Fort Wingate bill referred back to committee Weekend Nov 15-16, 2014 By Kathy Helms DinBureau navajo1@gallupindependent WINDOW ROCK — After hours of impassioned discussion, the Navajo Nation Council referred a resolution supporting the Fort Wingate Land Division back to the Resources and Development Committee for further research and discussion of Navajo claims regarding cultural resources. Delegate Edmund Yazzie who has adamantly opposed the transfer, stated that Congress is using the land division as a carrot. “You’re using this to get what you want in the northern area. Just say that,” Yazzie said, referring to the Navajo Exchange Legislative Initiative, or NELI project, which would consolidate most of the Bureau of Land Management lands in Eastern Navajo Agency and place them into trust. “We can’t give this land away,” Yazzie said. “Our people were slaughtered and buried at Fort Wingate and we’re going to have a Zuni Flag flying over it?” He requested that they hear from the Department of Historic Preservation and the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission. “The Council needs to hear the other side,” he said. Delegate Danny Simpson, sponsor of the resolution, presented information on the bill, along with Ron Maldonado, acting Historic Preservation officer, and Larry Rodgers, who has been heading the Eastern Navajo Land Commission and is now on special assignment as chief of staff to Speaker Pro Tem LoRenzo Bates. No Navajo input Simpson said the land division was negotiated by the Navajo Nation and the Zuni Tribe in summer 2013. Yazzie and former Speaker Johnny Naize attended the negotiations in Washington along with two representatives from the Zuni Tribe. The negotiations were facilitated by U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Lujan Jr. and Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Rep. Don Young of Alaska. Out of those negotiations emerged House Resolution 3822, a joint legislation between Lujan and Pearce, Simpson said. Lujan later requested a legislation from the Navajo Nation stating that it was in support of the negotiations that took place. “Since we prolonged to get a resolution from the Navajo Nation, there was another resolution that was introduced by Congressman Stephen Pearce, HR5438. Now, that legislation is moving pretty quickly,” Simpson said. Because HR3822 was a joint resolution, Navajo had a lot of input regarding the incorporation of new language, he said. “Delegate Leonard Tsosie went to Churchrock to talk to people from Iyanbito and Churchrock communities, and he expressed, ‘What do you want in this legislation that’s going before Congress?’” Simpson said. “Some of the things that came out of that meeting are incorporated in this (Navajo Nation) resolution.” When Pearce was told that Navajo had recommendations they wanted to incorporate into his resolution, Pearce told them, “You guys have to meet with the Zuni Tribe first before I consider these recommendations for the Navajo Nation,” Simpson said. “If we pass this resolution here, with our recommendation from the Nation, Congressman Lujan is willing to incorporate our recommendation into his joint legislation. If we don’t have any recommendations from the Navajo Nation, basically, Congressman Pearce’s legislation will go forward without a recommendation from the Nation until we get consensus from the Zuni Tribe,” Simpson said. Cultural resources Maldonado was asked to elaborate on a letter submitted by Historic Preservation’s Tim Benally which stated that more study is needed of Navajo cultural resources at Fort Wingate. “It was brought to my attention by members of the staff of Congressman Lujan and Congressman (Martin) Heinrich last week that a memo had gone out from the Historic Preservation Department in October calling into question the adequacy of a previous ethnographic study that was done on Fort Wingate,” Maldonado said. A correction memo was handed out to Council, stating that there has been a long history of ethnographic work being done at Fort Wingate. “The work that has been done over the last 20 years has been really good work. It identified a number of resources,” Maldonado said. “It places in the control of the Navajo Nation three-quarters of all the known sacred sites.” There are 826 known cultural resources, the majority of them – a little over 500 – are Navajo sites that include corrals, sweat lodges, hogans, etc., he said. “Once the land is relinquished to the tribes ... before the Department of the Interior can give up the land, they will have to do a resource management plan, essentially, which calls for more studies to be done,” Maldonado said. “So each tribe will get an opportunity again to actually go out and do more studies and talk to the communities to find out if there are any resources that have been missed.” Fair division Rodgers said that when Pearce first proposed the land division resolution, it would have given all of Parcel 1, 4,500 acres, to Zuni. “There were a couple of small parcels, 15 and 17, that would be given to Navajo. That’s what sparked a great deal of debate, especially from the Navajo Nation viewpoint,” he said. “That particular land division as proposed by Pearce initially was not fair to the Navajo Nation when you compare 4,500 acres versus about 700-800 acres that would be given to Navajo.” The Nation took it upon itself to make sure there was a fair division, Rodgers said, adding, “The Zunis fought quite hard to get a 50-50 settlement.” If the resolutions sponsored by Lujan and Pearce are passed the way they are currently, “It really does not favor Navajo,” Rodgers said. “So what needs to happen is we really need good, strong support from this Council to provide the recommendations that are contained in your resolution that is here today.” On Sept. 19, the Fort Wingate Task Force passed a number of amendments it asked Council to include in Simpson’s resolution. One of the amendments would ensure that the access road that comes onto the headquarters at the Army Depot is used as a dividing line. “Because there is going to be distrust between the two tribes, it’s good to have a solid line as a boundary,” Rodgers said.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 17:33:36 +0000
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