we drove down the desert road to the opening circle held at Billy and Bessie's home. My father, Bruce, Jean a lovely woman from the South Bay and Kevin from N. Orange County and i parked our cars and got out in anticipation of cold weather and hard work that we would have to befriend over the next 7 days. Then into the circle came the most lovely set of Dineh elders, dineh is the the most calming language to listen to even when they are telling you about the unjust hardships they have had to endure. i looked to them as my heart center for the next 7 days.
after the circle an elder named Billy came and picked us up, and we spent the rest of the week working on his sheep camp, and moving around to different peoples spaces on the reservation and relocation housing to help out with work needed to be done before the winter season. I could go on in detail about the support work but what is really important is why our support is needed in the first place, then i will tell you what i learned from the support work.
Since the 1970's the US government along with their corporate allies such as Peabody Coal Co. have manufactured a land dispute between the traditional Hopi and Dineh (Navajo) people. Through this manufactured dispute the Hopi have lost some of
their people to corrupt tribal governments and the Dineh have lost many people to relocation, and forced confiscation of livestock. In other words, their very livelihoods have been stripped from them in the name of unsustainable mining practices. Have they been compensated? Well, if they have it has not made it past those in power, and would it really matter? Can you really compensate for someones livelihood? Can you compensate culture? This is the same question that people all over the world are asking as they are kicked out of their homes to make way for fashionable money making development projects.
With all of the injustices i have seen in the world, i can tell you that there is no way to compensate for culture. When our very spirit our very breath is tied to the soil beneath us, the earth that holds us, the placenta of our children that we buried under our home, there is no compensation that can give you this back. Many Americans will think, well my dad/mom gets relocated for work all the time, and it is very difficult, should i protest? I say yes, if your very breath is connected - but dont make this an excuse not to understand the plight of the Dineh living in Black Mesa, AZ. The people there they understand what it means to have a sense of place, and this is something we all could learn a lesson about.
When the elders and other traditional Dineh and Hopi are violated this is innately connected to degradation of the earth. When we scar the Earth we scar ourselves, it is that simple yet we foolishly continue our "manly" endeavors to conquer the greatest gift we have in our lives, Mother Earth and Father Sky. Over the last 30 years, Peabody's Black Mesa mine has absolved an estimated 325 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere and has daily consumed three million gallons of water, and 1.4 billion gallons per year of potable ground water. Please remember what we do to the earth we do to ourselves
Over the last 3 + years of my life i have been graced with the opportunity to learn from peoples movements all over the world. When I was working/studying in Thailand one of my mentors Paw Somkiat stoically fixed his eyes on us and pointed up at the lights above saying, “Did you know that comes from the blood and tears of the villagers? That is our blood, they came in and destroyed our origins, our food source and turned it into this [the Pak Mun Dam]. There’re a lot of people who don’t see this root, you are so lucky to see some of that root.” At this moment Paw Somkiat reveals himself to the group of Americans as not only a villager, but also our teacher and has forever has changed my perspective on learning and my role in the world. This is the experience i held close to my heart as i went to be a supporter in Black Mesa and Big Mountain.
In working with Black Mesa Indigenous Support and having been a member of ENGAGE for almost 5 years, there was something very interesting that we shared. We are there to support to be an ally and to understand that through respecting our anti-opression principles we can work together (even if we are outsiders) equitably through the injustice that is being perpetuated by other outsiders. And when we come out of the struggle we will come out with a new order, one of equality, and empowerment of all people through living harmoniously. What I learned from Black Mesa that is close to my experiences with ENGAGE is that we are brought into peoples movements and the social problems around them to be supporters and to serve their needs and at the same time be innovative and work with them to find solutions. We are not their to bring in "our" projects or our agendas, we are their to be part of theirs and then to offer our gifts as needed. To read more about BMIS and their supporters please go to www.blackmesais.org and read the 'cultural sensitivity guide' I believe they are very clear and articulate in what i am trying to summarize here.
Overall, while at the reservation i saw many moments of revelation and changes in consciousness,watching as I and others are moved to see themselves as more than individuals more than students or average complacent people but as people who can feel the heartache of the others and do their best to help carry those aches.
