Posted on 12/29/2005 1:58:31 PM PST by Redcitizen
LUKACHUKAI, Ariz. – The coalmines on the Navajo Nation should have never been opened. Instead, the Navajo people could have implemented other, more original types of economic development not so dependent on foreign businesses. This is how the head of the Navajo medicine men’s association sees it. “They will have a real negative impact on the earth system,” said Anthony Lee Sr., president of the 300-member Diné Hatááli Association, which represents the reservation’s traditional medicine practitioners. “From a medicine man’s perspective, we have to ask, why did it open in the first place?” Now that the tribe is coming face to face with the idling of the Black Mesa Mine and the approaching permanent closure of the McKinley Mine, Lee is contemplating the effect such changes will have on the Navajo Nation. In fact, the closure of the mines is simply the most recent political event that directly affects Navajo culture. In November, Lee expressed his opposition to the proposed expansion of Arizona Snowbowl, a ski area located on the San Francisco Peaks.
Although Lee said he believes the Navajo Nation should not have welcomed a strip mining operation that takes natural elements out of the ground and away from the Navajo Nation, he chalks up the decision to politics. “When it comes to politics, the decisions are not always in the best interest of the land, or the people,” Lee said. Traditional Navajo healing songs stress the relationship between humans and the earth, commonly referred to as “mother,” Lee said. “And yet, we allow coal to be extracted from the earth and the water to be used in the slurry line to transport the coal.” Lee, who teaches Navajo culture and language at Diné College, said the tribe could have found alternative sources of income and business by looking for other types of projects. Specifically, Lee said as the Navajo Nation has increasingly embraced mainstream ideals and ideologies, the people have neglected traditional Navajo beliefs that could have helped steer the tribe toward more environmentally safe and economically prosperous opportunities. “We should have been on our toes. If we had followed the traditional practices we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in today,” Lee said. “There is a lot of intelligence found in the earth system that we haven’t even tapped into yet. We’re using the ideology of corporate America and that’s what’s hurting us today.” For instance, Lee said he didn’t know if a ceremony was performed at the sites prior to mining. It’s customary to perform a prayer and an offering to the land before planting and again before harvesting, Lee said. But what about when the land has been profoundly disturbed, as happens during surface mining? Lee said he isn’t sure if there is such a ceremony, but said the hatáálii will look into a prayer that can be done to help heal the land once the mines close. “I don’t know if it’s possible to make amends with the earth,” Lee said. “There are so many scars.” Lee said the Navajo tribe must find a way to make mainstream American influences benefit traditional Navajo practices, such as embracing more media outlets like Navajo specific television and radio channels, and Navajo-specific curriculum in schools. A balanced system could result in keeping more of the younger generation on the reservation and bring more ideas for future development to the table. Until then, the Navajo Nation will not tap into its true potential, he said. “We are a sleeping giant,” Lee said. “We’re sound asleep with our arms crossed. We are waving a flag like everything is well, but it isn’t. We need to wake up.”
Been there. Its amazing how people's view of coal mining changes when the royalties run out.
There is something to that. Anaconda was ripping up Montana for a long time until the citizens discovered they could have some control.
There is opposition to a new powerplant that is being built near Shiprock,NM. The electrical output would go to Arizona. Some say that it would add to the pollution that is thick in the four corners region. However jobs are sorely needed here. That would be a better idea than a casino which I had voted against in the past few years.
So now that the royalties are out, what is your area like?
If there had been Navajos in "Atlas Shrugged", seems like Ayn Rand could have used this guy's words without editing.
If the Navajos want to ban mining from their lands, that is their right and more power to them....
But pretending some sort of socio-cultural marketing effort is going to bring in enough money to replace the income streams from rich coal deposits or any other basic productive industry, is dreaming, IMHO
The coal mine has already been shut down because all the coal has been extracted from what I understand.
Come to think about it, I did not hear many complaints about that Peabody coalmine in the years while it was still open. Interesting to hear about your situation.
Some of the most beautiful parks, nature / wildlife preserves and scenic areas that I have ever seen were reclaimed coal mines.
Well, There is plenty of water in nearby Lake Powell.... (I don't know if they actually used any from there), and a couple of thousand feet below the coal strata is a HUGE aquifer....
(I used to be in the mining business myself (not coal, hardrock, high value materials)
Copper ?
What other original types of economic development?
"........they delivered the coal to the power plant via a water slurry pipeline. In a dry area of the US, I was always amazed they were allowed to do this."
Manufacturing, technology jobs, expansion of the local college to a four year institution. Frito Lay was slated to build a potato chip factory, but politics got in the way and produced buffalo chips instead.
I thought it was water from the Colorado River but wasn't certain.
Nah.
Precious metals, precious gems, museum/collector specimens. Small, short term, high risk, high grade operations;
So, not copper per-se; alothough we did work a lot of copper mines for specimens.
As to manufacturing and technology jobs can they work cheaper than Asians?
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