Diné communities pressured to support Fossil Fuels
By Eleanor Smith, Community Organizer
Besides the research and technical assistance Environmental groups such as the one I work for, offer more wholistic considerations of projects and serve as technical assistance for community members who are being bombarded daily with technical proposals and projects from companies and industry who want to use Navajo land and water. The technical aspects of these projects are often not transparent, and the negative impacts to community and land is often minimized by the company while the benefits are usually inflated. In my work, I am tasked to research some of these projects and share my findings to community members, many who will have to endure the impacts of these projects if approved. Projects become complicated when Navajo Council Delegates and Diné “Consultants” start selling the developer’s narratives and pushing communities to support projects based on “jobs” and “revenues”, when there is much more to consider.
One such Hydrogen project is coming from Greenview (a project of Tallgrass). From Spring 2024 to Spring 2025, the Northern Navajo Agency Council (NNAC) refused to allow Tó Nizhóní Ání (TNA) to present information on the Greenview proposed Hydrogen Pipeline. The Agency leadership tabled our request to present at every meeting and finally removed it from their agenda in Spring 2025. But the Greenview project came back up in a June 21, 2025, meeting in Cove Az, which we recorded. Based on a recording when I requested to present an update on the Hydrogen project, the NNAC again denied my request.
However, what is truly baffling is this, before my place on the agenda, the NNAC acted on Resolution 6: “Supporting and Recommending to the 25th Navajo Nation Council Resources and Development Committee (RDC) to Support and Approve Greenview Energy in their Proposed Pipeline Through Northern Navajo Agency”, sponsored by Herman Farley and Victor Dee. Mr. Dee gave a vague presentation about his resolution, saying in Navajo essentially that everyone approves the pipeline, including the U.S. Government, the NM Governor, and most of the Grazing Permittees along the pipeline route, so they request the NNAC’s approval for jobs and revenues to the Navajo Nation and to Grazing Permittees.
Had the NNAC allowed me to present, they would have known that TNA has been following up on Greenveiws claims and presentations since 2021. Also since 2021, we have collected 13 resolutions from impacted communities and at least 9 of them oppose the pipeline project and proposed fuel. Two of the 13 chapters changed from opposing to supporting resolutions after the company allegedly offered chapter members gift cards, which was cited as “unethical practices” and in an RDC meeting held on August 22, 2024, council delegate Rickie Nez told Greenview to stop this practice since it “appeared” as bribery.
During Mr. Dee’s presentation, the audience began their questions, and voicing opposition and concern for the hydrogen project. It was apparent that Chapter Officials, especially newly elected ones, and community members, were uncomfortable with the lack of information.
This is when Delegate Rickie Nez responded with “When I was first elected to Council in 2019, Tallgrass and Greenview’s plan was to use hydrogen since a lot of grant monies were available… I became the sponsor of this legislation to begin with, and it was going to generate $22 million for the Navajo Nation, so these monies could be distributed to 110 chapters for… programs, scholarships, Veterans, and you name it. That’s what we do, we are appropriators as Navajo Nation
Council…Now, how are we going to support 110 chapters? Northern Agency has oil, and we give a lot of money to Window Rock into the general fund…If we don’t start planning for the future and how we’re going to generate revenues, we might as well start shutting down some chapters. So, the plans have changed. Greenview said they’re going to hold off on hydrogen, but still the Right-of-Way will be starting from Hogback. For both PNM and San Juan Generating Station, they’re planning on piping natural gas … if you’re going to oppose the mine as well as the Four Corners Power Plant, we might as well introduce a legislation saying that you don’t use the money that comes from there to your chapter, that’s what I tell them.” After Nez’s statements, the room fell silent. Clearly, his comments were imposing, and we were taken-aback by Delegate Nez’s threats to opposing chapters.
Aside from our concern with projects that increase pollution and deplete water sources, a Council Delegate talking condescendingly and in a threatening way to chapter officials is unacceptable. Elected officials have sworn an oath to protect their communities. Council Delegates should never speak for the purpose of silencing the public voice. The questions and concerns posed by Chapter officials are valid and deserve discussion and vetting away from the company’s talking points and narratives.
We asked the Speaker to take corrective action on this matter six months ago and still await a response. This authoritarian behavior is unacceptable. Chapters have the right and obligation to question. We should never feel pressured to give up our resources to benefit outside companies and cities. Crucially this behavior undermines local sovereignty. We have plenty of current and past experiences with industry to know what the outcomes are. Whatever our shortcomings may be as a nation; we have free elections, a three-branch government, and representation at different levels of government. We are not a dictatorship, and we don’t bully our Diné in favor of outsiders.
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