by Marley
Shebala
The
Navajo Times
23 July 2004
TUBA
CITY–For Victoria Ben, 26, the recent groundbreaking
for an electric power line in the Bennett Freeze Area
means she and her two little boys can finally live next
to her grandmother.
Ben
lives in Chinle but she often visits her grandmother,
Ruth Tohonnie, who lives in the Bennett Freeze, west of
Tuba City.
Tohonnie's
traditional Navajo shade house was the site for the
groundbreaking festivities July 12.
Hogans,
houses and trailers within walking distance of the shade
house are the homes of Ben's mother, aunts and other
family members.
But
many of her relatives, like her, live elsewhere because
of the lack of electricity and running water but return
as often as possible to their homes, which have been
under a 30-year federal development freeze imposed in
1966.
The
Bennett Freeze is part of the historic Navajo-Hopi-U.S
land dispute that encompasses about 1.5 million acres
including parts of 10 chapters, including Tuba City, in
the western portion of the reservation.
The
freeze, which former Bureau of Indian Affairs
Commissioner Robert Bennett administratively created,
restricted the Navajo Nation and its people from
construction and repairing or renovating homes without
the approval of the Hopi Tribe.
Roman
Bitsuie, director of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission
office, said that after years of negotiations, the Hopi
Tribe finally approved the power line hookup. Eighty-two
homes will be receiving electricity.
Ben
said she has been waiting her entire life for the power
line. She said the electricity will help her
grandmother, who loves to sew, listen to the radio,
watch television, and weave rugs.
Ben
said her grandmother uses either a kerosene lamp or a
generator to light her house.
Hubert
Tohonnie, 27, the son of Ruth Tohonnie, said he had to
go to boarding school in Chinle because of the lack of
electricity.
His
teachers required students to turn in their assignments
typed but by the time he got home from school, it was
already getting dark, he said.
Hubert
Tohonnie tried getting by with a flashlight, which
proved to more difficult, expensive and time consuming
that he expected.
He
said that as a child, he spent a lot of time thinking
about electricity.
The
reported temperature in the shade during the
groundbreaking ceremony was 98 degrees.
Ben
said the power line means air conditioning during the
summer and central heating during the winter and her two
boys would be able to watch their favorite TV programs.
Tohonnie
and Ben looked to the east and said they never
understood why Tuba City, which is 3.5 miles away, could
have electricity but they couldn't.
Sandy
Berry, electrical line foreman for Navajo Tribal Utility
Authority, said his crews will tap into a electrical
trunk line located south of the Tohonnie residence.
"We
should be done with the electrical hookups to the houses
within three weeks," said Berry. "It's nice
that us Navajos are building the power line for our own
people. That's the fun part."
Chavez
John, program director for the Navajo Division of
Community Development's Community Development Block
Grant Office, said his office applied for a $855,832
federal grant to pay for the power line project.
John
said the Tuba City Bennett Freeze power line project,
which is in two phases, will first hookup power to 21
homes that are wired and have home-site leases approved
by the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation.
He
said phase two involves getting 61 homes wired and home
sites leases for them, which will take care of the
existing homes in Tuba City's portion of the Bennett
Freeze Area.
"This
is long overdue," said John. "And I hope this
(project) sets a precedent for other areas of the
Bennett Freeze."
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