Begaye does not support Grand Canyon Escalade project

Posted by Alastair Lee Bitsóí | May 14, 2015 | News |

Artists rendering of the proposed gondola tram at the Confluence, by the Grand Canyon Escalade proponents.

WINDOW ROCK

Even though Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye signed an agreement Tuesday to complete some of the Shelly-Jim administration’s projects, the Grand Canyon Escalade is not one of them.

According to a Wednesday press statement issued by Begaye, the new president doesn’t support the development of a gondola shuttling tourists up and down the cliffs of the Grand Canyon at the confluence, where the Colorado and and Little Colorado Rivers meet.

The Grand Canyon Escalade Project is considered a controversial proposal, with many locals and nongovernmental environmental organizations opposing it and the developers, Confluence Partners, LLC, lobbying the Navajo Nation Council for the $64 million project.

“The Begaye-Nez administration will vet and evaluate each project and determine whether the project will be in the best interest of the Navajo Nation and our people,” Begaye said.

In total, there are eight projects, including the Escalade, that Begaye signed-off on with former Navajo Nation Ben Shelly, minutes before he took his oath of office Tuesday at the inauguration of Begaye and Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez.

Specifically speaking to the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade, “This Administration has already stated it does not support the Grand Canyon Escalade project and that position has not changed, as Mr. Begaye has stated it is not in the best interest of the Navajo Nation and the Navajo people,” the president said.

Begaye explained that that agreement with Shelly, which he signed before taking his oath of office Tuesday, is a symbolic gesture of Ahiɫ na’ anish, or a small transition and agreement in principle.