Helen K. Bedonie

P.O. Box 30

Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039

(78 NW 134)

September 10, 1998

To: President Bluehouse, The Navajo Nation

Navajo Hopi Land Commission, Window Rock, Tuba City and Teesto

IHS Chinle

This request for water pipeline construction and road maintenance is being submitted on behalf of the family of Helen K. Bedonie and Melvin K. Bedonie and Jane Yellowhair, John Leo, Fabian Bedonie, Leonard & Ella Deal, Percy Deal, Hazel Lou Nez & Lena Benally, David & Marcus Benally, Barbara Biakeddy, London Biakeddy, Jimmy K. Begay, Eugene Bedonie, Victor Herbert, Nakai Chee, and other people residing on Navajo Partition Land (NPL) between Hardrock Chapter and Forest Lake Chapter, we wish to bring the following urgent matter to your attention.

When we relocated, we paid extra money to get water lines to our homes. Since May 30, 1986, after all these years, we are still waiting for water. We hereby request that water lines be immediately created to these houses and request a thorough investigation of the current condition of all relocatees houses that have problems. Most of them have been damaged. We request that you revisit the whole housing situation with all the relocatees. This is my main concern on behalf of myself and my neighbors.

On my house, the screen windows and doors, and regular doors are broken. The door won't shut, the gutters are coming off and roofing shingles continue to fly off. Also, there are cracks around all the window sills. I have to haul a load of water twice a day 15 miles each way for our livestock and for household use. The storage tank that we were issued has a hole in it. There are 3 families at my homesite all using 1 water tank between them because the other 2 have worn out.

We are enduring great hardship, forced to travel on roads in winter and summer that destroy our vehicles. These public roads and washes should be graded twice a week and graveled. These are school bus routes. There is 1 crossing at Dinehbeto wash and 1 crossing in the Big Mountain area where the graders crosses the wash. They don't even grade these roads. They say the reason is that the roads don't have numbers. These roads used to have numbers and must be reassigned their old numbers or be issued new numbers, and be regularly maintainenced. These public roads and washes are used by Navajo and Hopi people in the Big Mountain region forced to travel across this road when going to Pinon.

Please investigate these urgent concerns immediately as winter is fast approaching, and please keep me informed of your progress to remedy our concerns by U.S. mail.

Yours sincerely,

Helen K. Bedonie

Attachment: Navajo & Hopi Indian RelocationCommission Pre-Construction Worksheet