From: Thomas Taaffe <redorman@theofficenet.com> (by way of Robert
Dorman <redorman@theofficenet.com>)

Dear Friends,

Today the Dine'h Elders held a press conference in front of Senator McCain's
campaign offices to protest his involvement in the forced relocation of the
Dine'h of Black Mesa, which is now in its final stages. In support of that
effort, we are asking that you send a letter to his offices in Washington
protesting his involvement in that project.

Please pass this letter on to your friends, family and listserves and urge
them to do the same. By maintaining pressure on McCain and other
politicians we can draw attention to their role in the largest forced
relocation of a people in the US since the Japanese internment of WWII.

Please send this letter, or one you craft (or perhaps using this as a model)
to McCain at the e-mail address listed below and CC a copy back
to us at
bambam@anthro.umass.edu

Thank you for supporting the Dine'h Elders of Black Mesa. If you have
further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thomas Taaffe
Listserve Manager
Friends of Big Mountain.
bambam@anthro.umass.edu

 

Senator McCain's E-Mail Address: John_McCain@McCain.senate.gov

U.S. Senator John McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone number (202)224-2235
Fax number (202)228-2862

 

Dear Senator McCain,

I am writing to you to urge you to reverse your political position on
the forcible eviciton and relocation of the Dine'h of Black Mesa. The laws
which you have sponsored have caused immeasureabl hardship for those who are
the victims of Peabody Coal's greed.

Senate Bill PL 104-301, which you sponsored in 1996, authorized the forcible
relocation as of February 1,2000, of Navajo families who did not sign leases
with the Hopi Tribe. A number of families have refused to sign these leases.
Do you feel that the forcible relocation of native people who are living on
their traditional land is a good way for the US government to open the new
millenium ? Does this reflect the way that you believe the US government
should treat its Indigenous peoples ?

This law ratifies a settlement agreement under which the Navajo families who
sign leases are not allowed to vote or participate in the government which
rules them. Why do you feel that Native Americans are not entitled to vote
or to have civil rights ? What would you think of a law that denied your
right to democratic process?

This same law also authorized $25 million for the Hopi Tribe if they could
obtain the signatures of 85% of the 112 Navajo families on leases. Did you
anticipate that placing a $260,000 bounty on each signature would lead to
abuses in the process through which these signatures were obtained? Are you
familiar with reports from the Navajo families that signatures were obtained
under the threat of jail or immediate eviction ? Do you feel that signatures
obtained under these circumstances constitute an endorsement of your policy
?

The livestock permitting system for Navajo families set up by this law left
many of the families without protection for their herds. Many of them are
elderly people who depend on these herds for their survival. Do you believe
that the confiscation of the sole means of survival of elderly people
benefits the US government ?

This law, for which you are directly responsible, completes the settlement
of a land title dispute between the Hopi and Navajo Tribal governments. The
key figure in the history of the land dispute was an attorney named John
Boyden, who formed the current Hopi government and obtained BIA recognition
for it in 1953, and who was the architect of the original relocation
legislation back in the 1970's. Boyden was also working for the Peabody Coal
Company. Do you believe that it is appropriate for Congress to continue
policies that are based on land title established by a coal company ? Are
you willing to consider legislation that revises the land title to reflect
the traditional occupancy and use ?

Most other nations now recognize the right of Indigenous people to remain on
their traditional land. But the law you sponsored and pushed through the
Senate requires the relocation of people whose families have occupied the
land for hundreds of years. Why do you believe that the US should not
recognize their right to remain on their land ?

Since you have sponsored the laws that fundamentally undermine the rights of
these people, stripped them of land they have held for hundreds of years and
place their lives and livestock in physical danger, you have a special
responsibility to undo the damage you have done. Words alone will not
suffice, you must demonstrate your commitment to the rights of the Dine'h
with action. If you change your position - and demonstrate that by your
actions - the Dine'h elders will see justice, and your claim to be a friend
to Native People will have more meaning. The choice seems clear. Stop the
relocation and reverse the damage done thus far. You have the power to do
so, I pray you will do so now.

Sincerely,