On Friday morning, April 5, members of the Hopi Tribe, including two former Hopi Tribal Chairmen, representatives of Black Mesa Trust, and the Village Leader of Shipaulovi, Perry Honanie, came to Flagstaff to express their concerns over the Hopi Tribal Council’s decision to collaborate with Reliant Energy of Houston, Texas in developing plans for a 1200 MW coal-fired power plant on Black Mesa.
"We were surprised to learn that the Hopi Tribal Council quickly and quietly passed a resolution to work with Reliant Energy on the development of an electric generating plant on the Hopi Reservation,’" said Vernon Masayesva, a former Hopi Tribal Chairman and Executive Director of Black Mesa Trust.
Black Mesa Trust is a grassroots organization dedicated to stopping the pumping of N-aquifer water by Peabody Energy. The N-aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for the Hopi Tribe. Peabody Energy is the largest single user of that water, pumping more than 4,000 acre feet a year to slurry coal from its Black Mesa Mine to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada.
The Hopi Tribal Council unanimously passed the resolution on March 22 after the Council suspended its own procedural rules and considered the matter during a session that was supposed to be devoted to hearing reports from various Hopi task teams. Several representatives from Reliant Energy were present at that session.
Black Mesa Trust President Leonard Selestewa said, "I am beginning to believe
that the Bush-Cheney national energy policy is focused on Indian lands and that
they are going to continue siting hazardous materials dumps and pollution-generating
coal-fired power plants on our homelands. The focus of Black Mesa Trust is to
preserve our most precious natural resource, the N-aquifer.
"To [Arizona] Senator [Jon] Kyl, I say, ‘You are not my friend. You deny me, as if the Hopi people do not deserve water. Be my friend.’ To {Arizona] Senator [John] McCain, I say, ‘Why have you forsaken us? Your silence on this matter is deafening.’ To the people of Arizona, I say ‘Water will continue to be our most precious resource. My sole source [of drinking water] is all I’m asking for."
"Our concern is threefold," said Mr. Masayesva. "First, the resolution, which has major significance for the Hopi people was passed without knowledge of communities, village and religious leaders, and concerned grassroots people. Second, the resolution has undermined the efforts of Black Mesa Trust to put an end to extensive industrial use of groundwater under Black Mesa. And third, the Hopi Tribal Council might have violated procurement procedures by agreeing to work with one company. There are many power generating companies who if given a chance might want to submit a proposal to develop energy resources on Hopi land. Why Reliant, a Texas company, was selected has not been explained to the public. This current move on the part of the Council seems to be a repeat of how Peabody Energy got access to our coal resources in the 1960s."
Perry Honanie, the Village
Leader of Shipaulovi, spoke briefly, but his promise that he will to recall
the three representatives of Shipaulovi from the Tribal Council over the issue
of pumping N-aquifer water has profound implications for Tribal government.
He also expressed his hope that the Navajo people will join with the Hopis to
stop depletion of the aquifer.
Leonard Selestewa appeals to people at the gathering, "We pray for all
forms of life and all people. I pray for all of you. Today I ask that you pray
for me and my people."
Jerry Honawa from the Village of Hotevilla on Third Mesa asked, "How can anybody strip mine Mother Earth and say that is progress? You have to be heartless, uncaring. I do not have money in the bank. All the money I have is in my pocket, to the tune of $50, and I feel rich. Life is what is precious. Water is life. Water is my life. If we are denied water, our existence, our culture, all of our sacrifices will be condemned. We need to stop the pumping."
Long-distance runner and firm supporter of Black Mesa Trust, Hopi Bucky Preston said, "For me, terrorism didn’t start on September 11, 2001. It started in 1966 when Peabody started blasting away on our sacred hand, Black Mesa. "I think people are unaware of what the Chairman is doing. This [issue] will make it clear who’s for water and who’s for money. This is where we separate the men from the boys and find out who wants to be Hopi and who wants to be QaHopi [not Hopi]. It’s that simple," Mr. Preston continued.
