Letter to the Editor
2/9/2000

Response to "our" Navajo leaders

Yes, we are supposed to be one, all for one, we who have an Indigenous
heritage. There is supposed to be no separation between us.

The US government, the Hopi tribe and you, our Navajo leaders have the
bloodstain of our people on your hands. This is what happens when you act in
complicity with them.

We are a people here in struggle, against all these foreign intrusions. So
respect. All we see is abusive behavior against us, your own people.

Our own Navajo Nation President, Kesley Begay, says non native supporters are
not welcome here. On our side, we welcome all people here. They are coming
here to support us in our struggle. We invited them here, the supporters and
international observers. And they are here of their own free will. The way
we see these people out here is that they are kind people. Yes, there are
kind people here and around the world too that support us in our struggle for
freedom.

Our Hopi brothers and sisters, the real Hopis are generous and kind people.
I urge the others of you to read your own prophecy stories and listen to your
traditional elders. They are your true treasures. You should learn to
respect them and love them. In the outside world, many elders are thrown
away in Nursing homes. But it is supposed to be our Indigenous tradition to
respect them and love one another. We need their teachings.

To our Navajo Nation President, I wish to say, We have hope and we will
always have hope. And ours is not a false hope. It is good. Our struggle
is one of righteous and truth. So respect that some of us want to continue
living our cultural way of life. We want to try to preserve these
traditions, not only for us but also for future generations yet to come. So,
yes, we have hope. We have a desire and destiny for true freedom and
equality for everybody.

The laws "the bitter pill our Navajo Nation President is telling us to
swallow" - a pill called Relocation - is too big for us to swallow. True
justice is what we are fighting for. All we see is the injustice going on.
So know, that if we did have justice you would not be hearing our voice and
pleas for help.

So we ask you, please do not forget us. On your side of the fence you have
everything, power lines, conveniences like running water. You live in good
houses. We who resist on the other side of the fence are left with nothing
but fence lines, poverty, hardship - and the pain of human suffering. We
have nothing left, not even burial rights, water rights and the right to fix
our homes. But we are not asking you for all these things. We are only
asking for the right to live out here on the MotherLand, Black Mesa.

It is time to wake up. I know everyone dreams out there. We also have dreams
and a common desire like people everywhere for freedom and justice. All
these things, equal rights for everyone, especially in the Indigenous worlds
are what we hope for - here and around the world. This is where all the sad
stories come from - Indigenous peoples facing extinction.

So instead of telling us to give up hope, we ask you to support us - so we
can join forces. We are your people. Please listen to our voice. We will
never surrender to the abusive powers that want to control us. Never, Never,
Never.

From the hills of Big Mountain.

L. Begay
A Big Mountain Resister

Please note: For further information, please contact Leonard Begay, P.O. Box
733, Hotevilla, AZ 86030, or message phone: (520) 674-4479

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