Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Page 2 In 1868 when the Navajos were released, they were told not to bear arms. But the government turned around and drafted the Navajos to do their dirty work. The government took Navajos to World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Desert Storm. The government says: "now you have won the land back." But Navajos, many of them live in town. Some don't even have a place to live. Maybe some got houses. The government should realize that our land, which has been won in the war has been code-talker. The government should realize that the Navajos have lost their lives over somebody else's war. The land that was promised back to us should be ours, instead of Hopis taking it bit by bit, trying to claim more. The local communities on HPL, their voice should be heard. People have their own different groups, they should all be heard. All the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hopis should stay on their own reservation, insted of wanting to claim more, where they have no rights. They partition over our land and in return we are not able to vote. We are not a part of the Hopi and we don't speak their tongue. Religious wise, we have no knowledge of Hopi religion. We should be more valuable to this land than the Hopi. We should live the way we were brought up, free, instead of being like a bird in a cage, in a zoo. Navajo Nation is kind of big, but we are being treated like Israel. The government, Hopi and Congress, is trying to do away with reservations. We are being harassed, like Israel is. Congress must not pass this Agreement. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs must recommend that our concerns be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. I am a native of this Navajo land, living on the Navajo reservation, and I am a taxpayer. Huck and Genevieve Greyeyes Tuba City, AZ 86045 April 18, 1996 Rough Rock Point Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 838 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510 fax # 202/228-2862 Dear Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members, Four (4) trucks, one (1) tractor trailer and five (5) Hopi Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officials came out yesterday, April 17, 1996, and tore down the ceremonial hogan, without any prior notice. We confronted them and told them that the house was used for mainly ceremonial purposes. It has been there for a long time. It was Genevieve's late brother's traditional homesite, but he's passed on and we remember him with that house. That house he built mainly for ceremonial purposes, also for other family relatives. We were going to use it soon for a ceremony. Now our friends have offered to lend us their house for ceremony. We have to borrow it. That house was there for over one hundred (100) years, passed on from our father to us. It had a long history but the officials didn't realize that. They just took it down. We used to take it apart and rebuild it as it was passed on through the years. They said (the officials) somebody relocated out of the house and now they were supposed to take it down. They said the person who moved had already been paid for relocation. When we asked where this 'person' moved to, they didn't respond. It was her (Genevieve's) brother who lived there and died four (4) months ago. He had wanted to relocate out but didn't qualify for relocation benefits. He had an agreement with Genevieve that she would take care of it whenever he wasn't there. They (the officials) took it apart by hand, left the rubble. They told us that we have 30 days to get it out. The officials were going to bury the logs, but we told them no. That is not our way to deal with ceremonial hogans. Leave them there. And that's when they gave us thirty (30) days. Tony Nelson P.O. Box 7041 Teesto, Winslow, AZ 86047 Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs 838 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510 fax # 202/228-2862 April 22, 1966 Dear Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members, I live seven miles north of Teesto. The fields I used to plant are on Juddito Wash. If the government didn't want us here, how come they gave us that land to plant? Now it's just overgrown with weeds. We don't use it anymore because of this land dispute. Most of the people that live here have their names on plots of land for planting yet they are not allowed to plant. It used to be irrigated when it rains. The Juddito wash is the main irrigation water. We'd sure like to have it fixed again so we can plant again. It would be a good place to plant because the soil's real good down that way. Back in 1910, they had a surveying crew that camped by this butte right nearby. They were surveying and giving alotment land to the people that were living here. Up this way was made into allotment but the people in Juddito area didn't want it. So those surveyors were told to stop surveying. Most of the surveying was discontinued after that. You can still find some of those metal posts that they drive into the ground. You can still find them here. Before the 1960's, no more planting after that. That's when the land dispute started. They used to have a map with people who planted's name on it. We used that land to plant. It used to belong to someone else-the Tewa's. My main concern is to have fields to plant because we really need it. We considered the boundary Juddito Wash. On the north side, we considered it Hopi's. When I grew up here, that's what I learned. But now it's a different story. Navajos used to live up on that side of Juddito Wash before 1882 boundary was enacted. My Dad was born 1886, so he was living here when the boundary was put down. My grandfather and grandmother were living here before the boundary was drawn. Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Page 2 The 1882 boundary was put down without consulting the people that were living in that area. That's where most of the problem is. Why the people want to stay is because religiously it belongs to them. The U.S. Constitution is written for everybody. It says we have Freedom of Religion. This land here is mostly religious area. Our Religious Freedom is violated by the Hopis. We should have the Freedom of Religion to stay because it says in the U.S. Constitution that it's written for everybody. Freedom of Religion is the most important thing. That's why it's written as Amendment 1, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I don't think it is fair for the Hopi to say that we can't even repair our hogans. I am 49 years old now. I want a place to live and get married, raise my kids and have a house for them to live in. It is because of this land dispute that I have not gotten around to doing what I want to do. This is one of the most selfish thing that I have ever encountered in my whole life. I must be granted Freedom to live where I want, where I was raised, where I will be buried later, just as my grandfather, my father, my grandmother. It is because it is sacred and because we hold it dearly, wishfully forever. It is our custom to bury our relatives on this land as we've been taught to do the same. The hogan by my mother's house, right down here, was fallen apart, so we wanted to put it in another spot, then the rangers came around and said we can't rebuild it. We told them it was for religious and ceremonial use, so they finally agreed, so we did. Now I want to have my hogan rebuilt and make it so I can live in it, but I don't know what they (the Hopi) will say. I would like to have a place to plant because my great grandfather was a farmer and I sure would like to take a walk in his footsteps and do the same. I am not married because I don't have a home to raise my family in. I have been waiting for this land dispute to be settled. This has taken a big toll out of my life. Right now, am probably the only left one from the Seba Dalkai area, that still wants to reside there. Most of my relatives moved away to the New Lands. Most of them were happy living here until 1970 on up. Since then they are loosing touch and forgetting their clans. And that's what is destroying them because of moving away from this land. This land is supposed to bring happiness and prosperity, but most of the suffering is because of the land dispute. And I wish to not end it by just moving away from here. I have not visited the New lands because I hate to see what they are going through. Some of the friends that go over there come back and tell me stories about what is going on over there. No work, alot of drinking, some of the relatives do not remember them because this dispute has brought them (like) amnesia, because they forgot. Even my uncle does not recognize me any more. Sometimes he comes back and cries because of what he has left behind. Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Page 3 I don't know if I will ever see him again because he is way too far out of touch with me any more. We told him to visit us, but they do not even come by. My grandfather dug a hole and brought forth water, that water is just rising in the well, and nobody is using it. I think the Hopis saw an opportunity to bring livestock into this area, and are driving around. The corn field, that is a good place to plant corn and vegetables and I think that they really trying to get the people to move. My nephew wanted to redo the roof of my brother's stone house. My brother is dead so there is alot of red tape in doing so. My brother told us to leave things alone until the land dispute is settled. He is still anxious to fix up the place because he has no place to stay. Even though we live on the reservation, we pay taxes in the border towns. I am a registered voter. As for myself, I am staying because it was my grandfather's land. I am the only one left to say that this land rightfully belongs to me. Sincerely, Tony Nebor Tony Nelson |