Dirty
Coal and Power at the Navajo Blockade
By
Brenda Norrell
Human Rights Editor
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
BURNHAN CHAPTER,
N.M. -- As Navajo elderly camp in the cold at a blockade
of a planned power plant, the Navajo Nation Council
plans to meet in special session to allocate millions
for the Desert Rock Power Plant.
At the Navajo
blockade Thursday night, the sheepdog of the Navajo
elderly protester who lives on the land was skinned
alive, run over by a car and thrown next to the blockade.
It comes
as no surprise that the power plant parent company Sithe
Global LLC is linked to the elite Skull and Bones, the
world power elite that the Bush family belongs to.
Lori Goodman,
spokesperson for Dine Citizens against Ruining our Environment
described the torture of the Navajo’s sheepdog.
“Sometime
after 10 PM last night her sheep dog was skinned alive,
run over twice, left for dead and tossed next to the
blockade encampment. The dog is still alive and the
distressing job of putting the dog out of its misery
now lay with the resisters. We have taken pictures and
are reporting this terrorist act with the proper authorities.
This is plain brutal and intent to intimidate the camp.
The elders put a lot of value into training their sheep
dogs and an act such as this is elder abuse.”
While the
Navajo resisters are camped in the cold, the Navajo
Nation Council plans a costly special session to allocate
millions for the coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant
project.
Meanwhile,
Navajo traditions tell of a time of monsters, when greed
would bring about the destruction of Mother Earth. Navajos
say coalmines and power plants are part of that greed.
Further, they say gambling, in the form of casinos,
will steal the future from their children.
The Navajo
Council and Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., support
the Desert Rock Power Plant. However, it would be the
third in the Farmington area, and Navajo residents say
the air, land and water are already too polluted with
coal mining, hundreds of oil and gas wells and scattered
unreclaimed radioactive tailings from Cold War uranium
mining.
At the Navajo
Nation Council’s planned special session on Dec. 21
– 22, the Navajo Council will consider allocations of
$2 million for Diné Power Authority and another
$5.5 million to the Navajo Nation Equity Investment
Task Force for equity investment in the Desert Rock
Energy Project and Navajo Transmission Project.
The salaries
and travel funds of the 88-member Navajo Nation Council
primarily come from tribal energy leases, royalties
and fees.
While the
Navajo Nation creates a Sithe spin-off company and plans
to invest millions in Desert Rock, the largest financier
of Sithe Global LLC is the Blackstone Group.
It comes
as no surprise that Blackstone was cofounded by Stephen
Schwarzman, a member of the small group of Skull and
Bones that the Bush family belongs to. The Yale secret
society includes former presidential hopeful John Kerry.
The following
link shows the Bush family and other members of Skull
and Bones and links to other global corporations, including
former President GH Bush’s position with the Carlyle
Group.
Schwarzman
and other elite financiers are linked to Lehman Brothers,
which previously financed Peabody Coal and coal mining
at Black Mesa. Earlier, a delegation of Navajo, Hopi
and Lakota appealed to Lehman Brothers stockholders
in New York.
The link
shows the longtime CEO of Halliburton, Thomas Cruikshank,
was also with Lehman Brothers. Now, Halliburton’s Kellogg,
Brown and Root, accused of misspending funds in Iraq,
has been awarded $385 million from Homeland Security
to build migrant prisons in the US.
Other links
reveal corporate financiers of parent companies exploiting
Indigenous Peoples and their lands around the globe:
http://www.nndb.com/org/723/000041600/
Voices from
the Blockade Blog
http://www.desert-rock-blog.com/blog/_archives/2006/12/15/2575938.html
Elder Voices
from Blockade: Lucy A. Willie, Henry and Betty Dixon
While the
DPA/Sithe Representatives sit barricaded apart from
the proposed Desert Rock site, Navajo elders are standing
ground and refusing to move. Since Tuesday afternoon,
the elders have battled extremely cold weather, sickness,
and are being forcefully handled by Desert Rock proponents.
Byfar, the worst act of intimidation against the elders
occured on Thursday (Dec. 14) night after an elder woman's
dog was brutally "skinned," run over by a
vehicle, and left for dead at the blockade site. Below
are comments from elders blockading the entrance of
the proposed Desert Rock Site.
Lucy A Willie,
Burnham, NM:
"I was here from the start saying no to the project.
There is religious significance to the area. We are
protecting our land because it is sacred to us. Our
songs, prayers, and chants are woven into this area.
We respect Mother Earth and President Shirley has no
heart for the community. All of us older folks are forgotten
out here. Please help us..."
Betty Dixon,
Burnham, NM:
"President Shirley should be leading us instead
of causing chaos. Why are we voting for leaders that
won't protect us? He's disrupting our community and
causing a bunch of trouble? We have burial sites in
the area and he wants to destroy all of it!"
Henry Dixon,
Burnham, NM:
"We voted for Shirley to represent us and speak
out for us and help us. He is not keeping his word.
We shouldn't be out here doing this. We're tired and
cold sitting out here. Instead of sitting out here,
I should be feeding my cattle and livestock. We're being
polluted to death! We shouldn't be out here; we should
be doing other things."
Sarah White,
Burnham, NM:
"Who do these people think they are?! We said "No"
and they refuse to listen, they won't even show us proper
documentation. It's an absolute shame that our grandmas
and grandpas are sitting out here--They didn't ask for
this! Because of the DPA/Sithe, our elders are getting
sick and are freezing out here. And, poor thing, one
of the lady's dog was skinned and left for dead--Who
does that?! We need all the support that we can get
to be out here. T’áá shodídí
nihík’á oo’jee’ (Please Help us)."
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