Letters | Voice of the land

Voice of the land

Editor,
My name is NaBahenez Harvey Jaquez, born for the Naaneesht’ézhí Dine’é.

I am writing in regards to the article from Feb 16th, about Chaco Canyon. I do not want any oil and gas development on my property. The Naaneesht’ézhí Dine’é currently have numerous allotments that are distinguished by the cattle guards and/or the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness area. We have also lived in the area being questioned about profiting off the land. My family for generations has strived, struggled, and endured on the land within the four sacred mountains. Long before all the developments we now have today.

Being isolated in our area has its benefits if we practice the Diné way of life, being strong in prayer, working the land, living off the land. The old people went through so much hardships for me to allow destruction of the beautiful land we now possess, I would love to honor them by not allowing destruction, exploitation by oil and gas development on my land.

The old people had less of what we have today yet (they) persevered. Yes, today’s world has its benefits of electricity and running water. There are still everyday struggles amongst our Diné, but we don’t want to sacrifice our land for profit.

How many of the oil and gas wells/pump jacks in Naayízí are on allotted lands? The big oil companies don’t want to pay any allottees big money, they only pay for pipelines also called right-of way which amounts to pennies on the thousand dollars.

In short, Diné Bikéyah has no voice. I am the voice of my land. I enjoy the beautiful landscape too much for the big companies and selfish politicians to allow extraction/drilling and eye sores to be “developed” in our area.

NaBahenez H. Jaquez
Naayízí, N.M.

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Purged by Defense Department

Editor,
“War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge” was a headline that caught my attention for several reasons. My brothers all served in the Marines, Air Force and Army and it seemed wrong to wipe out images of people doing what was right by this country. Plus, I wanted to see if this included the code talkers.

DEI is shorthand for doing what’s right to those who are not white, rich, or privileged. Essentially, most of this country’s citizens. Currently, this country is hell bent on wiping out all references to those minorities of distinction and where best to start but with the military.

The Associated Press obtained the massive listing of 26,000 images slated to be removed and the eventual total could be much higher. Some of the images includes the first person to receive a Medal of Honor in World War II, Pfc. Harold Gonsalves, a young Mexican man; Opha May Johnson, the first female Marine; the first women Marines and fighter pilots; an honor to Capt. Gabra A. Bailey for “Inspiration Through Humanity”; a distinguished black Army Sergeant whose last name is Gay are just a few among thousands.

Anyone and anything named Gay is excluded and that includes pictures of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II. The pilot, Col. Paul Tibbets, named the plane to honor his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. The vintage bomber is currently on display and people are wondering if it will be destroyed because of its name.

All minority citizens and women who served in the military are being purged from the Defense Department’s historical files. Currently on hold are the Tuskegee airmen’s images and history.

Code talkers. The listing includes at least 11 identifiable images of code talkers. Many of the files are listed by numbers but there are probably more than just those 11 images. One file was identified as “Okinawa Marine reflects on his native American heritage.”

Code talkers during World War II includes the Comanche, Lakota, Mohawk, Meskwaki, Crow, Tlingit, Hopi and Navajo. Canada used Cree tribal members. They served in the Pacific, North African and European theaters.

The irony is “The Language They Were Forbidden to Speak is The Same Language That Save This Nation”. That saying is now printed on a popular T-shirt.

Code talkers were first used during World War I after a company commander heard two Choctaw men talking to one another. They included the Choctaw, Lakota, Ho-Chunk, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Oklahoma Cherokees, Comanche and Navajo.

The Germans knew about the use of code talkers during WWI. Just prior to the outbreak of WWII, they sent a team of 30 anthropologists to the U.S. to learn Native American languages. However, when they got here, they found a large number of Indigenous languages and dialects and the venture was too difficult and impossible. The Army knew about the German anthropologists and decided not to use the coder talker system on a large scale.

I thought I’d try and get access to a code talker file so I clicked on a couple coded files and got: “403 Forbidden, Code: Access Denied, Message: Access Denied” and “404 Error, We’re sorry, this mission can’t be completed!” I almost apologized for being so intrusive. Then I got mad, then sad, thinking about all that our history tells us what we’ve been through as Indigenous people.

If they want to white-wash this country’s history, you gotta admit it’s going to be boring.

Carole Wright, Western Shoshone
Nixon, Nev.

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