Navajo families from the Hopi Partition Lands walked to the Navajo Council chambers from the Window Rock, Ariz., Mini-Mall on Oct. 30, 2014, to testify to Navajo President Ben Shelly and Council delegates about the abusive treatment of Hopi government police and U.S. Interior Department Bureau of Indian Affairs rangers, who having been conducting pre-dawn raids on the Navajo families that have resulted in the arrest of Navajo people and confiscation of livestock. Photo by Marley Shebala (Please provide proper credit when re-using photo.)
In addition, Pro Tem Bates and President Shelly have issued an official request to Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honani for a meeting on Nov. 3 to discuss the ongoing livestock round-ups.
Numerous reports have surfaced from various HPL residents of ongoing livestock impoundments that have raised significant concerns for Navajo livestock owners in the area, several of whom have reported that authorities have brandished firearms during the livestock round-ups.
“Among many families, livestock is the main source of food,” said President Shelly. “Resolve is what we all want.”
“We have heard the concerns of our people, particularly those of elderly Navajos who rely heavily on their livestock for their livelihood,” stated Pro Tem Bates. “Impounding livestock of Navajo people is a deliberate violation of their rights to practice our culture and traditions and it must stop immediately.”
In an Oct. 24 memo from NHLCO executive director Raymond Maxx to Hopi Tribal chairman Herman Honanie, Maxx requested a ten-day grace period to allow for the opportunity to confer with residents to request removal of excess livestock from the HPL.
“If overgrazing is the major concern for Hopi officials, it is certainly an issue that we can address by sitting down and talking with one another,” added Pro Tem Bates.
The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission recently passed Resolution NHLCO-21-14, requesting the Hopi Tribe to accommodate livestock capacity for Navajo families living in the HPL.
NHLC members Council Delegates Dwight Witherspoon and Walter Phelps have met with Hopi and BIA officials and affected residents.
According to Delegate Witherspoon, further discussions between all parties are scheduled for this week.
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Contacts for Joint Press Release:
Navajo Nation Office of the President and the Vice President
Rick Abasta (OPVP) 928-871-7884
Navajo Nation Office of the Speaker
Jared Touchin (OOS) 928-221-9253
