Copyright © 1997 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

In Black Mesa, Arizona, USA, traditional Dineh (Navajo) people face forced eviction and relocation from their homelands. Passage of the Relocation Act already affected 11,000 traditional Diné and 100 Hopi. Now, the people concerned have been told to sign the Accommodation Agreement by March 31, 1997, or else face forced relocation from the lands by US Marshals on April 1, 1997.

What has been led to believe to be a dispute between traditional Diné (Navajo) and Hopi, turns out to be a commercial hunt for the natural resources in the area. To these people, the earth is sacred. Black Mesa is the most sacred ground in the Hopi and Navajo tradition. About 250 traditional Diné families still live on the heavily polluted land directly surrounding the Black Mesa/Kayenta mining complex, the world s largest strip mine, operated by Peabody Western Coal Company. Livestock has died from the effects of the pollution, water is polluted and many of the residents suffer from health effects due to excessive coal dust. They resisted relocation because they live self-sufficient traditional lifestyles, and relocation to a totally different surrounding and culture would mean the end of their own culture. Relocation of the inhabitants of the region would clear the path for Peabody Western Coal Company to extend its mining operations in Northern Arizona.

After previous relocations, many of the people lost their homes, called the home loss phenomena. Due to difficulties in adapting to their new surroundings and to a new culture, the traditional Diné could not afford to pay their mortgages, and became homeless. The Academy Award winning movie Broken Rainbow presented a moving account of the forced relocation.

The designated area for resettling relocatees, near the San Juan River near Shiprock, New Mexico, was part of a land fraud involved in a Congressional investigation. The area is contaminated by 1.5 million tons of uranium ore that was processed and left in contaminated waste piles covering 72 acres.

The Sovereign Dineh Nation, and its political arm, Dineh Alliance, have rejected the Accommodation Agreement outright. Acception of the Accommodation Agreement will mean a violation of Freedom of Religion and of Speech for the traditional Diné and Hopi. The Agreement would directly attack their inalienable rights as citizens of the United States, and therefore be unconstitutional, by denying them the right to vote in the elections of a local government, and by denying the right to be tried by an impartial jury.

"We stand unified one with another in our opposition to this unjust and unfair law that was created to remove us from the land by any means and at any cost. This continued violation of our basic rights as human beings must not be allowed to beside the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights or the Bible," stated one Diné.

"The voice of the people must be heard for justice on Black Mesa to ensure the protection and survival of the people. The struggle is to protect sacred land, religion, and the survival of a traditional way of life from corporate interests. Relocation is genocide."

The Dutch Tolerance Foundation acknowledges the fact that relocation would mean the end of the Diné culture and strongly urges the US government to take actions, to prevent relocation from happening. The homelands are vital for the Diné and Hopi cultures, and need to be preserved.

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For further information, please contact:

*SOVEREIGN DINEH NATION - DINEH ALLIANCE*
P.O. Box 1042
Hotevilla, AZ 86030
USA
Phone/Fax: (520) 607-1449

*SOVEREIGN DINEH NATION - DINEH ALLIANCE*
Sub-Office
P.O. Box 2889
Window Rock, AZ 86515
USA
Phone/Fax: (505) 371-5551

*SOVEREIGN DINEH NATION*
P.O. Box 30435
Flagstaff, AZ 86003
USA
Phone: (520) 522-8683

*THE TOLERANCE FOUNDATION*
P.O. Box 1970
1200 BZ Hilversum
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)35 69 50 667
Fax: +31 (0)35 69 50 681

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