From: Black Mesa Projects/ ISCO <bigmnt@efn.org>

Big Mountain: What's Coming Up in 2000?
Deadline Countdown and Beyond

by Beth Newberry

Since the last deadline of March 31, 1997 it's been a guessing game: at
what point would the United States Attorney's Office or the Hopi Tribe
start eviction hearings against Dine'h living on Hopi Partition Lands?

Court actions will be kicking in gear sometime in 2000 for traditional
Dine'h (Navajo) remaining on Hopi Partition Lands in northeastern Arizona,
with actual eviction hearings anticipated in the US District Court in
Phoenix, Arizona. Hearings on the controversial Exclusion Ordinance may
happen in 2000 in Hopi Court, which is another matter. Also "Manybeads"
will return to the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

 

*The latest "deadline" of February 1, 2000 is not an eviction deadline.*

Some think come that fateful Tuesday, several thousands of Dine'h will be
automatically removed by the United States government; however, that's a
misunderstanding, because enforcement cannot happen until a United States
court orders forced evictions of Dine'h and relocation housing is ready.

After February 1st, a turning point rather than a deadline, the relocation
process moves up a step. A long drawn-out bureaucratic process winds down
as we await the beginning of the eviction hearings process in US court.

What happens in Hopi Tribal Court or in the Ninth US Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco may or may not affect a decision about evictions
in the US District Court in Phoenix. Each are separate court actions.

The Religious Freedom lawsuit, Manybeads V. United States et al is
returning to the US Circuit Court of Appeals at an unknown date, hopefully
before the US District Court rules on whether to force Dine'h evictions.

Although exclusionary hearings against individuals in Hopi Tribal Court
may start in January, it's likely to be later in 2000, in a federal court,
when Dine'h non-signers of the "Accommodation Agreement" face potential
evictions enforced by a multijurisdictional police task force led by the
Department of Justice; and perhaps also later for Dine'h AA lease signers.

 

*What does the February 1st deadline mean, then?*

February 1st is when the tribal land title to the "HPL" (part of the
former Joint Use Area for both Navajo and Hopi) officially goes to the
Hopi Tribal Council, the federally created and recognized government body.

March 31st is the deadline for Dine'h to apply for relocation benefits,
which is the necessary precursor for future eviction court actions in the
United States District Court in Phoenix sometime in 2000 or 2001.

Specifically, March 31st is the end of the trial period for Dine'h signers
of the "Accommodation Agreement" leases; a period in which Dine'h can
change their minds, revoke their leases and relocate south to the "New
Lands", which is their only alternative to living on the Altar also known
as Hopi Partition Lands, under an "AA" lease, according to PL 104-301.

Few Dine'h will "volunteer" to relocate from sacred homelands on the HPL.
Still, anyone who hasn't signed up for relocation must face the brunt of
their decisions, when the bureaucratic process winds down and the court
process winds up. *This is another US government-imposed ultimatum.*

The few Dine'h who did not sign AA leases and who will not apply for
relocation "benefits" are definitely at risk of forced evictions. Their
names were turned over to the US Attorney for the District of Arizona last
year. Their 90-day Notices to Vacate expired in April 1999. Now it's up
to either the US Department of Justice or the Hopi Tribe to seek eviction
orders in the United States District Court in Phoenix, at a date unknown.

Have housing sites on the "New Lands" been designated and approved for
these Dine'h non-signers? How near is their housing construction to being
completed? Have they been inspected, and by what criteria? Have their
wells been recently tested for contamination? Have they been certified?

This information has been slow in coming partly due to the complexity in
administering the relocation program, where many federal agencies divide
the various tasks of relocation and are either unaware of each other's
duties or are reluctant to share their coordination with the public.

Without information about the status of "New Lands" relocation housing, we
can't get a clear picture of when eviction hearings might begin. And when
we spoke with one of the attorneys in the US Attorney's Office in Phoenix
in October 1999, he would not be tied to a time-line or even a guess.

However, he spelled out their process a little better for us. At this
time, there are two classes of Dine'h facing potential eviction from the
HPL in US District Court hearings. One is any Dine'h who is determined to
not be eligible for an AA lease (perhaps any who relocated and returned),
and the other, those Dine'h who still resist signing either Accommodation
Agreement leases or relocation contracts for a site on the New Lands.

 

*When will eviction hearings in US District Court happen, then, in 2000?*

No one will know until it happens but a lot depends on how prepared we are
for court and a lot depends on how well we fundraise before then and how
much confidence we inspire in their attorneys and how competent they are.

There would be hearings for each "head of household". First, complaints
must be filed against the Dine'h in the US District Court in Phoenix; then
there are court notices, and any preliminary motions; then hearings start.

The many attorneys will need to agree on a schedule of court appearances.
Motions could be entered on either side and could take up some time, or
each hearing could move straight forward and take up only half a day.

We know that it will cost a lot in terms of transportation, housing, food
for their extended families for an unknown time or number of trips, above
and beyond what the attorneys may require for court records and expenses.

 

*Why is there so much misunderstanding about all this?*

The Relocation Program is so complex people can barely understand it or
explain it or follow an involved agency out to a point of accountability.

Additional to any United States court-ordered evictions, after March 31st,
any Dine'h who signed an AA lease (or who are under a relative's lease)
must live up to the terms, or challenge them in court. Three citations
could lead to a court-ordered eviction, in Hopi court (which could bring
about all sort of due process and jurisdictional and procedural problems
for Dine'h tenants). So, Dine'h AA signers face potential evictions also.

We need to be vigilant and smart about strategy. It is good that we have
people's attention and that support is again mobilizing. People probably
shouldn't drop everything to go to Arizona just for February 1st. We
should plan carefully and try to generate a sustained support network for
this ongoing struggle, both on the land and in our communities.

For Big Mountain-Black Mesa updates and background information, petitions,
letter writing or phone tree tips, worker/witness orientation packets, or
to send donations please write: Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon,
PO Box 11715 Eugene, OR 97440 or e-mail us at bigmnt@efn.org, or call us
at (541) 683-2789. Please call to prearrange before sending us a fax.

The Dine'h people always ask for your ongoing prayers. On their
behalf, thank you for your sincere interest and your helpful support!

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