Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

April 24, 2013

Diné Hada’ Asídí: A Peaceful Revolution against the Internal Enemies

Navajo child protests at Salt River Project in Tempe, Ariz.

Diné Hada’Asídí

Navajo Vigilant Ones

A Navajo People’s Public Interest Organization
 
We need a Peaceful People’s Revolution against the internal enemies


NGS: It’s All About Water (Today’s ‘Blue Gold’) and Disloyal Insiders

Navajo Generating Station (NGS) is not Navajo, but uses our coal, water, land, and

nearly 400 miles of rights-of-way (basically free for 40 years) to make its owners gross annual

revenues of roughly $1.5 billion. The two biggest owners are the U.S. Interior Department

(our supposed trustee) and Arizona’s Salt River Project (SRP).

NGS owners have swindled us out of hundreds of millions in value over 40 plus years



by providing us ‘chickenfeed’ most of that time, e.g., about $600,000 annually, for use of our

land, water, and rights of way―with Navajo taxes waived until very recently. Taxes will be

waived again. The rights of way alone are worth about $50 million. The owners got roughly

$2 billion in value from us since 1970, while we received about 1% of that in return. Our

lawyers in the 1960s and ‘70s helped in the swindle too, by treating us as a people ‘less than’

others, and not deserving of the same rights and revenues as non-Indians.

NGS exists because of water―the Lake Powell Colorado River water used to run the

power plant, and the 1.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water NGS power annually

pumps to the Phoenix and Tucson areas through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canal.

Arizona’s wealth and growth rest on the deeply depressed economic back of the Navajo

People. Our unemployment rate is around 50%.

Why would SRP, its partners, and supporters (including a few Navajo Nation lawyers)

be in such a rush to have the new NGS lease approved? It all boils down to water, for SRP

and other outside interests. We have said before; our full water rights would be worth more

than the Navajo Nation’s coal, oil, and gas royalties and the fledgling gaming revenues

combined. The outsiders know this, and our current lawyers do, but our leaders don’t fully

realize it. The same ploys are being used on them and us today as 40-50 years ago.

There are two major problems for the Navajo Nation concerning what’s happening

with extending the NGS lease now, and how it’s happening. The first problem is that the

rule of law relevant to Navajo energy-related negotiations has been tossed out the window

by President Shelly, Council Speaker Naize and a few delegates, and our predictable

Department of Justice (DOJ). They even admit it, but say “It’s OK.” It’s not. It’s illegal!

The Nation’s negotiating team for NGS, chosen by an inept President and a verifiably

disloyal DOJ, was appointed illegally and is invalid. Chapter 2 of Title 18 of the Navajo

 
Nation Code, captioned “Navajo Negotiating Team,” was not followed. Cronies, yes-men,

and giveaway artists were chosen, the same as with DOJ’s Water Rights Commission.

The law says the President appoints a team of 10 with approval by the Navajo

Council’s Government Services Committee (now the Nabik’iyati’ Committee).

No Committee approval ever happened. Five members are to be informed citizens—one each

from the five ‘agencies’ the Nation is divided into. This never happened. Two more are to

be from the Resources and Development Committee. This did not happen, either. Three

were to be from among Nation employees experienced in natural resources, economics, or

law. This occurred, but without Committee approval, and the appointees do what the

disloyal lawyers tell them to. The President, the Speaker, DOJ, and supporters are acting as

outlaws and violating the Navajo Nation Code to sell us out. Loyal Council members must

go to court and file a writ of mandamus, demanding compliance with the People’s law.

The second problem relates to the tremendous water rights negotiating leverage we

lose by approving the NGS lease now. There is plenty of time. U.S. Senator Jon Kyl and

disloyal Nation lawyers Pollack and Hoover knew the leverage issues when, over a year ago,

they secretly developed U.S. legislation for the Little Colorado River (LCR) water rights

settlement. It would have waived our possible claims to $3.5 billion worth of water, and

automatically approved the NGS lease. The legislation went to Congress with no input from

the Council or People. The Navajo Human Rights Commission passed a resolution

declaring these actions by Kyl and the lawyers violations of the People’s human rights of

free, prior, and informed consent. The legislation failed; the lawyers unbelievably remain.

