Letters | Supporting solar growth
Supporting solar growth
Editor and Council delegates,
My name is Jerry Semallie from Cameron, Arizona. I am the grazing permit holder of the area that is a possible solar project called Painted Desert Power.
I have grown up here in Cameron all my life. My parents are Pete and Mildred. Our family lived majority of our lives in the current area. We have herd sheep in this area. We ride our horses in this area and raised our kids in this area. Our family had different sheep camps in the mesa areas. My dad and mom relocated me and my siblings in the current area our family resides. My dad used to be a medicine man and traveled often when he did his ceremony.
When I was younger, I was sent to California with a foster family from the church. My sisters too were sent away to go to school in California. We all returned back home to help my parents with livestock. I worked locally in Cameron at the trading post and the Gray Mountain Gravel Pit. Because there are no jobs in Cameron, I would have to travel to work as a construction worker. Our family never had water or electricity because of the Bennett Freeze Area. We had to always haul our own water.
My oldest two brothers went to the military, and one served in Vietnam. I have three sisters. We all grew up in Cameron. My older sister worked with income tax and provided the service for a lot of years to Cameron and Tuba City area. My other sister worked at the hospital for many years and lives not too far from me. My younger sister always worked locally. We all took turns taking care of my mom and dad. Most of our kids grew up in this area. I have been in contact with my siblings and our older children in regard to this solar project.
I am writing this letter to provide my input on Painted Desert Power. I am not a person that is easily convinced with things. When this project was introduced to my family, I had to get questions answered and met with Brett Isaac (of Navajo Power) and his team to get answers. After getting more information with the area of the project and the positive impact it would help with the community and the environmental benefits, I supported it and my siblings supported it. If my brothers and sisters did not support it, I would not be in agreement. Our mom and dad taught us to stick together and to take care of each other. The information from the officials, Navajo Power and my family, I know it is a good project. This will help with jobs for local community.
The project also will preserve the area. I want you to know me, my brothers and sisters support this project. We will always live in this area, because this is where my mom and dad settled us for our animals and our life. We call it home. This project will provide a lot of benefits, clean energy and economic growth for families, neighbors and the community.
I signed a grazing consent for this project in 2021, and I still support this project today. I support this project and I know my mom and dad put me in this position to think of all of my family and our future kids. My brothers, my sisters and I think it is more positive looking forward for us, our community and future of this area.
Jerry Semallie
Cameron, Ariz.
Waiting for power
Editor and Council delegates,
Yá’át’ééh, my name is Martha Semallie. I am Tséńjíkiní born for Tł’ááshchí’í. I have lived and was born near the Colorado River in Cameron, Arizona. My parents are Pete and Mildred Semallie. I live not too far from my brother, Jerry Semallie. I’ve worked at Tuba City Regional Hospital and Sacred Peaks Hospital.
I would like to take this opportunity to make a statement. I have lived without running water and no electricity all my life. I’ve built a hogan in Cameron. I would ask Navajo Nation programs on how to get electric and water. The answer would always be the Navajo tribe does not have jurisdiction in the area. I would go to NTUA, and they said the electric is with APS. With my own Cameron Chapter I had negative remarks made that I should “get assistance from Coalmine, that should be your chapter.” So the division of the chapter where I currently live make it hard for me to get assistance. Coalmine is almost 50 miles to drive and a 60-minute drive from my current home. I question why the division was made where we are tied in with Coalmine Chapter. Most of the families in this area are going through the same situation with no water or electric and we are finally getting reached out on electric. I feel like our area has been forgotten.
I am in support of this solar project. My older kids explained things to our family about the good and bad. I see more positive from it for our neighbors, local community and tribe. My oldest grandson is our future, and he spoke up for us.
On June 26, 2022, at a Cameron Chapter meeting, my grandson, Ethan Tsosie, attended and he spoke up on the support of it. He is 22 years old then and is a voting chapter member. He told the Cameron Chapter officials and community that attended on seeing it on his side as a youth. He said his cousins and his local friends have to look for jobs elsewhere, because there are no jobs in Cameron. He mentioned this would provide jobs to the local area and medical insurance. He also expressed medical insurance and the need for it and how people struggle to get good medical care. He mentioned most family barely get by because they have to travel far for work, school, grocery and hospital.
