like benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are emitted into the home interior when coal is burned (www.e-how/list). Many of our people need inexpensive ways to heat their home during the cold weather, but using coal is not safe. As stated, the emissions of toxic gases and smoky coal use may cause such health problems as childhood pneumonia, recurring respiratory issues, serious respiratory infections, heart disease, or even stroke (www.cancer.gov).
I understand that for many families, coal remains the most accessible and affordable way to heat their homes during the winter months. My intension is not to discourage its use, but to advocate for greater awareness. For the safety of our Navajo people, I urge President Nygren, NTEC, and tribal leaders to post clear safety information at coal distribution sites. Signs or brochures should explain the health risks of burning coal indoors and offer tips on safe use, like proper ventilation and how to spot signs of harmful exposure.
Wilford R. Joe
Shiprock, N.M.
Fight for Bears Ears
Editor,
I’m writing to share my deep concern about the current threats to the protection of the sacred area we know as the Bears Ears (Shash bi Jaa’). I am Diné and I grew up in a small town near Monument Valley, south of Cedar Mesa. Many of the people I grew up with travel to Cedar Mesa to gather wood and other items such as pinons, sagebrush, and sumac berries.
I own and operate a guiding company that provides tours within the Bear Ears National Monument, and our company focuses on sharing the beauty of the region and how that beauty is connected to the region’s current and historic Indigenous cultures. Our guests come to visit from across the United States, and around the world, and what draws them here is the Indigenous history, scenic landscapes, and solitude.
Guests are mesmerized by the artistic beauty the Bears Ears region – including seeing an ancient tower built around 1100 A.D. with a majestic canyon in the background. Sights like that are why visitors come to this area. Scenic and sacred places within the monument are currently protected and it’s important they stay protected. As Indigenous guides, we emphasize caring for the land. We were taught to care for the land because it takes care of us.
What’s at stake if protection is removed from Bears Ears National Monument? That has been on the minds of many guides and outdoor recreationists who enjoy and cherish our public lands, and the Tribes who call Bears Ears their ancestral home. Shash bi Jaa’ being vulnerable to becoming an industrial or developed zone is something many Americans and I definitely would not want to see happen in these sacred lands.
As an owner of a company dependent on tourism, I’ve seen how Shash bi Jaa’ has drawn visitors to the region. It is deeply concerning to think this delicate and sacred landscape is currently under threat of being open to mining and development. Stripping current protections would have a major negative effect on the local tourism industry. People don’t visit wishing to see power plants and mining operations, they come to see nature’s spectacular arches and bridges, deep canyons, and vast mesa tops, as well as the cultural sites.
The importance of protecting places like the Bears Ears is critical to the health of the landscape, wildlife and people who live here. The Desert Bighorn sheep and Mule deer can’t talk. The pinon/juniper pine forests and cryptobiotic soils can’t talk. The natural springs can’t talk. But they all give us messages. Their message is “We need protection”. We humans can talk. We need to give them a voice and share their concerns.
Let’s stay active and protect Bears Ears National Monument and our public lands.
Louis Williams
Owner, Ancient Wayves
Montezuma Creek, Utah
Kayenta, Ariz.
Statue of hypocrisy
Editor,
President Donald Trump kicked out three mothers and their children. Mothers are “illegal immigrants.” The children were born in the United States thereby making them citizens of the United States. One of them has cancer.
President Trump is also a child of illegal immigrants who came to America and stole aboriginal lands of native peoples and murdered hundreds of natives and forced them to leave their homeland.
I suggest everyone to read “Pagan in the Promised Land” by Stephen T. Newcomb, member of the Shawnee /Lenape tribe. Also read the “Trail of Tears” about forced removal of thousands of Cherokees from their ancestral homeland across the Mississippi River to Oklahoma. Many died on this forced march.
Trump’s billionaire partner, Musk, is waiting to take his chainsaw to the Statue of Liberty, chop it down and replace it with the statue of Trump holding a torch with billions of dollars shooting out of it. Our nation is now becoming a nation of billionaires.
President Trump also kicked out Abrego Garcia based on the tattoo on his figure which proves to Trump he is a vicious gang member. He brags he could bring him back to receive due process hearing but he is not going to do it. How many people have tattoos? Beware, federal officials are looking for men with tattoos!
We original natives in America should deport Trump to Russia to be with his brother Putin. For some reason he worships this dictator. Who knows why? What does Putin have over Trump?
Vernon Masayesva
Kykotsmovi, Ariz.
Uranium on our doorstep
Editor,
There are deep frightening threats of the transportation of uranium from the Pinyon Mine near the Grand Canyon to the White Mesa processing mill in southern Utah. The haul route goes through eleven (11) Navajo Nation Chapters from Cameron to Mexican Water. Uranium has been our detriment for more than 80 years. Yet we are standing still as the wind carries the dust from these haul transportation trailers right to our homes and communities.
Despite the significant health and environmental risks associated with uranium transport, there has been no formal outreach – no community meetings, no informational sessions, no environmental risk briefings. Decisions are being made behind closed doors, leaving our people, particularly those in historically impacted areas, unaware and excluded from the process.
Equally troubling is the disregard shown toward our Native Sovereign Nations – the Navajo Nation, Ute Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Havasupai Tribe, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe – in the Environmental Impact Statement process. We are affected by these decisions. We are vested. These are our homes and communities, and we will be here for generations long after the uranium companies are gone.
Our participation must not be an afterthought, but a requirement. We must be respected as essential stakeholders in reviewing, shaping, and consenting to such projects that bring danger, even when we say no.
Arizona and Utah state agencies have both a legal and ethical obligation to involve Tribes. Anything less is by definition irreparable harm – an injury so great in which there is no repair.
We demand that all governmental agencies and companies involved immediately suspend all transportation of uranium. Public awareness of the dangers of uranium are needed as well as full emergency response plans are in place for disasters along the transportation route. Greater responsibility must be placed on Energy Fuels Inc. to ensure the lives and living health of our Native Sovereign Nations, all people and visitors.
Anything less is unconscionable and woefully negligent. The strength of your voice counts, now.
Martha Saggboy
President, Mexican Water Chapter
Mexican Water, Ariz.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow