Native Leaders Urge Designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument

Carletta Tilousi, Dianna Uqualla, and Stuart Chavez. Photo by Raymond Chee

Native Leaders Urge Protection of Grand Canyon with the Designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument

Courtesy Anna Peterson

Conservation Communications

Censored News

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona -- Speaking out for their sacred homelands and precious water, Native leaders urged the protection of the Grand Canyon, and the designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, during a public listening session with the Department of Interior and U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday.

Havasupai Vice Chairman Edmund Tilousi said, “Red Butte, our sacred mountain, needs to be protected and preserved for future generations to come.”

“The threat of contaminating our water is real and current.”

Supporting the need to protect the water, Hualapai Vice Chair Scott Crozier said, “This land, this water means a lot to us.”

Hopi Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma said it is Hopi's place of emergence.

“For Hopi and many tribal nations, there’s an intimate connection that we have with this. For Hopi, it’s our place of emergence, a place where we still hold pilgrimages and offerings. It’s what we consider the heartbeat. Much like a human being, the waterways are arteries and veins carrying that lifeblood, not only to Arizona, but the entire world. It keeps life going. And if we poison that blood, life dies.”

Congressmen Pushing Destructive Mining at Apaches Oak Flat

Apache Stronghold caravan to federal court in March. Photo courtesy Apache Stronghold

Politicians head to Arizona to tout destructive mining projects

House Republicans come to Arizona to promote mining that will violate religious freedom and destroy the environment

By Apache Stronghold, Censored News, July 19, 2023

SAN CARLOS, Arizona – A group of House Republicans will be in Arizona this week promoting destructive mining projects over the wellbeing of Arizonans, the environment, and sacred native land.

Representative Paul Gossar and four other Republicans are set to advocate for a series of projects—including Resolution Copper’s proposed mine at Oak Flat—and push for copper to be placed on the list of critical minerals in the U.S. This is the latest in a string of efforts by Republican leadership in Washington D.C. to put corporate mining interests over the good of everyday Arizonans.

“House Republicans and their lobbyists are coming here to destroy Arizona, not save it,” said Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr. of Apache Stronghold. “They will try to convince people that these mines will be good for our region and the rest of the county. In reality, they will ruin the Earth by polluting the land, waters, and natural habitats.”

Navajos on Black Mesa Oppose New Development Targeting Aquifers

 18 Navajo Chapters Oppose Huge Pumped Storage Projects Threatening Arizona’s Black Mesa

Coalition Statement, Censored News, July 19, 2023

BLACK MESA, Arizona — Tó Nizhóní Ání, Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment and the Center for Biological Diversity submitted resolutions to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today from Navajo chapters and agencies opposing three pumped storage projects on the Navajo Nation’s Black Mesa, southeast of Kayenta. A total of 18 chapters and agencies have passed resolutions opposing the projects.

“People who live here don’t want these projects, and we don’t want more damage from industrial energy development to the land and aquifers that we depend on,” said Adrian Herder of Tó Nizhóní Ání. “Asking for federal approvals before the consent of Black Mesa’s communities is the height of arrogance. It tells us the developer is not interested in engaging the communities that would be impacted by this project.”