Tribute: Navajo, Hopi and Lakota took on Peabody Coal, New York 2001

Roberta Blackgoat
Flagstaff Arizona protest
of Peabody water slurry
Photo Brenda Norrell (c)

Navajo, Hopi and Lakota delegation warned Lehman Brothers of consequences of mining sacred Black Mesa

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News copyright
French translation by Christine Prat at:

http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=3378

The following article is being republished following Peabody Coal's bankruptcy this week.

In 2001, a delegation of Navajo, Hopi and Lakota stood united before Peabody Coal stockholders in New York and challenged the corporate monster.

Most of the delegation are now in the Spirit World. Arlene Hamilton bought two stocks in Peabody Coal in order for the delegation to address the stockholders. As a result, Arlene said her life was threatened. She died in a car accident. Roberta Blackgoat, known around the world for resisting relocation, died during the time of Hamilton’s memorial. Leonard Benally, longtime resistor with his sister and brother Louise and John Benally on Big Mountain, and Arlene’s husband, died of illness.

Those who stood together in New York included Hopi and Lakota elders.

NEW YORK -- A delegation of Navajo, Hopi and Lakota warned Lehman

Brothers stockholders of the dire consequences of their actions in

2001. In a rare move, censored by most media, the Navajo, Hopi and

Lakota delegation warned Lehman Brothers, after it acquired the

financial interests of Peabody Coal, of the spiritual consequences of

mining coal on sacred Black Mesa and the aftermath of Peabody Coal's

machinations that led to the so-called Navajo Hopi Land Dispute.

Later, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy.

Navajos Demand Just Transition after Peabody Coal's Bankruptcy

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Peabody’s Declaration of Bankruptcy is 'No Surprise'

Navajo Tribal Members Demand Just Transition to a Sustainable Economy

By Black Mesa Water Coalition

Censored News

French translation by Christine Prat at:

http://www.chrisp.lautre.net/wpblog/?p=3385

NAVAJO NATION, Ariz. -- The nation's largest coal company, Peabody Energy Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday's the coal industry grapples with the fallout of low natural gas prices and the increased enforcement of federal regulations. Peabody has ownership stakes in 26 mines in Australia and the U.S. including the Kayenta Mine located in the Black Mesa region of the Navajo Nation. This declaration of bankruptcy has many Navajo communities asking what this means in terms of Peabody's responsibility to workers, health care and the clean up the region’s land and water, and transition its economy.

It’s telling to witness the various Navajo responses to Peabody’s bankruptcy filing,” said Jihan Gearon, Executive Director of the Navajo non-profit Black Mesa Water Coalition (BMWC). “Some people are celebrating it as an indicator of the potential shutdown of the Kayenta Mine and an end to the coal complex’s contamination of the environment and people’s health. Others are worried about the potential loss of jobs and impact to the Navajo Nation’s economy. Yet everyone is calling for a commitment from Peabody and government leaders to meet its obligation to clean up and to support a just transition to a new economy.”

Peabody Coal's 40 Year Holocaust for Navajos

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
French translation by Christine Prat at:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.fr/2016/04/tribute-navajo-hopi-and-lakota-took-on.html

As Peabody Coal declares bankruptcy, it is important to remember the lives lost to heartbreak, respiratory disease and cancer, the homes that were destroyed, and the aquifer and spring waters that were drained and poisoned.
One elderly Navajo man laid down and died from heartbreak when he was relocated. 
It was Peabody Coal and its attorney John Boyden that orchestrated the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute. Peabody's purpose was to clear Navajos off Black Mesa for coal mining. 
It has been a 40 year Holocaust for the people of Black Mesa. More than 14,000 Navajos were relocated to make way for Peabody Coal mining. 
The resisters of relocation lived harsh lives and many died during the long years of struggle. 
Peabody Coal was aided by corrupt Congressmen who pushed through legislation, and the media that promoted the lies and censored the truth. 
Peabody Coal feeds the Navajo Generating Station, one of the dirtiest coal fired power plants in the world. It lights up southern Arizona while poisoning Navajos. 
The genocidal effects of Navajo relocation are far reaching. 
Sanders, Arizona, to the east of Black Mesa, is at the mid-mark of two Holocausts: The Church Rock, N.M., uranium spill of 1979, and relocation. The uranium spill is flowing down the Rio Puerco wash, and the radiation is now in the drinking water at Sanders.
In Sanders, there is the trail of heartbreak, like a long mourning song in the land, from those relocated here. 
This 40 Year Holocaust must be documented and remembered, so it will never happen again. The Congressmen, Peabody Coal, the attorneys and the media should be exposed and held accountable. 
Never again.
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Gwich'in Gathering in Arctic Village 2016

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Sarah James

Shalak Naii,

We wish to invite you to the Biennial Gwich'in Gathering in Vashraii K'oo (Arctic Village, Alaska) from July 25-29, 2016.  The Arctic Village Council is hosting the event.

Join us!  This year is an urgent time in our fight for permanent protection of the sacred birthplace of the caribou in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in this era of record global warming and climate change.  We will celebrate and thank President Obama for sending the first-ever proposed Arctic Refuge Wilderness recommendation to Congress.  This year is the key time to move permanent protection –Wilderness– forward.