Letters | Uphold our sovereignty

Uphold our sovereignty

As a Diné teenager, I have concerns about peers my age not exercising their right to vote. I have concerns about participation in this upcoming election.

Voting in the United States makes a difference for our local communities, our nation, and our world. I believe voters should be familiar with candidates who will be running for elected positions and which party each candidate represents.
Additionally, I believe that it is crucial to understand what each candidate’s plans are for yourself, our communities, and our futures because their decision will have an effect on the youth or yourself as an individual. Even if you don’t think that your vote matters, the person you voted to be in office matters. So, make sure you vote for someone who is smart and knows what they want to do for you.

As a Diné youth, you may find you asking yourself, “What has the federal government done for me/for us?” — to be particular, President Biden authorized one of the largest cash flows and revenue in the Navajo Nation, the biggest in our history.

Additionally, President Biden traveled to the Gila River Indian community to make a historic “first apology from a U.S. president” to the Native Americans and Native American communities who suffered and endured traumatic abuse and suffering during the boarding school era.

I believe Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will continue to uphold our sovereignty. This historic move gives me faith that the Democratic Party respects our tribal dignity. Tim Walz recently traveled and visited our great Navajo Nation capital and spoke on improvements for tribal land, lowering prescription drug prices and improving Indian health care services for Native Americans.

In contrast, the Republican Party could care less about helping the common man much less Native Americans. Republicans are candidates who are pro wealthy meaning they support tax cuts in their tax bracket to maintain their wealth. This is why Elon Musk supports Republican Donald Trump’s talks of being a dictator and wishes he had the generals of Adolf Hitler.

Donald Trump has blocked a lot of funding for Navajos, including pandemic relief during the pandemic of 2020 and he downsized the National Tribal Monument, Bears Ears, and approved pipelines on fossil fuels to be run and burned on our sacred sites — land that we hold dear.

The Navajo vote is becoming ever more powerful and it shows but we need our youth to speak up and be represented to make our voices, concerns and thoughts known — you can do that by voting. Voting is good all the way up to Nov. 5, 2024. We can turn and make Arizona “Blue” with our combined votes of the Navajo Nation.

With our Navajo youth, our votes have the potential to be even more powerful to elect Jonathan Nez, Ruben Gallego, Kamala Harris, and Tim Walz as our next elected officials to boost our country and Navajo Nation forward into what we should be and that’s a great nation.

Michael Maxx
Fort Defiance, Ariz.

Celebrated and honored

Many of us here in the Midwest were touched by the news of John Kinsel Sr.’s passing into his new eternal home. He is to be celebrated and honored.
Being a Vietnam veteran myself, it touched me deeply and I began to share this news with many.

My love and respect for all Native Americans is unconditional. White on the outside, red on the inside. I guess you could say I’m a “reverse apple.”

John Taylor
Schereville, Ind.

Betrayal of trust

In Donovan Quintero’s article, “Former Uranium Workers and Advocates Arrive in D.C. to Push for RECA Legislation,” he shares the emotional story of former uranium workers, many of them Native Americans, rallying in Washington, D.C., to demand the extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

These workers risked their health mining uranium during the Cold War, often without knowing the dangers they faced. With RECA set to expire in 2024, advocates are calling on Congress to expand the law, ensuring that overlooked workers and communities receive the compensation and care they were promised.

The suffering these workers endured is immeasurable. They gave their health, their futures, and, in many cases, their lives, believing they were serving their country. As one advocate said, “They were willing to die for their country,” yet they have been left to fight alone — forgotten and abandoned by the very nation they sacrificed themselves for. Many now struggle with cancers and chronic illnesses, watching their bodies deteriorate while waiting for help that may never come. The neglect of these workers is not just a failure of policy but a profound betrayal of trust, especially for Indigenous communities who have carried the heaviest burden.

Extending and expanding RECA is more than just correcting a legislative oversight; it is about delivering long-overdue justice to discarded people after their usefulness ran out. If Congress allows RECA to expire, it will be a profound moral failure, telling these workers that their lives and sacrifices mean nothing. This is a moment for the government to show these communities that their suffering has not been forgotten. The time is to act is now — before it’s too late.

Shanelle Smiley
Chinle, Ariz.

Disqualification of candidates

In the Navajo Times article titled, “Navajo Nation Disqualifies Candidates Ahead of Chapter General Election,” Donovan Quintero brings attention to the upcoming general election with emphasis on the election’s budget and the disqualification of 192 Navajo chapter official candidates. He reports that the election budget allocation from the Navajo Election Administration is only $500,000, which was found to be lower than the funding in the previous fiscal year.

This led to a reduction in staffing at the polls for the upcoming general election and efforts to be made by interim director, Veronica Curley, to push for a better election’s budget.

I agree that the Navajo Nation election’s budget should be expanded, for the general election is simply not enough. I believe if the Navajo Election Administration allocated more funding toward the election, its funds could be used to improve election experiences. It states in the article, “Veronica Curley expressed concerns about funding for the temporary account, which could result in a significantly reduced staffing level for the general election,” which means without proper staffing at the polls many Navajo people may struggle with their ballots.

