Letters | Stark contrast between beauty and free-ranging animals

Stark contrast between beauty and free-ranging animals

Editor,
I recently had the privilege of visiting the stunning landscape of Monument Valley. The breathtaking scenery is truly a testament to the Creator’s artistry. The Navajo people are blessed to call this place home, and I’ve been deeply impressed by their connection to the land.

However, I was disheartened to witness a stark contrast between the beauty of the landscape and the treatment of some animals in the area. The neglect of a young sheepdog, deprived of proper care and nourishment, was particularly disturbing. It’s disheartening to think that such a beautiful creature could suffer due to a lack of basic care.

I also question the decision to charge non-Navajo visitors a fee to access the tribal park, especially for a community event like a marathon. While I understand the need for revenue, it seems counterintuitive to restrict access to a place that should be celebrated and shared with the world.

I hope that the Navajo Nation will prioritize the well-being of both humans and animals and continue to work towards a future where the beauty of the land is matched by the compassion of its people.

Christopher Furphy
Mesa, Ariz.

Angry, messy, yet wise, distinctive voice

Editor,
Once again, it is our turn to notice that, as acknowledged by Native American Heritage Month this month, November, we must recognize the Native peoples’ experience and their contribution to the American character.

There is a powerful New York Times Bestseller, “Heart Berries: A Memoir,” by a Native Indigenous author (Terese Marie Mailhot) from the Seabird Island Band, the Canadian reservation. She writes her account of a Native experience, yet what she writes can describe the lifetimes of many Native peoples. The point of her memoir is about how Native peoples have been and are being educated and marginalized, an education devoid of authentic Native peoples’ worldviews, and how Native peoples interpret the natural world and live within that world.

She writes, “My hope is that learning spaces can become more ready for stories, for differences, for growth and the truth we Indigenous peoples live with each day. I want all students to feel seen, and for all marginalized stories and experiences to be just as valid as the centered work we’ve been taught for so long.”

She writes about her mother, an educator, who allowed her “to see racism and lack of diversity in the classroom, … fighting to improve the system.” She further writes how she had her deepest conversation with her mother by the river before they prayed “for the school to be better and more fruitful.” She leaves open the possibility that although, while not every prayer gets answered, “it’s nice to put a little tobacco in water and imagine better.”

This account touches on how reclaiming your heritage culture has intense, immeasurable value, bringing one to reconnect with the natural worldview of one’s true indigeneity. More importantly, her distinctive voice has critical implications about how one can contribute to building the American character through the lens of traditional Native Indigenous worldview as contextualized within our natural world.

Harold G. Begay, Ph.D.
Tónaneesdizí, Ariz.

Expressing opposition to corrupt practices

Editor,
To all Navajo Nation grazing permitholders and farmers, your 2024 Drought Insurance payments are in jeopardy because Mike Halona, executive director of Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources; Patrick Sandoval, chief of staff; and Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren are potentially paying off political favors to their friends and potentially using your 2024 Grazing Permittee Incentive payments as collateral.

You must immediately contact your local grazing officials, chapter officials, Council delegates, and the Office of the President and Vice President to express your opposition to their corrupt practices. If you don’t make your opposition known, there is a very high likelihood that your 2024 Drought Insurance payments and Incentives payments will be terminated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

By Chuck Hemphill, president, CKP Insurance, “An urgent notice to all Navajo Nation grazing permitholders and farmers: Your Drought Insurance payments may be unnecessarily withheld,” Navajo Times, Nov. 21, 2024, Vol. LXIII, No. 47, Page A7. Seven more paragraphs on their corrupt practices.

Have you heard of the Recall of the Navajo Nation president? Listen to Mr. Robert Curley on KTNN.

God said in reply [to the unrighteous person], hypocrite[s]…Luke 13:15. For anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted…Luke 14:11.

Clarence Johnson
Chinle, Ariz.

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