Impoundments: Big Mountain Under Siege Again

View this email in your browser APRIL 2016 Greetings, We are writing to report more attacks against the communities of Black Mesa in the form of livestock impoundments. One Big Mountain resister who had several cattle impounded in this latest round says: "They are asking $435 per cow per day and they are even counting calves that are less than a month old.  They aren't being fed hay. They run all the animals with four runners and some cows got separated from the calves and left behind. Stop abusing the animals, Tell the Hopi Rangers. End the harassment. Where are our human rights? Our animals need their rights. They don't need to be pinned up and abused. Stop separating the calves from their mothers. My animals have been here for many generations. They said we are looking for trespassers but these animals are not trespassers, they have always been here."--Big Mountain Resister (who they are calling trespasser) Louise Benally, of Big Mountain, made this statement: "We are asking you to take action. Big Mountain is under siege again. They are stealing our livelihood away and holding them in pens and charging us a lot of money and refusing to bring them back to people's homes. When they animals are taken away, people can't return to their homes.  We need human rights and justice for the environment. This is a fight for human rights, Animals are food. When they take our food what choice to we have? We are calling out to the world to help us apply public pressure.    Demand animals be returned to owners and that the owners are allowed to decide how to manage the land and animals. Call the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, and the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation refuses to help the people who are resisting relocation openly. No one is backing us up because we are resisters. This has always been stacked against us. They are harassing and terrorizing people and when they take their animals away they can never come back to the land. They tell us we are illegally living here. We are illegal aliens basically. But I am older than PL 93-531. I was born in 1960 and that law didn't come along until 1974. That's why I don't recognize it.  I was here before."—Louise Benally, LouiseBenally6@gmail.com Take Action: Come to Black Mesa as a human rights observer/sheepherder. Help document and report the harassment of community members facing livestock impoundments.  Contact blackmesais@gmail.com for details on humans rights observation. See www.supportblackmesa.org for more information.   Donate: ***You can donate to a fund that Louise Benally's family has set up to get their livestock out of impoundment here. ***You can donate to a general Black Mesa impoundment fund here (please specify "Black Mesa Impoundments" in the designation line) Numbers to Call to Demand an End to Impoundments: BIA superintendent Wendel  Honanie at( 928-738-2228), Hopi Rangers Clayton Honyumptewa at (928-734-3601), Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye: (928) 871-6352/6353 Department of Interior at  (602-379-6600) DONATE F O L L O W on F A C E B O O K F O L L O W on T W I T T E R Copyright © 2016 Black Mesa Indigenous Support, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the work of BMIS. Our mailing address is: Black Mesa Indigenous Support P.O. Box 23501 Flagstaff, AZ 86002 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list