Navajos: Arizona Law Creates Serious Problems - NAPT: 7Th Generation Fund

Welcome to 'Apartheid Arizona' – Navajos say new law raises serious concerns.
By Kathy Helms
Dine Bureau
Gallup Independent

WINDOW ROCK – In less than a month, Arizona has gone from being referred to as the “Grand Canyon State” to “Apartheid Arizona,” with calls for boycotts from cities across the nation and threats of lawsuits from Tucson to Flagstaff.

The Navajo Nation is not far behind with a resolution approved Monday, 9-1, by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee expressing opposition to Arizona Senate Bill 1070 for “unlawfully infringing on the constitutional, civil and human rights of indigenous peoples in Arizona.”

That bill and another resolution in progress opposing House Bill 2281, which outlawed the Tucson school district's ethnic studies program, are expected to come before the Navajo Nation Council during a special session. Both measures are sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Kee Allen Begay Jr.

Begay wants the full weight of Council behind the resolutions, he told IGR. “That will send a message to our governor and the state of Arizona.

“We are part of the Arizona state citizens, but yet we are also a dependent nation,” he said. “Some of these laws passed at the Arizona government level, most of the time the tribes are never consulted in reference to what, how and who it will affect in our area, or us as Navajos.

“The main focus, if it was going to be a strong bill, should have been focused on the border issues,” he said. “This is an international issue.”

The bill would have allowed police to ask anyone for proof of U.S. residency based solely on an officer's suspicion, but Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed an amendment changing that, according to Public Safety Chairman Raymond Joe.

“You've got to have 'probable cause' before you search and arrest – that's the key word, probable cause,” Joe said. Now, officers can check a person's status only if they have been detained or arrested for another reason.

It is best if the Navajo Nation “stay neutral” on the issue because it could affect them either way, he added. “Some of our own kids are instructors at the Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center.”

But Delegate Alice Benally said she is very concerned about Arizona's new immigration law.

“I have family living in the Phoenix area. This question has come up. One of my brothers lives down there with his family. Our in-laws down there are American citizens, Hispanic young men. Our grandchildren look Hispanic. My brother looks like a Hispanic, and he has gone through this very experience.

“He has been picked up by the border patrol – and this was before the Senate bill surfaced. His wife had to produce all kinds of documents. We had to produce documents. How many of our people are going to experience this?”

Benally said the Navajo people need to be prepared for such occasions because they don't go around carrying their personal documents with them.

“I don't carry my Census card. I don't even carry my Social Security card with me. How many of our people are going to get in trouble, and who will they contact? Who will be there to help them?”

Begay said that while Navajos do have a Census number, “we don't have any document to say that we are Navajo. We don't have any other documents to say that we are U.S. citizens.”

Joe said the law was set in place for a reason. “Nowhere does it say it's targeting Native Americans. It's targeting immigration.” He added that when he was in law enforcement, in four hours at a roadblock they detected 190 illegal aliens, including one on the federal “Most Wanted” list.

“Even though they catch Native Americans, they ain't going to ship them to Mexico. They're going to bring them back to Navajo Nation. I do not support this legislation,” Joe said.

“We have illegal immigrants coming onto the reservation. Are we saying open the borders? A good example, there are two Iraqis north of Dilkon. They're undocumented – but we allow them. Right now, we have some drop houses on the Navajo Nation. Are we going to say, 'Bring all your illegal immigrants and drop them off, there's a safe place here'? Is that the message we're giving? I don't think so.”

Delegate Andy Ayze said he suspects that Navajos and other indigenous people will be unfairly targeted.

Begay agreed, adding that Navajos with names such as Martinez or Nakai, police will question automatically.

“Navajos and other indigenous people will be unfairly targeted again, no question about it, because of the tone of their skin. I think the state of Arizona needs to step up in helping solve some of these issues. There is a better way to resolve this, I think, rather than blanketing everybody that goes through the state of Arizona.”

Leonard Gorman of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission said Native Americans in the state of Arizona hold the highest number of stops on state highways, according to a three-year study conducted by the University of Cincinnati.

Though Native Americans make up only 4.8 percent of the population, they have the highest number of arrests, he said, followed by blacks, Hispanics and whites.

“We're also the most searched when stopped. This is without the law being passed. This has been in existence for the past couple of decades. So the fact of the matter is Native Americans are being profiled, if you will, on the highways in the state of Arizona. We have the highest numbers.”

Because of skin color, he said, it is a strong probability that Navajos will be stopped and asked questions when traveling in southern Arizona. In Maricopa County, there are between 17,000 and 20,000 Navajos, Gorman said. If they're driving on the highway and they're in a traffic stop, not only the driver of the vehicle, but the occupants can be questioned.

“The grandma riding in that vehicle that doesn't speak English and doesn't have a form of identification, the possibility of having to verify that is going to be a big issue,” he said.

The concern from the Human Rights Office and the question they raised with the governor's office is: How is this bill going to protect, enhance and promote the human rights of the Navajo people and Native Americans?

“There was no answer. They didn't know that was a concern by the Navajo Nation. That was the response,” he said.

Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development
Deadline June 1

Founded in 1977, the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development emerged from a call from Indigenous communities in the America. The Seventh Generation Fund is dedicated to promoting and maintaining the uniqueness of Native peoples and the sovereignty of Tribal Nations.

Submit your proposal today!For more information on how to apply, visit:
http://www.7genfund.org/

Here's a highlight of some of the questions that you will need to answer in submitting your proposal:

-Briefly describe your community and your organization or project.

-Include a list of your Board of Directors or Advisory Board, your staff or community representatives, tribal affiliations (if any) and contact information.

-Describe the needs, issues and concerns of your community.

-What are the social, cultural, environmental or other justice issues your organization is working on?

-What do you hope to accomplish with the help of this grant?

-Tell us about your reservation, aboriginal territories, reserve, rancheria, urban Indian community, or wherever your project or organization exists.

Describe your project in detail - what specific community organizing activities and strategies to engage your community members do you propose to meet your objectives?

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