a Hopi man fell to death near Mig Mountain. They exhumed his body and took it back to Oraibi, Arizona. This shows it is not their land. There is a rock groove north of Hotevilla, Arizona across the road, that the Hopi never tells, to this date. When they got to where they are now, they were going to Laguna, New Mexico. Respectfully Submitted, Done Fibinta dol__ Jesse J. Biakeddy My Wise Subject: Legal Ownership of Land at the Site of Comah Spring Teesto Area My family as members of the Dineh (Navajo) Tribe and inhabitants of the above mentioned land for the past seven generations in the Teesto area, and as members of the surviving descendents of the late Denelaki and Cusbatekah Kanaho do hereby make the following statements: 1. We as concerned and conscientious descendents of our grandparents persistently state that we are the rightful owners of the Kaibetan Spring, having in our posession a land deed paper and document issued to our grandfather, Denelaki, who was the first chief on the reservation designated by the U.S. Calvary. This deeded land remained in our possession until JUA land was created. 2. Seven generations of my family have lived on or near the site of Coma Spring, later to be known as Kaibetoh Spring, located three and one-half miles north of the Teesto area. Our spiritual, cultural and traditional ways of life have existed on and been connected to this land throughout that time and up to the present. During the last 75 years, members of my family have been forced to leave the land. In 1947 the children were rounded up and sent to school. I was sent to Riverside, California to the Sherman Institute to attend school. My parents were sent as seasonal workers to Idaho where they were forced to pick crops of potatoes. My grandmother remained on the land where she died in 1957. My mother and stepfather continued living on the land even though the 1974 court decision demanded relocation. My stepfather, Paul Kenlicheel, was injured at this time when he attempted to block the erection of the fence creating JUA land. He was placed in jail and our hogan was burned by unknown persons. My mother, who was blind, had to stay with a cousin, and the grazing permits held by my Uncle Emil were taken from her and cancelled by Judge Walsh in Tucson. I returned in 1977 to help my mother after my stepfather died as a result of the injuries received. At that time I began assisting my family in resistance to relocation from the land that is rightfully and legally theirs. 3. A historical building still stands, built in 1800, attesting to the ownership and occupation by my family of this land. In recent years the Hopi Tribal Government has bulldozed the area to cover up the four springs that historically were running in the area. 4 The men of my family were medicine men who used these springs for healing My family comes from a long line of healers who used the springs and herbs in the area for healing 5. We possess historical livestock permits that showed our rightful claim for grazing in this area. Those permits were illegally taken from my mother who was blind at the time and was unable to read the documents taken from her. 6. This land is a very sacred site to my Dineh family, where prayers have been made, newborn umbilical cords have been implanted attesting to our connection, and burial sites exist. All of these are a part of our religious belief that avows the land to be our mother and God and the water to be our source of life 7 In the Manybeads Case 90-15003 Class Action, my family was never made a part as participating clients. We had to hire a different attorney and begin our own case and demand for our rightful claim. Only a selected and privileged few experienced the legal counsel/client relationship and had access to information, dates of meetings and relevant information to the case. We have been excluded even as we made an attempt to contact the lawyer's office. 8 My family has experienced significant hardship and poverty as a consequence of our removal from the land and inability to seek restitution or legal claim. My daughter was killed in unusual circumstances. Two nephews have been murdered. My sister, Maria, has suffered severe mental difficulty. My family has been destroyed. Hopi Tribal Chairman Ferrell Secakuku, whose family lived nine miles from us and who grew up as our neighbor, knows the truth of these statements Our parents helped them on their ranch. We knew the boundary line for the two families' land if our sheep went on their land we paid them. We shared relationships in the same clan, and my mother and Ferell's mother were close friends. I respectfully request that you assist us in our effort to claim our legal owership of the land now claimed by the Hopi people before it is too late. Respectfully Submitted, Lease brith Grace Smith PO BOX 1178 Winslow, Arizona 86047 520/289-4968 UNITED STATES SENATE/COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS QUESTION 1: What steps need to be taken, in your view, to fully implement this Settlement Agreement? RESPONSE: We assume that this question refers to the steps which need to be A) Accomplish the relocation of all H.P.L. residents B) Implement the provisions of 25 C.F.R., Section Upon the expiration of all notice periods and upon the failure or refusal of such persons to make timely arrangements to voluntarily relocate, the names of these individuals will be placed on a list to be sent to the Justice Department of individuals who have failed to make timely arrangements for relocation. Upon receipt of notification from the Department of Justice that action to remove a relocatee from the H.P.L. is imminent, ONHIR would commence construction of a replacement home on the New Lands. The Office has not participated in the actual negotiation of QUESTION 2: I have noticed on page 20 of the Settlement Agreement, a provision that requires the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation to complete all activities for the voluntary relocation of Navajos residing on the H.P.L. by January 1, 2000. How realistic is this projection? Can you accomplish this under the current level of funding that Congress has appropriated? RESPONSE: The Office could complete all activities for the voluntary |