Grassroots Response to Buu’s 2nd State of the Nation
On Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Tó Nizhóní Ání hosted the 2025 Grassroots Response to Buu’s 2nd State of the Nation live stream event in Window Rock, Arizona. This event featured individuals and organizations from across and near the Navajo Nation who are educating and leading the struggle for a sustainable Navajo Nation. The topics that were addressed are some of the most pressing issues on the Navajo Nation in terms of the state of our environment and critical resources that sustain our Nation. These topics include Water Rights, Uranium transport through Navajo lands and abandoned mines’ cleanup. Currently the TEP Transmission Lines Renewal and the Four Corners Carbon Storage Hub is developing in northwest New Mexico and will involve Navajo resources and the storage of toxic chemicals within Navajo Lands.
Event Topics & Speakers:
- Water Rights & Water Projects
- Nicole Horseherder, Tó Nizhóní Ání
- Melinda O’Daniel, Seeds of Harmony
- Andrew Atencia, Tó Nizhóní Ání
- Uranium Transport
- Leona Morgan, Haul No!
- Four Corners Carbon Storage Hub
- Adrian Herder, Tó Nizhóní Ání
- Morgan O’Grady, Western Environmental Law Center
- Rose Rushing, Western Environmental Law Center
- Mike Eisenfeld, San Juan Citizens Alliance
- Hydrogen & TEP ROW Updates
- Eleanor Smith, Tó Nizhóní Ání
- Adrian Herder, Tó Nizhóní Ání
Background:
President of the Navajo Nation Dr. Buu Nygren issued/delivered the State of the Nation address on January 14, 2025 in Tuba City, Arizona. In an all-day event, President Nygren was allotted only an hour and spoke to an audience of about 1000. In his short and rushed speech he covered (mostly in Diné) economic development on the Navajo Nation. None of the comments made in his verbal address included environmental issues the Navajo people face. Each and every day across this vast Nation, our members are being pressured into giving up land, grazing permits, and other rights to allow for new industry, pipelines, wells, drilling, and mines, all this in the name of a few jobs and revenue for the central government. The reality is that these type of jobs and projects exploit Navajo lands and resources, provide only a few jobs, and often operate with little to no regulation. There is limited/lacking oversight and monitoring from the Navajo Nation. A community grievance process is unavailable for families and community members who are negatively impacted by these projects.
“Here on Navajo, grassroots/community groups are collectively working toward similar goals of a carbon-free and fossil-free future for Navajo. As Diné situated in the Four Corners region of what is now the US, we must ensure that the elements of life are accessible to future generations in their pristine forms – land, water, air and technology. If this is to be so, we must prioritize water as we guide the transition and economic development on our Nation.”
-Nicole Horseherder, Executive Director, Tó Nizhóní Ání
Recorded Live Stream:
For more information about this event, please contact [email protected]
