Impounded cattle back with owners

Posted by Cindy Yurth | Apr 14, 2016 | News |

Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Shay Benally, left, and Kevin Benally herd cattle to a trailer in Hopi Second Mesa Tuesday. Originally impounded by Hopi Rangers on Hopi Partitioned Land were released to the Benally family Tuesday.

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz.

After much wrangling and a thick pile of paperwork, 64 of the 66 Navajo cattle impounded by Hopi Rangers last Tuesday are back with their owners. A bull and an unbranded yearling calf were left behind, but a cow had a calf while impounded, bringing the total number of cattle returned to the ranches up to 65.

The cattle, which belong to four ranchers on the Hopi Partitioned land, were impounded last Tuesday because the owners did not have permits for them, according to Lt. Virgil Platero of the Hopi Rangers.

Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
A newborn calf is inspected by a cow from an impound corral in Hopi Second Mesa Tuesday.

Elouise Brown, a grassroots activist who helped the four affected ranchers retrieve their cattle Wednesday, said the group got a $4,000 loan to help cover impound fees for the cows. After collecting donations, they still owe about $2,000.

Getting the cattle out of impound took most of the day Wednesday, as the ranchers and Hopi authorities wrangled over who should be allowed to pick up the cattle and the ranchers argued with Navajo Nation employees, who came in with stock trucks to help move the animals, over where the cattle should go.

“They told us they would take the cows on the condition they take them to Window Rock, and the owners would have 30 days to decide what to do with them,” Brown said. “The owners said they wouldn’t accept that. They wanted them taken back where they belong.”

There was some “harsh disagreement,” with some of the ranchers telling the tribal employees to leave, Brown recalled.

“We sat there for about two hours. Then I got a call from (Vice President Jonathan Nez’s assistant) Leonard Chee saying, ‘I was told by the president and vice president to haul the cattle wherever the families want us to go.’ By that time, it was almost 5 o’clock. One of the cows had a baby while we were waiting.”

Chee could not be reached to confirm the conversation.