Zonnie Whitehair

P.O. Box 127

Kayenta, AZ 86033

 

October 12, 1998

 

To: Ms. Elsa Stamatopoulou-Robbins, Representative of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

For: Ms. Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance

Mr. Francis Deng, Special Rapporteur for Internally Displaced Persons

United Nations Commission for Human Rights

and President Milton Bluehouse Sr.

Office of the President

The Navajo Nation

P.O. Box 9000

Window Rock, AZ 86515

 

Re: When is the tyranny going to end?

 

I want to be able to survive but all the US government's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) wants to do is reduce my livestock until I have nothing. Don't I have a right to survive? Don't I have a right to livelihood?

 

I am about 75 years old and a great grandmother. I remember when I was a little girl that two men from Washington, DC, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) came around on horse back during the winter doing livestock reduction. They spent the night at our house and said our livestock was over the permit allowed. They gathered up and herded off our animals. I don't know where they took them. I don't even know what they did with our animals, maybe he gave them to his relatives. They never paid us any money for them.

 

The next time they did this to us I was a teenager because I could herd sheep. We had a sheep dipping at sagebrush spring when they came on horse back and herded our animals and took the best sheep and a lot of goats. They only left us a few animals. The ones they took they cut off half the ears of and left a whole pile of ears. They just took whichever ones they liked, the fattest and healthiest sheep. The ones that we castrated when they were young that got the fattest. They took our best animals. They did this to us when we were doing the sheep dipping. They paid us a quarter each for them. Both times they said they were doing this to us because the land was overgrazed and we were over our limit.

 

The third time they came in a vehicle. My oldest sister from Forest Lake came by and said her livestock was being taken. She was being told that she was over the limit. They just grabbed whatever they could grab. In the evening we noticed that 30 lambs were left, their mothers taken from them. We had to bottle feed to raise all of them. Nothing was said about the price. No money was given at all.

I grew up by what is known as the J-21 area by Peabody Coal Company's mine. All the herds were combined for our family back then.

 

The fourth time happened recently when we were forced to move from the mine area, then my mother's home and my home was destroyed. We moved back to where my husband is from, in the Cactus Valley area to face relocation by the US government. We were told that we had to reduce our livestock. That we had to go back to the limit. So we hauled our animals away ourselves because we were told to reduce.

 

Now, comparing the livestock reduction back to then, we are again being told the we must reduce. But now we only have a few left but still they tell us we have to reduce again. We used to have a lot of horses that were tame that we used for sheep herding but now we are reduced to one. I was just thinking maybe one of these days we will gain that much back from what has been taken, especially the horses.

 

The BIA Ranger Roger Attaki from Teesto area came around here and said we could only have 3 acres. He lied to us and told us after 32 years we could finally repair our house and fix our broken windows. He also told us that under the Hopi permit we would have to reduce our livestock even more - to 30 units counting 5 units just for 1 horse. How can they say we have too many animals when we only have a few left.

 

If we have just 15 sheep together with my cows and 1 horse - that is nothing. When some other people have a Squaw dance or ceremony like Yei Bei Chi I donate sheep and people come around and want mutton for ceremony. Not only my kids want sheep. If I just have 15 sheep then what will I have left? We can't survive on it. All I have seen of Hopi jurisdiction is a denial of my right to survive. I know this because I am a great grandmother.

 

I never know if we get sick when the water in the pond gets muddy. The the animals eat too much and sometimes they blow up or get sick from drinking contaminated water. 30 units of livestock is not enough because we can't control it if they die.

 

The impact is large on my life from all this. It is all too much - even to just clean my house is hard or haul water. I am frightened by all the laws - even to herd my sheep is hard because I am afraid the few I have left will be confiscated. I cannot afford to buy meat in the market. This is the way we survive. Everything is so scary. A lot of stress is involved. What they are doing to me is scare me. Why - So I can starve?

 

I withdrew from the 75-year lease Accommodation Agreement so the Hopi do not have jurisdiction over me any more. And their counts of my livestock just deny me a way to survive. I honor my old Navajo permit and choose to live free from the tyranny of Hopi jurisdiction standing on my human rights. Please help us have the right to survive.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Zonnie Whitehair

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