Secretary of Interior Haaland Seizes Control Of Rival Navajo Nation Native Lands
Biden Administration Rekindles Past Native American Conflicts
Washington & Santa Fe Democrats were surprised Native Americans were not rejoicing with them when Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland seized control of the Navajo Nation land surrounding the Chaco Culture National Park in northwest New Mexico. They were shocked when members of the Navajo Nation kept Secretary Haaland from celebrating her actions at Chaco.
Will Washington & Santa Fe Democrats continue their silence when and if the Navajo Nation files suit against Secretary Haaland seizing control of land belonging to the Navajo Nation and breaking the treating with the Dine? I expect they will continue to be silent in exchange for Secretary Haaland continuing to funnel money to them.
In my forty years of experience working with members of the 19 Pueblos, Hopi, Dine, and Apache, I learned of the many challenges Native Americans faced individually and as their communities.
I quickly became acquainted with the competing interests within their communities, among the surrounding native communities, and with local and state governments. I learned never to become entangled in Native American Politics.
Secretary Haaland’s unilateral actions rekindled the conflict between the nineteen Pueblos and the Navajo Nation when she seized control of the land surrounding Chaco.
In 1853 the federal government forced the Dine off their land, and they marched over four-hundred miles to an unfamiliar land in the dead of winter. The Dine still referred to this as “The Long Walk.” In 1868 Washington allowed the Dine to return to eastern Arizona, also home to the Hopi people. What was once a friendly relationship between Hopi and Dine became bitter rivals. It took almost 150 years, hundreds of millions of dollars, and thousands of acres of land to settle the conflict between the Hopi and the Dine that the federal government created. Now Deb Haaland, Secretary of Interior, is behaving with almost just a heavy.
Secretary Haaland rekindled old conflicts between the nineteen Pueblos and the Navajo Nation when she unilaterally seized control of over 350,000 acres of Navajo Nation Land and BLM land surrounding Chaco on behalf of nineteen Pueblos on June 2, 2023. UNESCO website states, “Chaco Canyon, a major centre of ancestral Pueblo culture between 850 and 1250, was the focus for ceremonials, trade and political activity for the prehistoric Four Corners area.”
The nineteen Pueblos and the Navajo Nation have been discussing how to manage energy development in the area surrounding Chaco and protect the rights of the Dine who live on those lands. Secretary Haaland usurped the ongoing discussion and seized control of the land, which favored her Laguna Pueblo and the other eighteen Pueblos.
Secretary Haaland has demonstrated that she is no different from any other Secretary of Interiors who preceded her. She seized control of native lands without regard for agreements and Native Sovereignty. This is why Native American leaders have not approved of her actions. They understand they could be next.
Washington leaders, bureaucrats, and lobbyists still view the West and its inhabitants in terms of 1800 caricatures, and they believe they are as benevolent as the Wizard of Oz, which could not be further from the truth. This needs to change now. President Biden should start by rescinding Secretary Haaland’s unilateral order and encourage the Navajo Nation and the nineteen Pueblos to create an agreement that addresses their competing interests on their lands. President Biden should continue with President Trump’s decentralization of the Department of Interior.
Don’t Give Santa Fe Democrats and Heinrich, Lujan, Stansbury, and Vasquez a Pass.
Send Santa Fe Democrats and New Mexico’s delegation in Washington an email that we must: Honor the treaty with the Dine. Demand that Biden and Haaland reverse their illegal seizure of Dene Land. Encourage the Navajo Nation and the Nineteen Pueblos to agree on future energy development for their Native Lands.
Postscript
I appreciate that the American Thinker, the nation’s leading conservative online news outlet, published this article on June 21, 2023. You can read my other articles that have appeared on American Thinker
The Albuquerque Journal allowed me to include images from their publication despite the many occasions I have “chewed on them.” That is the most significant difference between business and politics; business rarely holds grudges.
My previous two articles address the coming New Mexico Rolling Blackouts. My article was a month ahead of New Mexico’s media. Enough time for you to get a backup generator before they are gone. It pays to read, To The Point With Mick Rich.
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