Advocating for and Protecting Diné Lifeways on Black Mesa
Tó Nizhóní Ání, which we translate as “Sacred Water Speaks,” is a Diné-led nonprofit organization established in 2001. Our organization originates from the Big Mountain community on Dził Yíjiin (the Black Mesa region). It was formed in the spirit of the Diné elders who fought to protect Black Mesa.
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, our organization continues to protect water and bring power back to our Diné communities impacted by coal while leading 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.
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