Window Rock, AZ. (4.25.22) – Diné Sáaniis for Justice will be holding a demonstration on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 10:00 AM at the NTUA Headquarters in Ft. Defiance.

We will gather in the public parking lot on the east side entrance to demand that General Manager Walter Haas be put on administrative leave without pay until a proper investigation can be conducted regarding the accusation of sexual assault against an NTUA employee.

We are extremely disappointed in the public statements made by the NTUA Management Board which borders on victim shaming and prioritizes concerns about money over taking swift and deliberate action to convey that such behavior will not be tolerated by this Navajo Nation owned enterprise. This is the kind of public behavior that discourages survivors from coming forward to tell their stories and hold perpetrators accountable, allowing this kind of violence to continue unabated.

As daughters, mothers, sisters, and grandmothers we are exercising our inherent right to demand that NTUA, a public utility that receives millions of dollars in tribal funding and in utility payments to manage and provide water and electricity to the Navajo public, take swift action and put Mr. Haas on administrative leave without pay.

We also demand that the utility revise their sexual harassment policy to reflect trauma-informed approaches to better address this issue in the future. There is no reason why a Navajo Nation owned public utility should not uphold the highest standards of safety for its employees and for the general public!

It is our collective responsibility to end the epidemic of violence and sexual assault in our communities, so we demand these actions be taken to stop the cycle of violence in our communities, in protection of all our women, children, two-spirit and non-binary relatives from now and into the future.

Please bring signs expressing your concerns over the recent sexual assault allegation against Walter Haas, NTUA General Manager. It has been a week since the allegations were first made public and Mr. Haas is still employed at NTUA.

Diné Sáaniis for Justice will provide coffee, water, and donuts at the demonstration. Please feel free to bring your own chair, and to dress appropriately for the weather. Please wear face masks.

4.18.22 Press conference regarding a Sexual Assault Lawsuit filed against NTUA CEO Walter W. Haas by NTUAWireless General Manager Tsosie, 3 pm, with attorneys David Jordan and Justin Jones in Gallup NM

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