Dear Big Mountain Supporters,

Please act now to support repeal of section 10(f) of Public Law 93-531 and
tell the Representatives you speak with that the whole of Public Law 93-531
must be repealed.

URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT
Representative J.D. Hayworth is currently introducing legislation in the
House of Representatives to repeal Public Law 93-531 section 10(f) commonly
known as the "Bennett Freeze".

Section 10(f) of Public Law 93-531, commonly known as the Bennett Freeze is
the part of the law that has legalized the denial of Dineh people to any
infrastructure, including access to water, housing improvement, new home
construction, dirt road maintainence and all services. The Bennett Freeze
makes it illegal to even fix a broken window or a leak in your roof .

Public Law 93-531 as a whole is the Relocation Act passed in 1974. It is
responsible for the relocation of over 12,000 traditional Dineh people with
those trying to hang on facing a relocation deadline of February 1, 2000
authorized by Public Law 104-301. Both of these laws are inhumane. How can
any legislation condone forced relocation within the borders of the United
States as we enter the new millenium? Haven't the people suffered enough?
President of the Navajo Nation Kelsey Begay is being asked to support its
repeal. Please make sure he supports the repeal of the whole of Public Law
93-531 and repeal of Public Law 104-301.

A complete list of phone, fax, e-mail numbers and addresses for
representatives is available on the web at: www.house.gov
Please include Representative J.D. Hayworth, AZ
and other AZ, UT and NM Representatives

Also please call:

Kelsey Begaye, President
The Navajo Nation
P.O. Box 9000
Window Rock, AZ 86515
(520) 871-6000

and

Roman Bitsuie, Director
Navajo Hopi Land Commission
P.O. Box 2549
Window Rock, AZ 86515
(502) 871-6277

 

URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT

 

Yours sincerely,

Marsha Monestersky
Consultant to Sovereign Dineh Nation

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To repeal the Bennett Freeze thus ending a gross treaty violation with
the Navajo Nation and allowing the Navajo
Nation to live in habitable dwellings and raise their living
conditions,... (Introduced in the House)

HR 151 IH

106th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 151

To repeal the Bennett Freeze thus ending a gross treaty violation with
the Navajo Nation and allowing the Navajo Nation to live in
habitable dwellings and raise their living conditions, and for other
purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 1999

Mr. HAYWORTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources

 

 

A BILL

To repeal the Bennett Freeze thus ending a gross treaty violation with
the Navajo Nation and allowing the Navajo Nation to live in
habitable dwellings and raise their living conditions, and for other
purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--

(1) the Navajo Nation is one of the largest and most
economically depressed Indian reservations in the United States;

(2) the Bennett Freeze, named after former Bureau of Indian
Affairs Commissioner Robert Bennett, was
administratively issued in 1966 to restrict the Navajo tribe
from constructing and repairing their dwellings on land that
was subject to a land dispute with the Hopi Tribe;

(3) the Bennett Freeze has affected 1,500,000 acres of land,
approximately 9 percent of the total acreage of the
Navajo Nation, covering 10 chapters and affecting nearly 8,000
people;

(4) only 3 percent of the families affected by the Bennett
Freeze have electricity and only 10 percent have running
water;

(5) since 1966, the population has increased by approximately
65 percent in the Bennett Freeze area, forcing several
generations of families to live together in dwellings that
have been declared unfit for human habitation;

(6) members of the medical community confirm that overcrowding
and the absence of running water, refrigeration, and
adequate sewage disposal adversely impact the mental and
physical health of Navajos residing in the Bennett Freeze
area;

(7) the Bennett Freeze has halted essential construction,
including power line extensions, waterline extensions, road
improvements, and community facilities improvements;

(8) when the Bennett Freeze was temporarily lifted in 1992, an
ambitious $20,000,000 construction plan for new
dwellings was proposed that would have raised living
conditions and increased the economic viability of the Bennett
Freeze area, however, the plan did not become a reality
because a Federal judge reinstated the freeze;

(9) the Federal Government has not taken the steps necessary
to end the Bennett Freeze in this already economically
depressed community; and

(10) the Bennett Freeze is a gross violation of treaty
obligations to the Navajo Nation.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF THE BENNETT FREEZE.

Section 10(f) of Public Law 93-531 (25 U.S.C. 640d-9(f)) is
repealed.

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