The proposal to bring water from Leupp through our community to the Peabody coal mine is not acceptable
April 18, 2005 by pathfinder
Filed under Voices from the Land
A jointly issued statement by the residents and the their supporters of kin Nteel area (west side of big mountain) during a meeting on April 17 th 2005
The proposal to bring water from Leupp through our community to the Peabody coal mine is not acceptable. We stand opposed to it today and we will continue to oppose it.
There are two rivers that surround us here. One is a male and the other a female. One is the Colorado, which is the male. The other is the little Colorado which is female. When they come together, they weave into each other 4 times and then flow out. At this junction there is a rainbow and a salt bed collected. There’s a prayer involved with both rivers and you make an offering when you cross them. We don’t agree that it should be moved. There could be disasterous consequences. We’ve heard that this pipeline is going to be laid up along the west side of Big mountain, where a few of us are still hanging on to the land in resistance of the relocation law. And there again we are taken advantage of. We have no representation in the government, they think they can just do whatever they want with us and the land here.
Our relative in Leupp say the same thing. ‘Nobody asked us if we like the plan.’ It’s not a good plan for them either. The same thing will happen to them that has happened to us. All the springs will be drying up. We don’t want that for them. We don’t want that for the land or the water. We have not been asked by Joe Shirley if we want this because he knows we will say “NO!”
The coal mine is the reason for the pipeline and we have been opposing this for years. We oppose the coal mine because it is gnawing away at the innards of this mother mountain that we live on, Black Mesa. This is causing us a lot of suffering, especially those of us elders women who live in harmony with the land.
We are making this statement today in order to make our understanding clear to our tribal leaders, corporate interests, and our relatives in the surrounding communities. We oppose the pipeline and the relocation of C-aquifer waters and we will continue to do so until the plan is terminated. We call on our relatives and supporters to assist us in this effort. No water for coal. No pipeline for coal.
T’aa’a’ho’di
A jointly issued statement by the residents and the their supporters of kin Nteel area (west side of big mountain) during a meeting on April 17 th 2005
