Save the Peaks!
On August 30th, Flagstaff City Council will decide whether or not to sell Flagstaff’s precious drinking water to a single private business for recreation. Visit true snow for details.
As City water prices go up and Flagstaff is threatened to run out of water by 2050, Arizona Snowbowl Ski Business has been offered $11 million tax payer dollars by the USDA to subsidize their plan to make fake snow. This amounts to a corporate bailout for a business located outside of city limits.
The Inter-tribal Tribal Council of Arizona just made a statement affirming opposition to the plan. Save the Peaks Coalition will be holding a rally and prayer vigil at 4:00 PM at Foxglenn park (near Sinagua at 4200 E. Butler Ave) before the council meeting. As Snowbowl threatens to start cutting trees as early as next week, we need your support more than ever.
Here is an article with columns by the Wall Street Journal and the Navajo Times about the issue.
Black Mesa Update
Back in 1974 Public law 93-531 was passed by congress calling for the
relocation of over 10,000 Navajos and 300 Hopi Indians to make way for
Peabody Coal Company to develop the land for open surface mining; to this
day the mine is still in operation sucking up resources and ignoring the
native people. The tribal governments are the lease holders to the
corporation operation on Indian reservations and they will do anything to
sell it out! Traditionally we are supposed to respect the land and live in
Harmony with the Earth, Sky, water and Air. We still try to live that way
here at Big Mountain and yet, it’s a crime.
August 30, 2010 is the deadline date for people that are interested in
Relocation Housing and benefits. You will have to have been head of
household in 1974, full time resident of the HPL. People currently
resisting relocation and people that have signed The 75 Year Lease with
the Hopi tribe are not eligible for Relocation program. The 75 Year Lease
Project is not insuring lease obligations; there is an ongoing movement to
recall the 75 Year Lease Agreement and the few families that didn’t sign
lease or relocation benefits continue to live out here and we are the
people not given any services from The Hopi and Navajo tribal Governments.
Over the summer of 2010 the Hopi Tribal Council developed a resolution to
create a facility that will store carbon in the Cow Springs area of the
western Navajo Nation; there is a movement to oppose this developing
project too.
There is a great need for weatherization assistance, such as wood hauling
for winter months and roof repairs etc. Please contact Black Mesa Indigenous Support for more.
blackmesais@gmail.com
PO Box 23501 Flagstaff, AZ 86002
928-773-8086
Tohono O’odham VOICE Against the Wall
In a statement to the National Guard released Sunday, O’odham activist and global climate justice delegate, Ophelia Rivas, opened a direct line of communication, explaining “When you are out on our land, be mindful that you are visitor on our lands, be respectful, be courteous and do not harm anything.” “We are not compliant people,” she states, “we are people with great dignity and confidence. We are a people of endurance and have a long survival history. We are people that have lived here for thousands of years. We have our own language, we have our own culture and traditions.” Listing several O’odham practices, Ophelia Rivas explains the peaceful traditions of her people, striking a tone of reason with the government. She closes the statement on no uncertain terms: “Remember we do not want you on our lands, we did not invite you to our lands.
Do remember that we have invited allies that will be witnessing your conduct on our lands and how you treat our people.”
To the National Guard: We, the allies of the O’odham people, are watching. The whole world is watching.
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