SRP is currently renewing its 1969 agreement with the Interior Department (again,

‘our trustee’) to pump up to 34,100 acre-feet per year from Lake Powell to run NGS. Those

negotiations are kept from the public. Our dishonest DOJ attorneys continue secret

negotiations on the LCR, the Colorado River in AZ, and our water rights in Utah. These are

the worst individuals and circumstances for our water rights. We have no doubt the DOJ

lawyers are advising the NGS and Utah parties on how best to get what they want from us.

They’ve done it before. The Navajo Water Rights Commission may participate, but they are

just trained DOJ puppets. Informed Navajos know DOJ is destroying us.

On December 11, 1968, the Navajo Council passed a resolution (written mostly by

Interior and SRP) saying the “…Secretary of the Interior [will] take all necessary steps … to

affirm the right of the Navajo Tribe to 50,000 acre-feet of water allocated to [AZ] under the

Upper … Basin Compact.” The resolution also states “… the Navajo Tribe … agrees that

they will not make demands upon the 50,000 acre-feet of water per year….” Very

significantly, the resolution declares “If, for any reason, this resolution is terminated or

expires…, the Secretary … shall take the necessary action to have the 34,100 acre-feet of

water per year, … returned to the Navajo Tribe for their exclusive use and benefit.”

Return means ‘to pass back to the original owner/possessor.’ It’s our water! But DOJ, as

expected, publicly declared it isn’t. Any sane client would fire and disbar them.
 
History shows the 1968 resolution was obtained through misrepresentation,

deception, collusion, and worse. The Nation could, therefore, declare void or voidable the

Council’s agreement to stand down on the 50,000 acre feet per year, and proceed to make

demands on that amount, and more. The reason the Nation can claim the 50,000 acre-feet

of water, and more, is that that water is allocated to the part of AZ in the Upper Basin.

This includes only Navajo land. Also, Navajo was not a party to the Compact setting the AZ

limit at 50,000 acre feet, and is therefore not limited to claiming only that amount.

If the Nation approves the current NGS lease etc., as DOJ wants, SRP, Jon Kyl, CAP,

and AZ will have what they want. We will lose our best water rights negotiating leverage for

the LCR, the lower Col. River, and the upper Col. River in AZ, and probably some good

leverage for the Utah negotiations. Proper delay of approval is essential to our survival.

SRP began as an agricultural improvement district under the laws of AZ, and has had

nearly exclusive use of Upper Basin water in AZ for almost 50 years. Why would they give

up wonderful control over free water without a fight? Instead of being up front about it,

they are using limited numbers of jobs and modest benefits to Navajo as a smokescreen to

protect AZ’s/SRP’s claim to 50,000 acre-feet of our water. It’s an alibi for water theft.

If, for example, the 50,000 acre feet was leased to Las Vegas at that city’s current

willingness to pay per acre foot of water rights ($42,000), it would be worth $2.1 billion now,

for a 99 year lease. No wonder SRP is offering the Nation about $40 million annually,

starting in six years, for future benefits they got for near nothing for 40 years. ( We need full

compensation for the past swindle and the future benefits NGS gets from an extended lease

etc.) NGS will received over a $billion worth of water for free from ‘69 thru 2019. If the

NGS lease etc. are approved as written, NGS will get another $billion plus worth for free. It

seems that over the last 50 years all the outside interests have learned the huge economic

value of water and how to get it, while the Navajo Nation still has not. Those outside

interests, and their lawyer friends at DOJ, want to keep it that way.

The only way to save our economic future and survive as a Native Nation is to rid

ourselves of the Navajo Nation lawyers and leaders who dare continue to treat us as an

undeserving people who are ‘less than’ others. On a scale of 1-10, our water rights

negotiating power is at a 1. If we fire the disloyal lawyers and properly delay an NGS

approval, it can quickly rise to a 10. With honest lawyers, truth in government, an informed

and involved electorate, an informed Council, and a capable chief executive we can gain the

agricultural and other water rights due us, get full compensation for rights given up, and pull

the Navajo Nation into a brighter economic, social, and political future. There is great talent

among the grassroots organizations who can help make this happen, if the talented and

caring among the Council (held back by the lawyers) will only ask and help facilitate it.

Ultimately, we need a Peaceful People’s Revolution against the internal enemies

revealed above, or the Navajo Nation is doomed to economic and political termination.

 
Contact: Milton Bluehouse, Sr., P.O. Box 629, Ganado, Navajo Nation (AZ) 86505

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