Navajos Harassed at Spring Gathering 

BIG MOUNTAIN, Ariz. - In a climate of increased militarization on American Indian lands by federal agents, an FBI agent interrogated Navajos at the home of the late Roberta Blackgoat on Big Mountain, during a spring gathering honoring the late matriarch who fought forced relocation of Navajos.

"The FBI agent terrorized me for sure, all I could think of was Ruby Ridge and Waco," said Danny Blackgoat, son of Roberta Blackgoat, who follows his mother ’s path of non-violent resistance.

"We don’t need any more harassment from the Hopi Rangers or FBI. I would appeal to the indigenous people throughout the country and throughout the world to give us spiritual support. This land should be given back to the people of Big Mountain. People are living under a lot of anguish.

Bahe Katenay, Navajo resident, said Diné gathered May 6 - 9 to honor the elders and preserve the sacred. "We especially honor one of the last great Diné leaders and matriarch, Roberta Blackgoat. She had wanted us to stop the exploitation of Earth Mother’s liver, the mineral coal, and to stop the shaking and sinking of our lands from the strip mining. She had wanted us to return to the Diné sacred mountain soil bundle way of sovereignty and spread the word to save indigenous cultures throughout the regions encompassed by the Diné six sacred mountains."

Roberta Blackgoat died on April 23, 2002, but her children continue living at the home. After the spring gathering, a message was delivered to the sheepherder at the Blackgoat residence to gather his belongings. He was told the Hopi Tribe would bulldoze the Blackgoat home.

However, the Hopi Tribe said the notice of bulldozing did not come from the Hopi Tribe.

"No statements were made by anyone in the Hopi Tribe that any residences would be bulldozed or leveled," said Hopi spokesperson Vanessa Charles. Charles said she could not confirm the presence of the FBI and referred comments to the Hopi Land Office, but no one was available for comment.

Blackgoat, hearing there was no official order to bulldoze the family home said, "That is definitely good news."

Blackgoat said the spring gathering went on as planned with sweats, prayer circles and inspiration. He said the Navajo elderly gained a great deal from the visit by supporters. "It regenerated them, it gave them a lot of hope."

"Our tribal government has not been much of support. They have given in to the power companies, gas, coal and electric companies. They ‘commoditized’ what has been sacred. They put a dollar sign on what used to be Mother Nature’s." Blackgoat said the Navajo people have been assimilated and acculturated. "There are only a few of us that are holding on to our traditional beliefs and way of life."

Blackgoat said 5 million gallons of water a day is taken from the N-aquifer on Black Mesa to transport coal from Peabody Coal to the power plant in McLaughlin, Nev. "That water is vaporized at the power plant to cool the reactors. That is atrocious, that nearly tore me apart. We need to shut down the power plant."

Blackgoat said he disagreed with the Navajo Nation’s position that the power plant must be kept open to provide jobs. Instead, he is pressing for the creation of industries that make use of solar and wind power. "There are alternative fuels."

It was not known at the time, during the 1970s that the late John Boyden worked simultaneously for the Hopi Tribe and Peabody Coal, one of the largest and most profitable coal companies in the world. Boyden led a media campaign, creating a so-called range war, which made it appear that there was widespread division between Navajo and Hopi.

It put pressure on Congress to pass the Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act that divided the land into Navajo and Hopi partitioned lands. More than 12,000 Navajo and less than 300 Hopi were relocated. With the Navajo people removed, Peabody Coal began expansion of its two coal mines on Black Mesa, one of the largest coal beds in America.

Roberta Blackgoat was one of those who refused to leave her ancestral home. Another family was the Benally family, host of the annual Anna Mae Sun Dance. The Hopi Tribe, Apache County and BIA law enforcement officers bulldozed the Sun Dance grounds and shredded the Sun Dance Tree on August 17, 2001. Constant patrols by Hopi rangers continue around the Sun Dance grounds at the hogan of Louise Benally and other residents.