It would be good for my kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces to have local jobs. At this chapter meeting, the former Cameron grazing officer mention that the location of solar he is familiar with and it is not a grazing area for animals, and it was a flat area. I thought that was good to know.
If you could look at it on our side in this Cameron area. We understood what Mr. (Brett) Isaac (of Navajo Power) explained and he answered all our questions. My brother Jerry, my brother John, sister Lena and my brother Roger all agreed to this solar project.
Martha Semallie
Cameron, Ariz.
Family support
Editor and Council delegates,
Yá’át’ééh, my name is Krystal Bergen-Tsosie. I’m Tséńjíkiní born for Tódích’íi’nii, shi cheii eí Tł’ááshchí’í doo’ shi nálí eí Táchii’nii. I’m the granddaughter of Pete and Mildred Semallie. My mother’s name is Martha Semallie from Cameron, Arizona. I’ve been the point of contact and family representative for my family for this project. I’m writing this letter in support of this legislation on behalf of my family.
My uncle Jerry, my mom Martha, my aunt Lena and uncles John and Roger all agreed with this project. My grandparents, Pete and Mildred, lived and chose this current homestead to raise their family and livestock. All of the children and grandchildren know this area as home. I remember all the ceremonies my Cheii Pete Semallie performed here. Shimasani Mildred raised her own children and all of her grandchildren in this area. We all grew up in Navajo Nation Head Start to grade school in Cameron. Most of us grandchildren went to boarding school in Peoria, Arizona. My understanding is that it was due to no water and electricity in our homestead and better schooling opportunity.
My mom Martha, aunt Julie and Lena, my uncles Jerry, John and Roger are all from this area and worked in local areas in Cameron. They raised their kids in this area. My grandparents had livestock and our family worked together to keep up with them. We were raised in Cameron by our grandparents, uncles and aunts. They played a big role in our lives. Our neighbors and families next to us grew up helping each other, whether it was hauling water, food and/or helping with traditional ceremonies. Some of us left to find work and education in the city because of higher education and jobs.
Shi másání Mildred Robbins Semallie taught us to take care of each other and to pray at dawn and sunset with corn pollen. She taught us how to be strong and resilient no matter what we did in life. My older mom, Julie, passed away. She kept our family together and was a strong woman who cared and loved all of us and the Cameron community.
Since this project was introduced, the stakeholders with Painted Desert Project have been very clear and transparent with our family and getting our answers we asked. From basic livelihood questions, safety and environmental information, our family received clear information. The decision for our family to support this project was not taken lightly. We had to ensure our family would feel safe near this project. We weighed out the pros and cons of this. We sat together to discuss it.
It’s important to know that the project lease area isn’t an area that anyone can graze much. There is very minimal forage there and what is left has been diminishing for a long time. That’s why it was chosen, to mitigate the impact on grazing rights in the future. I know the project was designed to leave the more productive grazing areas untouched.
Using this land for a purpose besides grazing would benefit the local communities and the Navajo Nation with economic resources. If this project goes through, it could benefit our local jobs for community members and Navajo people. I believe the positive impacts would help a great deal.
I know I see opposition on this and I want to make it clear. Our entire family has been informed and met with understanding this project. We are some of the people who live closest to the project and would be impacted the most, unlike some of the people opposing this project. We asked that this not be made as a negative impact for our family, our neighbors or our community. We are a small family, but my family comes from a line of medicine people, military people and strong people, and only want a positive outlook for our Nation, the community and our children.
Please respect our decision on how we support this project. I pray that my moms and dads are treated respectfully and with no negative repercussions. People advocate for causes and ideas in different ways, and our family would like to choose it to be in a positive way moving forward.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Krystal Bergen-Tsosie
Cameron, Ariz.
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