Grassroots Hopi people
have several questions that they want the Hopi Tribal Council to answer:
o Does this mean that Chairman Wayne Taylor is going back on his promise to
end Peabody pumping of the N-aquifer by the end of 2005?
o Why was there such urgency to pass the resolution during what was supposed
to be a reporting session in the Council?
o Since a majority of Council members were absent when the vote to pass the
resolution was ready to be taken, the Chairman ordered one of his staff to round
up absent Council members so there would be a quorum for the vote. Were all
members of the Council told that the Energy Team was going to act on the resolution?
If not, why not? The Hopi Council by-laws stipulate that all Council members
must be informed when the Council is going to take action.
"This untimely action of the Council has created confusion at home and throughout the nation," said Mr. Masayesva. "People are now asking whether the Hopi Tribe and people are serious about ending groundwater pumping."
"This recent development in our government is a very sad day for me," said Mr. Selestewa. "This is a move by the Bush-Cheney administration to push energy development onto Indian lands so the rest of America can live and play as if there is an abundance of electrical power. But the cost is the environment and health of our Indian people. "We were so close to shutting down Peabody’s coal slurry pipeline," he continued. "But it’s as if Peabody Junior has just been born, and his name is Reliant. It is a sad day to be a Hopi."
Black Mesa Trust has vowed to oppose the Council’s action if it means pumping water from the N-aquifer. "We will continue to fight to protect and preserve our waters," said Mr. Masayesva. "What we have here is the making of an energy-industrial-tribal complex, just like the military-industrial complex of the 1950s."
The Trust does recognize the need for economic development on the Hopi Reservation. "We have offered to work with the Hopi Tribe in seeking economic development opportunities, especially those that do not require an excessive amount of water. In our opinion, any coal-fired generating plant will require large quantities of water and cause more of our land to be disturbed. At this time we will oppose the siting of a 1200 MW generating station, which would require at least 2,500 acre feet of water a year to operate," Mr. Masayesva said.
An acre foot of water is approximately 325,000 gallons. Twenty-five hundred acre feet of water would cover a football field nearly half a mile deep in water.
Mr. Selestewa ended the press conference by saying, "I have a question for you. Do I matter? I am a Hopi person. We pray for all forms of life and all people. I pray for all of you. Today I ask that you pray for me and my people."
On Black Mesa Trust’s Board of Directors are Harris Polelonema, Elliot Selestewa, Jr., Gilbert Naseyouma, Herman Honanie, Leonard Talaswaima, and Verrin Kewanvoyma. Its advisors include Bucky Preston, Perry Honanie, Sr., Jason Tenakyouma, Valjean Joshevema, Sr., Beatrice Norton, Evangeline Nuvayestewa, Dalton Taylor, Gilbert Honanie, Jr., and Jerry Honawa, Dr. Gary Nabhan, Robert Kennedy, Jr., Michael Lessler, Thomas Sisk, Abe Springer, Robert Quinn, Charles Wilkinson, and Peter Coyote. Youth representatives are Daryl Melvin from the Hopi Youth Council, and Lillian Hill from Black Mesa Water Coalition, a student group whose advisors are Phyllis Hogan of Winter Sun and Miguel Vasquez from Northern Arizona University.
Organizations supporting Black Mesa Trust efforts include Natural Resources Defense Council, WaterKeeper Alliance, The Sierra Club, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Environment Now, Grand Canyon Trust, Glen Canyon Institute, Arizona Ethnobotanical Research Association, Black Mesa Water Coalition, Flagstaff Activist Network, Sacred Land Film Project, Earth Island Institute, Wild Angels, and Seventh Generation.
For more information about
Black Mesa Trust, contact Vernon Masayesva, (928) 734-9255; (480) 675-0870.
Or visit www.blackmesatrust.org.