Mohawk Nation News 'Rekindling Resistance'

REKINDLING RESISTANCE

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Kan1enkehaka

Mohawk Nation News
https://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2026/08/01/rekindling-resistance/





GREAT WHITE ROOTS OF PEACE

MNN. July 26, 2026. To acquire peace, Dekanawida did not base his ideas on faith and hope. He described a giant white pine that reached into the sky, symbolizing the sisterhood and brotherhood of all human beings. At its roots were the five nations of the original Rotinonhsión:ni Confederacy. A structure was designed to make the individual the center of power so that no dictator could seize control. The people met to discuss issues and came to an understanding. The governmental structure included the separation of powers of the judicial, executive and legislative branches. The Rotinonhsión:ni nations were made up of democratic social units to form a peaceful confederacy of all Indigenous people. After the upheaval of Indigenous culture by the European invasion, the Iroquois and many other Indigenous nations, such as the Aztec, Blackfeet, Sioux, Hopis, and others had the same ideas about the return of Indigenous thought.

Remembering Pueblo Dorothy Purley: Warnings of Merchants of Death

Dorothy Purley, Laguna Pueblo

Remembering Pueblo Dorothy Purley: Warnings of Merchants of Death

Before she died from cancer, Dorothy Purley, Laguna Pueblo, wanted the world to know what happened at Laguna and Acoma Pueblos, to her people, because of the uranium mining. She called for a meeting, and a lot of people came. They sat in a circle and decided to call the movement, "Indigenous Alliance without Borders," to show the world that the environmental destruction was targeting all Native Americans, all Indigenous Peoples, crossing all borders. During those years, she told me her story and she took her story to the world. In memory of Dorothy Purley.

Dorothy described how the workers in the mines would bring the radiation home on the dust on their clothes, the dust would coat their food and the crops, and the grass that the sheep and livestock ate. "They usually conducted their blasts during our noontime and evening meals, when our village women would dry their fruits and vegetables during the harvest season. A fine layer of dust would cover our food, but we simply rinsed it off not knowing that it was toxic." The U.S. government knew the radiation would kill them, but never told Native people. This is her story. -- Brenda

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

Before she died of cancer, Dorothy Purley of Laguna Pueblo described driving a uranium truck at the Jackpile Mine. Dorothy said the Pueblo workers were never told what the yellow radioactive dust would do to them. The radioactive dust blew onto their drying meats, and it poisoned the grasses that the animals eat.

Paddle to Nisqually, Tribal Canoe Journeys 2026

Courtesy Nisqually Tribe

 Paddle to Nisqually, Tribal Canoe Journeys 2026

Paddle To Nisqually 2026, Censored News, July 30, 2026

LIVESTREAM https://tinyurl.com/3tk75h56
Dates: July 31st to August 5th, 2026

Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLWMEvm2-225s

The 2026 Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch is hosted by the Nisqually Tribe. Canoe Journey 2026, Paddle to Nisqually Medicine Creek Potlatch, continues an inter-tribal celebration and annual gathering of Northwest indigenous nations. The annual tribal journey in the Pacific Northwest region was sparked by the Paddle to Seattle in 1989 as part of Washington State’s Centennial celebration.

Many Canoe Journeys have been held since 1989, when pullers (the preferred term because of the pulling motion on the paddle) from Canada, Alaska and Washington voyaged from their home communities to sites in the Pacific Northwest. The Canoe Journey has grown to include over 100 canoes and the participation of Canoe Families from other native canoe cultures, including Native American tribes, First Nations peoples, Alaska Natives, Inuit, Maori, Native Hawaiians, and other indigenous peoples from across the world.

Courtesy Nisqually Tribe

Courtesy Nisqually Tribe

Navajos and Hopis Formally Oppose Pumped Storage Proposal Targeting Black Mesa

During the protest last week at the Navajo Nation Council Chambers, Nicole Horseherder, executive director of Tó Nizhóní Ání spoke of the devastating decisions being made by the Navajo government. Photo Dine' CARE.

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Groups formally oppose pumped storage proposal targeting Black Mesa

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona – Tó Nizhóní Ání, Diné Citizens Against Ruining our Environment (Diné CARE), Black Mesa Trust and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed motions to intervene urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the preliminary permit application for the Chilchinbeto Pumped Storage project southeast of Kayenta on the Navajo Nation

“This wildly unrealistic project would only add to decades of harm from coal mining to Black Mesa’s people, land and aquifers,” said Nicole Horseherder, executive director of Tó Nizhóní Ání. “Asking for federal approval when the application is riddled with incomplete, misleading and infeasible information is the height of arrogance. It tells us all we need to know.”

The proposed Chilchinbeto Pumped Storage project would construct two reservoirs, containing 10,000 acre-feet each of water, one on the rim of Black Mesa and the other 1,500 feet below in the valley. The water to fill the reservoirs would come from either the aquifer deep beneath Black Mesa or the San Juan River, according to the application submitted by the company Nature and People First. After the initial 10,000 acre-feet to fill the reservoirs, the project would require withdrawing an estimated 2,500 acre-feet every year to keep them full.

“Like coal mining before, this proposal would require rural communities to sacrifice more land and water so that electricity and profits can be exported to faraway cities,” said Robyn Jackson, executive director of Diné C.A.R.E. “This isn’t something we want or need, and it’s not a history we’ll tolerate repeating.”

The groups’ motion cites problems relating to industrializing Black Mesa and its groundwater, including impacts to local communities and families, depletion of rivers, groundwater, and springs, and impacts to wildlife and their habitat. It cites the applicants’ failure to consult with the Hopi Tribe, failure to consider water use in the context of regional drying, and their mischaracterization of support from the Navajo Nation’s Resources and Development Committee. It details incomplete, misleading, and infeasible aspects of the proposed project and calls for affected communities to participate in any further study development.

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Tó Nizhóní Ání, which translates as “Sacred Water Speaks,” is a Diné-led nonprofit organization established in 2001 from the Black Mesa region. Tó Nizhóní Ání is rooted in water protection and works to bring power back to our Diné communities impacted by coal while leading community transition away from fossil fuels. Tó bee iiná. Water is life.

Diné C.A.R.E. is an all-Navajo non-profit environmental justice organization comprised of grassroots community members active on Navajo Nation lands in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Incorporated on Navajo Nation in 1991, Diné C.A.R.E. advocates for Diné traditional teachings by protecting and providing a voice for all life within and beyond the Four Sacred Mountains.

Black Mesa Trust is a Hopi-led non-profit organization that safeguards, preserves, and honors the sacred land, culture, and water of the Hopi People and Mother Earth for future generations.

Contact:
Adrian Herder, Tó Nizhóní Ání adrian@tonizhoniani.org
Robyn Jackson, Diné C.A.R.E. robyn.jackson@dine-care.org 

Vernon Masaysva, Black Mesa Trust  kuuyi@aol.com