Many Navajo people who participate in elections may struggle with understanding the terminology used on the ballots or may be strictly Navajo speakers and need assistance with translation. Curley also brought attention to an estimated $193,000 that remains in the Navajo Election Administration budget, which could be added to the current $500,000 to help add the much-needed additional staff at poll sites.

In total, the Navajo Election Administration needs assistance with funding for this upcoming general election and future elections. The Navajo Nation Council should take action and should assist with finding and allocating more funding from other resources such as ARPA funds to assist the Navajo Election Administration.

Overall, the Navajo Election Administration should allocate more funding toward the upcoming general election as it could be used to provide additional staff as needed to aid elders and new voters.

Rochelle R. Francisco
Chinle, Ariz.

Driest areas of Navajo

In the Navajo Times article titled, “Senate hearings support Navajo Nation water rights settlement” by Donovan Quintero, he reports that Navajo Nation leaders gathered before the Arizona Senate Committee to support the settlement of water rights. The settlement will benefit the Navajo Nation along with the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes. This agreement will bring much needed water to the driest areas of the Navajo Nation affected by drought along with other parts of New Mexico, particularly the Rio San Jose and Rio Puerco basins. This settlement is one step forward in resolving the issues related to water rights and access to the communities in Northeastern Arizona and Northwestern New Mexico.

The Navajo Nation needs their water rights and a reliable water source. There shouldn’t be a debate because water is a basic need for people to survive, especially living in a region with droughts lasting longer than most parts of the United States.

The Navajo Nation has battled both the United States and the Arizona Senates roughly four decades in order to have a clean and secure water system, therefore, people on the Navajo Nation waited long enough to have access to water. Many families in Dennehotso, Arizona, for example, have gotten sick due to the unsanitary water they use from streams, ponds, and lakes.

Donovan Quintero says, “He (Navajo Nation President, Buu Nygren) highlighted the dire water situation facing communities in some of the driest parts of New Mexico, particularly emphasizing the importance of the Rio San Jose and Rio Puerco basins.” This points out the regions that need access to water so the situation will improve among those communities.

As a Navajo whose only water source was a mountain stream, I understand the difficulties of not having immediate access to water. Having to travel distances to get water for livestock and to sustain a life in general is inconvenient and unfair as many individuals don’t have a reliable water supply.

The water settlement will show people of the Navajo Nation must be heard and our needs such as health are crucial. The Navajo people must stand with the leaders of the Navajo Nation by advocating for policy changes and lawsuits that would allocate more water. This will present the need for a reliable water source and prove we can take a stand on our land by protesting or meeting together about the issue.

If the settlement is approved, it will end the contention and mistrust against Arizona involving water rights, built up from years of the state upholding treaty obligations that would grant the Navajo people more water. Eventually, the hope is that our people will finally have clean running water in their homes along with their rights to access it.

Aryissa Hale
Window Rock, Ariz.

Resolving water rights

In the Navajo Times article titled, “Senate hearings support Navajo Nation water rights settlement,” Donovan Quintero explains how three tribes in Northeastern Arizona came together to resolve their water rights with the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 2024. This settlement will allow for a reliable and safe source of water for the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.

Additionally, many tribes will gain capability to lease their water, creating an economic opportunity until water projects are complete. The Act includes a $5 billion dollar essential water development. This will give Navajo Nation, along with San Juan Southern Paiute and Hopi Tribes, claims to the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River, and relevant groundwater sources in Arizona.

Many people assume that Native people get everything for free like, for example, water, but that is far from the truth. In 2023, about one-third of the Navajo Nation does not have access to running water to their homes. “Water Access on the Navajo Nation” — The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission (2022).

The Hopi Tribe shares the same circumstances, along with San Juan Southern Paiute, who have no access to clean water. San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Vice President, Johnny Lehi, states, “For the Paiute Tribe, this bill is about so much more than just water. Not only does the historic bill resolve water rights for three tribes.”

In other words, Native people should not have to ask for water that is already on their land. Native people have inherent rights to the natural resources on their ancestral lands, including water, which is vital for their health, culture, and livelihoods. Historical injustices, such as colonization and broken treaties, have often led to the denial of these rights, perpetuating systemic inequalities. Ensuring access to clean and reliable water for Indigenous communities is not only a matter of justice, but also essential for preserving their cultural identity and way of life.

Overall, if Native people do not have their water rights, it allows outside parties, such as federal and state governments, private corporations, legal and bureaucratic barriers to install oil pipelines near our water and divert our water to other cities.

As a tribal nation we have minimal water resources, it’s estimated that about 30 percent of the entire Navajo Nation of roughly 173,000 Navajos lack running water.
From personal experience, I have to haul water to Nazlini from the Nazlini Chapter House or from the nearest windmill. There are hundreds of people like me who don’t have running water.

Erick Claw
Fort Defiance, Ariz.

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