Logo of Tó Nizhóní Ání “Sacred Water Speaks”

Advocating For and Protecting Diné Lifeways on Black Mesa

Tó Nizhóní Ání, which translates to “Sacred Water Speaks,” is a Diné-led nonprofit organization established in 2001. Tó Nizhóní Ání originates from the Big Mountain community on Black Mesa, and in 2005, Tó Nizhóní Ání led efforts to end the industrial use of the Navajo Aquifer - Black Mesa's only source of potable water, from Peabody Coal Company. Today, Tó Nizhóní Ání continues to work to protect the region's water while leading the community transition away from fossil fuels.

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The Heinz Awards

Energy justice leader Nicole Horseherder, Diné, of the Navajo Nation, received the Heinz Award for the Environment for her work as co-founder of the nonprofit Tó Nizhóní Ání (“Sacred Water Speaks”). She works to protect the aquifers, streams and land of Black Mesa, Arizona; bring power to Indigenous communities suffering the environmental effects of coal extraction and industry waste; and position the region to transition to and produce renewable energy.

A woman in a t - shirt standing next to a fence.

TÓ NIZHÓNÍ ÁNÍ WAS FORMED IN THE SPIRIT OF DINÉ ELDERS THAT FOUGHT TO PROTECT BLACK MESA  

"THE CREATOR IS THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GOING TO RELOCATE US"

Tó Nizhóní Ání “Sacred Springs Speaks”

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"There have been a lot of changes from when I was a little girl. Some plants that I used to see when I was younger aren't around anymore. It doesn't rain and snow as it used to, and when it does, it doesn't last very long. All the seeps and springs that I grew up with, and took our sheep to, are gone."

-Lorraine Herder, Chíshí Dine'é