Testimony
Hosteen Nez and Mazzie K. Begay
P.O. Box 295
Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039
August 24, 1997

To the Hopi Tribal Council, the Navajo Tribal Council, the Navajo Hopi Land Commission, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Center for Human Rights, Special Rapporteurs for Religious Intolerance, Internally Displaced Persons, Forced Evictions, Violence Against Women, other appropriate Special Rapporteurs, the Commission on the Status of Women, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the European Support Network, Supporters, Non Governmental Organizations and US Congress

We have had two times of harassment, one time all our livestock, the other time, our daughter was home by herself. Many people signed the 75-year lease (Accommodation Agreement AA). I told them not to sign it when Ray Russell came around with Department of Justice. I told them do not sign it. I said lets wait until Kee Watchman came back but Kee was not back when everyone signed the AA. Sometime later, around the last two weeks of March, when Ray Russell went around house to house with US Department of Justice and a Hopi official. Ray would say, I am just showing where people live but later on I heard about him that he really lies and promises to do something, he does not. I said, why didn't you tell me then that Ray Russell would make up promises? Now people say Ray Russell can lie to you, I did not know. The Hopi just came to our house and counted our cattle, they did not bother the sheep. They said they would send us a letter but we haven't gotten any letter back from them. The grazing committee person is the one that did the branding on our cattle.

The people that came to my house didn't make any promises to us they just asked for my name because I can't write my name. I told Ray Russell my name and he put my name down on a piece of paper. I asked them what they intend to do with this paper. Ray Russell wrote our names down on the paper. Other people say the same thing. We did not sign the Agreement. We refused. The only one that signed was our son and he only signed for himself. If our names appear on the Agreement it is only because Ray Russell put our names on it without our consent or knowledge. We refused to sign the Agreement. The only one that signed in our family was our son and they made it very clear that he was only signing for himself, he was not signing for all of us because he is not a head of household and cannot sign for us. We are the head of household. According to their regulations, the only one that can sign for their family is the head of household.

Ray Russell asked us to come over to Jack Woody's place. That's where they talked about it . I guess there was a paper. They asked for a particular paper and it was given to somebody there, Jack Woody and that's how it was said that we agreed. He had a copy of it. I do not know where the paper was. What we know is we did not sign it. A man, Lee Phillips from Flagstaff and a woman from US Department of Justice and a Navajo translator with them in addition to Ray Russell. The anglo man and woman were supposed to come back the 14th of September, they will be back. They will be back about having us relocated. We only get messages relayed to us that we will be relocated. We hear that there is a period of time, within that time we are supposed to be relocated. That is what they are coming back for. I am scared of them coming back. We hope we do not get to relocated any where else.
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A woman came and told us that we would not be relocated and we could stay here for a little while longer.. He said if we give you three acres here, you are just going to live here and another 10 acres for the cornfield. And then your livestock can be anywhere outside of the 3 acres, near water, anywhere. We asked twice once we get a 3 acre homesite, can we build a house and if we want a hogan over here in our 3 acres, can we transfer this hogan onto this 3 acre lease. Both times Ray Russell said, yes that is what you are gong to you, you are going to transfer your house over to your 3 acres. I asked them where will my 3 acres be. And they said wherever we want our house built.

We signed because we were told that if we signed we would not be relocated, we could keep our land and our livestock. Two guys came up from Flagstaff. Our daughter was home by herself when they came around, they came around again. They said that they were making another appointment and do paperwork for relocating us to another area and he said we have so many years to live there and then we would get chased out of our relocated house, the 75-year lease. 'That 75 years, we were told that we have to find a house or land close to relatives out of the Joint Use Area and build a house over there and after the end of 75 years, we have to find land and we will build you a house and this house will be waiting for you, sitting for your. Look near your relatives. We do not want to do this. We want to remain where we are on our land.

75 years from now, we will probably pass away and our kids will still be there. We want to share our land with our children and future generations. We want to live here, but they will not let us live here, we want to build a house, we are not allowed, we want our children to live with us but they are not allowed to build a home. Our children want to move back to where we live now.

Please help us remain on our land. For 31 years we have not been allowed to build a home because of the US government ordered freeze. Our children are not able to build homes. Please help us to be allowed to build a home for us and our children. Please help us stop the relocation. What the US government is doing to us is elderly abuse. That is one of the main reasons why our health goes down at times. We have a supporter here but the Hopi Rangers chased them out of here. The Hopi Rangers don't want us to have supporters but we need it. That person was really helpful to us taking care of the sheep and the cattle, helping around the house. They cannot do this to us. There are supposed to be laws to protect us from elderly abuse.

Please conduct a fact finding mission and provide observers for our safety. Please help us. Thank you,

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Hosteen Nez Begay Mazzie K. Begay

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