Testimony
Lee H. Begay
translated by Rickson Bedonie
P.O. Box 4214 Blue Gap, AZ 86520
September 5, 1997

To: The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Center for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance, Internally Displaced Persons, Violence Against Women, Forced Evictions, and other appropriate Special Rapporteurs, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on the Status of Women, all appropriate UN fora, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), European Support Network, Supporters, US Congress and the Navajo Hopi Indian Relocation Commission

My wife and I life in Low Mountain now, 7 miles east, by the Low Mountain school. We are victims of the early relocation. My wife got chased out of Keams Canyon two times when they created District Six to be exclusively Hopi Land. Pauline Yazzie was her maiden name, now it is Pauline Begay. They hassled her to get out of District Six, that's why she lives in Low Mountain. This is the third time that she moved. We left a cornfield and fruit trees at that time. Then they destroyed her hogan with a bulldozer when she was forced out. That was in 1946 or 1947. I have pictures of that place at that time. The foundation of her home is still there. She never got any help from the Relocation Commission. She still has her livestock and we try to survive. We live in an octagon house. Our neighbors tell us to go back to where we used to live, that we do not belong here. But we have no place to go to, we don't even have safety to remain on the land we live on.

I have more to say. I will welcome you to our home and invite you to please come out and investigate our concerns, all the Special Rapporteurs, representatives of United Nations agencies, NGO observers, supporters and witnesses.

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Lee H. Begay

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witnessed by: