Master weaver



Master weaver Mary L. Begay works to complete this Teec Nos Pos style rug at the Hubbell Trading Post visitors' center in Ganado. She is one of two master weavers employed at the visitors' center.

Photo by Craig Robinson

 

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Semi with explosives jacknifes
I-40 closed, some homes evacuated

Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer

GALLUP — A semi-truck loaded with explosives jackknifed into a fence at the 23 mile marker on Interstate 40 early this morning, causing businesses and schools to be evacuated and radio communications to be shut down.

Sandy Aragon, the director of communications for McKinley County Metropolitan Dispatch, said icy road conditions appear to be the cause of the crash which caused the semi-truck's load of blasting caps to shift and some of the crates to become damaged.
Aragon said the explosives have a blasting radius of 3,000 yards but this number does not express the magnitude of the blast if the entire truck were to explode.

Radio communications also had to be shut down due to the danger of radio or sound waves setting off the explosives, she said.
As of about 11 a.m., police had requested a military team from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque to unload the truck.

In the meantime, I-40 was closed westbound from exit 16 to exit 26 and police were re-routing traffic away from the accident.
Police also requested dispatchers begin calling area businesses to inform them to evacuate and Aragon said everything from near the overpass to Ninth Street on Maloney Avenue was being evacuated including Washington Elementary School.

But shortly thereafter, New Mexico State Police Sgt. Rick Doty the commander of the agency's bomb squad canceled all evacuations except for the school. For safety precautions, the school children were taken to the Gallup Recreation Center.

Doty said the commercial vehicle had been traveling from Oklahoma to an Army depot in California.The semi-truck was the only vehicle involved in the accident and there were no injuries.

The Gallup Fire Department set up an incident command unit to coordinate all the law enforcement and emergency agencies involved.

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Long Walk steeped in myths
Historian sets record straight

Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — People who think they know what really happened during the Long Walk and the subsequent captivity of the Navajo people at Fort Sumner probably don't.

That's the feeling of local historian Martin Link who says that over the years a lot of myths have arisen over the way the Navajos were treated during the 1860s by their federal captors.

Tales of U.S. soldiers killing Navajos at random during the Long Walk because they were too sick or feeble to keep up are common, he said, as are stories that soldiers used the heads of dead Navajos as bowling balls. A lot of people also have spread the stories of almost concentration camp conditions at Fort Sumner with Navajos starving and trying desperately to think of ways to return to their homelands.

None of these is true, Link says.

Although he had studied this period of Navajo life extensively while serving as director of the Navajo Tribal Museum for 18 years, Link said a decision by him to put out with the help of area artist Irving Toddy a limited edition print of the signing of the Treaty of 1868 between the Navajos and the federal government gave him a reason to really check Navajo archives to find out what really went on during those years.

His main source for the truth came from, of all places, the people in the Army who were responsible for the treatment of the Navajos during those years. Officers, he said, were required to write extensive reports of the daily lives of the people in their care and did so with flair and honesty.

Since these reports were expected to be seen only by federal officials, there was no reason to tarnish the truth, he said, so examining these records can give historians a clear view of what went on during those years.

Myth No. 1

Army soldiers treated Navajos brutally during the Long Walk.

In the long view, this is untrue, although there are at least three incidents where Navajos were shot by soldiers because they were too old or weak to keep up.

But in each of these cases, Link said, the soldier was court-martialed and received a dishonorable discharge.

"Their actions did not reflect the attitude of the army in general for the treatment of the Navajos during the walks to Fort Sumner," Link said.

The records show that in cases where people had a hard time keeping up with the main body, they were allowed to proceed at their own pace with soldiers guarding them.

There was one case, Link said, where an officer was disciplined because he allowed a pregnant Navajo to stay behind with several friends without any army guards to protect them.

Myth No. 2

Starvation was common for many Navajos who were held in captivity.

"I couldn't find any indication of that," said Link, who reviewed more than 100 photos taken of Navajos during that period.
Not only did every Navajo look well-fed, but most were well-clothed.

"I only saw one girl who was barefoot," he said. In fact, he said, he did not see one photo where a Navajo man was without a shirt, even in the hot August summer days.

The records do indicate that the army was caught off guard by the number of Navajos who were placed in captivity between 1864 and 1868, he said.

The army was apparently expecting about 500 Apaches and another 500 Navajos but the army actually captured more than 5,000 Navajos, which did put a strain on the fort, especially since in the beginning, the army did have problems getting as many supplies as they needed because of the government's need to supply their soldiers fighting the Civil War.

Myth No. 3

Fort Sumner was operated like a concentration camp with extreme efforts to make sure that neither the Apaches or the Navajos could return to their homelands.

Definitely not true, Link said.

In fact, the army had neither the manpower or the desire to keep the captives under complete scrutiny which led to some cases where Navajos would sneak off at night and in even fewer cases, would just decide to go back to their homeland.

"I didn't realize this until I did this recent research but the army would issue passes to several hundred Navajos each year to allow them to go to Santa Fe and work on ranches in those areas during the lambing and shearing seasons," he said.

When the work was done, the Navajos would just return to Fort Sumner, Link said.

When the Apaches eventually got tired of trying to cope with the larger Navajo population, they just got up and left after stealing some 200 Navajo horses.

With every Apache on horseback, they had no trouble leaving the soldiers behind and, for the most part, once the army realized that they had no chance or catching up with them, no major effort was made to get them to return to Fort
Sumner.

Myth No. 4

Navajos were left during their captivity with no way of protecting themselves.

If you look at photos of Navajos being held in captivity, Link said, you would notice that in many of the photos, Navajo men were carrying rifles.

There was an incident, Link said, in 1864 before the Apaches escaped back to the homelands, when a group of Apaches stole several thousands of Navajo sheep; a number of Navajos, led by Delgadito, went after them. Delgadito was shot and wounded when the Navajos finally caught up with the Apaches.

As a result of this incident, Link said, the fort commanders ordered and received 100 brand new rifles "which were distributed to the Navajos so they could better protect themselves."

Myth No. 5

Most Navajos would have gone back to their homelands before 1868 if they had the opportunity.

With no fences or guards, anyone could have returned to his homelands at any time and the army would have been powerless to stop him. But only a few did.

"Why didn't more leave the fort?" Link said. The main reason, he said, was that those who did return got word back to their friends and relatives at the fort that conditions were better at Fort Sumner.

The Hopis, Zunis and Utes were causing problems back in Navajoland, food was scarce and living conditions for those who remained in the homelands was one of constant deprivation.

Myth No. 6

The army provided just the bare essentials, enough to just keep the Navajos alive.

A search of the records reveals that efforts were made to provide the captives with a number of non-essential items.

For example, the records indicate that some 900 pounds of chewing tobacco were brought in and distributed to the Navajos.

The interesting thing there, he said, is that few, if any, Navajos actually chewed the tobacco. Instead they would cut it up into small strips, wrap up the strips and smoke it like a cigarette.

Link said that a friend of his, Navajo culture teacher Jimmy Begay, told him that his father did this and he couldn't understand why.

"The reason is simple," Link said. "His father was just continuing a practice started at Fort Sumner."

He added that army officials at the fort spent a lot of time trying to make sure that all Navajos received fair treatment. Take the case of the bread dough.

The army at first provided flour so that the Navajos could make bread but the Navajos tried making it like they did corn meal, adding water and cooking it.

"When they did this, all they got was basically wallpaper paste," Link said. Not only did it taste bad but it caused a lot of cases of dysentery.

So the army built three large bread ovens and baked 9,000 loaves of bread a week which was distributed to the Navajo men who came in for the weekly rations.

But this also caused a problem, said Link, because come ration day, the men would be given the loaves of bread and would eat them all before they got the rations back to their families.

"So there were a number of reports back and forth on how to stop the Navajo men from eating the bread before it got to their wives and children," Link said.

The decision which solved the problem was to teach Navajo women how to build their own ovens so they could make their own bread.

Ironically, the Navajo women were taught by the Spaniards at the fort how to make sopapillas. But the Navajo women, Link said, refused to follow the Spanish traditions of making the bread into squares.

"To the Navajo way of thinking, this caused a lot of grease being wasted since the pans were round," he said. So instead of making it square, they used the entire pan and made it round, creating what is now known as Navajo fry bread.

Myth No. 7

No efforts were made to keep the Navajos occupied during the captivity.

Not true, Link said.

Not only were Navajos allowed to get passes to get jobs at nearby ranches, but the army ordered bales and bales of colored yarn from Germantown, Pa., because of the reputation the Navajo women already had for weaving.

Up until then, Link said, the Navajo weavings consisted of just blue, black and white but with the introduction of the Germantown wool, they began working in other colors like yellow and green.

"And this was done by the army solely to enable the Navajos a way to earn some money," Link said.

Booklet available

Link was able to use some of this research in the development of a small booklet that he is including with the purchase of the limited edition print. The $25 fee, he said, includes the booklet, the limited edition poster and a copy of the Treaty of 1868.

Persons who want to know more about the poster or how to order it can call Link at (505) 863-6459 or write to him at 2302 Mariyana, Gallup, N.M. 87301.

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Hospital needs $13M for houses

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The new Fort Defiance hospital needs an additional $13 million before Sept. 30 to build new housing for its expanded staff.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Elmer Milford traveled to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President George W.
Bush and presented the hospital steering committee request to members of Congress.

Milford is one of a handful of council delegates who are members of the GOP (90 percent of the council belongs to the Democratic Party). He said Third District Congressman J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., whose district includes the Navajo reservation, invited him.

The hospital's steering committee report said the huge new building at the junction of Bureau of Indian Affairs Routes 7 and 12 on the northeast side of the agency community is about 45 percent complete.

The concrete floor for the entire facility will be finished this month, and all of the exterior masonry walls are finished, the report said. All of the structural steel frames with parts of the wall frames are being completed. Dry wall has begun in certain sections of the building. The electrical, mechanical and medical gas piping system have been completely installed in two sections and
roofing is half complete.

The east side has been paved with asphalt and 80 percent of the curbs have been put in. When the weather gets better the paving will resume.

The report says the project is on schedule. Completion is expected in February 2002.

The steering committee said it needs to secure $41.8 million for fiscal year 2002 for the final phase, in addition to the supplemental $13 million for the staff housing. Up to 190 staff homes can be accommodated on the site, but about 150 are actually planned.

The new hospital will contain some 240,000 square feet under one roof, not counting the new housing. It will serve about 26,000 people in 11 chapters.

Excluding the $13 million in supplemental appropriations that the committee requested, the cost is put at $126 million.

An estimated 536 people compared to the present 296 will be employed in the 58-bed facility, of which 20 beds will be a special adolescent psychiatric unit. The other 38 beds will include 14 for surgery, eight for children, 13 for obstetrics and three for intensive and cardiac care.

The existing campus, founded in 1938, has 98,650 square feet on the other side of the community, including many temporary structures. The present hospital has 39 general beds.

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Zuni girls turn back Laguna

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

ZUNI — Zuni took advantage of free throw shooting and a balanced scoring attack to turn back Laguna-Acoma 67-57 in a non-district girls basketball game Monday night.

The Lady Thunderbirds sank 25-of-37 free throws and had three players in double figures in gaining a split with the Lady Hawks. Monday night's game was a rescheduled game that was postponed earlier this month due to snow. Laguna-Acoma nipped Zuni 56-55 in its first meeting earlier this season.

"The free throws were a big factor," Zuni coach Herrin Othole said. "I told my players that in order for us to win we had to have the six main players score in double figures. We have to be consistent."

Zuni, now 9-7 overall, 1-2 in district play, will play at Navajo Pine Thursday before hosting Newcomb Saturday in a pair of District 1AA games. Laguna-Acoma, 5-12 overall, will host Sandia Prep in a District 4AA contest Friday.

"We needed a win to go into the second round of districts," Othole said.

The Laguna-Acoma Lady Hawks broke a 9-all tie in the opening period, thanks to the hot shooting of their top scorer, Brandi Kie. Kie, who led Laguna-Acoma with a game-high 21 points along with six three-pointers, buried a pair of treys. Shawna Douma, who kicked in 12 points, scored a bucket as Laguna-Acoma surged ahead, 18-11.

A pair of free throws by Zuni sophomore forward Alison Lementino, who paced the Lady T-Birds with 16 points, cut the Hawk lead down to 18-13 while senior forward Erica Eriacho scored off a rebound that made it a three-point ballgame.

Zuni senior guard Helena Mahkee, who chipped in 13 points, hit a jump shot that made it a two-point game but Laguna's Kie answered by nailing a jumper and hitting her third trey of the game.

Zuni senior guard Talana Johnson, who finished with 14 points, sank a pair of free throws that tied the game for the first time at 25-all and the Lady T-Birds then stole the lead for the first time since the opening seconds when Mahkee scored off a fastbreak.
Kie drilled her fourth trey of the first half that gave L-A the lead back but Zuni bounced back with scores by Jara Hooee along with a turnaround jumper and a free throw by Lementino as Zuni took a narrow one-point lead at intermission, 35-34.

In the third period, Zuni outscored a cold-shooting Laguna-Acoma team 14 to 7, as the Lady Hawks were able to hit on just 2-of-14 from the field, to secure a 49-41 lead with Johnson scoring five consecutive points during the run while Hooee added five points.

Zuni nursed its lead to 10 points, 53-43, early in the fourth period before watching Laguna-Acoma trim the lead down to three points, 54-51, as Kie drilled her sixth trey of the night along with back-to-back buckets by Cathleen Chavez with less than six minutes remaining.

The Lady Thunderbirds were able to regain the momentum as Mahkee scored off a fastbreak layup and Eriacho came back to hit a turnaround shot off the baseline. Lementino went inside for another score, Mahkee sank a pair of free throws and T.J. hit a pull-up jumper as Zuni suddenly led by 11 points, 65-54, with two minutes remaining in the game.

Brandi Kie, who had 21 points and six treys, appeared to run out of gas down the stretch, missing on her final two shots as Zuni won by 10 points, 67-57.

"We had to focus on her (Brandi Kie)," Othole said of Laguna-Acoma's top player. "She had 14 points by half-time. We tried to use a box and chaser (one) but it didn't work so we had to go man and try to stick with her."

Zuni had three players in double figures with Alison Lementino leading the way with 16 points with Talana Johnson with 14 and Helena Mahkee 13. Erica Eriacho just missed hitting in double digits, finishing with nine points. Jara Hooee chipped in seven points and Matiya Dosedo added six.

Laguna-Acoma's top scorer was Brandi Kie with 21 points and six treys. Shawna Douma added 12.

The Lady T-Birds sank 25-of-37 free throws for 68 percent shooting while the Lady Hawks made 13-of-22 for 59 percent.
Zuni's Eriacho grabbed 10 rebounds with Lementino, Hooee and Johnson each with eight boards.

Laguna-Acoma's Malerie Kie had 11 boards with Brandi Kie with six.

Zuni hit on 21-of-58 from the field for 36 percent shooting while Laguna-Acoma shot 29 percent, 19-of-66.

Laguna outshot Zuni from long range, hitting on 6-of-14 treys for 43 percent with Brandi Kie accounting for all six. Zuni was 0-for-8.

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Man freezes to death in ditch

Staff Report

GALLUP — An unidentified man was found frozen to death Saturday morning in a ditch under the bridge at the northwest corner of the Gallup Flea Market.

As of Monday afternoon, McKinley County Sheriff's Criminal Investigator Abran Lucero said that no one has come forward to identify the body which currently is at the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque.

An 11-year-old boy found the body when he went down into the ditch to have a snowball fight and saw some pant legs sticking out of the snow, a police report said. The boy immediately told his mother who called police...

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Bill would allow gambling at tracks

SANTA FE (AP) — A bill offering gambling at New Mexico's four horse-racing tracks has some people concerned about how it would affect Indian casinos.

"If it passes, it may be good for tracks, but it would be bad for Indian gaming," said Rep. James Roger Madalena, D-Jemez Pueblo.

The bill introduced by Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, would add table games such as poker and blackjack at tracks. Currently, the tracks are allowed to operate 300 slot machines.

Smith said his bill is not meant to punish the state's 12 casino-operating tribes, which have refused since last year to share slot-machine revenue with the government...

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Deaths

Robert Emmett Rogers

GALLUP — Services for Robert Rogers, 94, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Father Jim Walker will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.

Visitation will be at held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Jan. 30, at Rollie Mortuary.

Rogers died Jan. 28 in Gallup. He was born Feb. 9, 1906, in Kansas City, Mo.

Rogers was a member of the Elks Lodge, past exalted ruler, 3rd Degree member of Knights of Columbus. He was an usher for Sacred Heart Cathedral for more than 50 years and owner of Rogers Oil Company.

Survivors include his wife, Josephine V. Rogers of Gallup; son, Robert E. Rogers Jr. of Tucson, Ariz.; daughters, Barbara Siskowski of The Colony, Texas, and JoAnn Zecca of Gallup; brother, John Rogers of Omaha, Neb.; sisters, Bernadine Linck of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Eileen Rogers of Kansas City, Mo.; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Rogers was preceded in death by his parents, James Joseph Rogers and Catherine Rogers; brother, James Rogers; and sisters, Margaret Crowell, Mayme Fancher and Catherine Rogers.

Pallbearers will be Silvano Corral, John Martinez, Mark Montelango, Eugene Pacheco, Robert Rogers III and Guido Zecca III.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Stan W. Hayton

GRANTS — Services for Stan W. Hayton, 90, will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 1 at Grants Mortuary Chapel. Rev. Dale Thatcher will officiate. Burial will follow at Grants Memorial Park.

Hayton died Jan. 29 in Grants. He was born Sept. 24, 1910 in Grants.

Survivors include his son, Jimmy Hayton of Milan; daughters, Mildred Browning of W.V. and four grandchildren.

Hayton was preceded in death by his wife, Jackie Hayton and son, John Hayton.

Eusebio Chapo Lerma

GRANTS — Services for Eusebio Lerma, 46, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb.2 at Saint Teresa Catholic Church. Father Emeric Normeyer will officiate. Burial will follow in Grants Memorial Park.

A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 1 at 740 Washington.

Lerma died Jan. 27 in Grants. He was born Aug. 16, 1954 in Mexico.

Survivors include his wife, Irma Lerma of Grants; aons, Sergio Lerma of Grants and Leonard Salazar of Belen; daughters, Alondra Lerma, Graciela Lerma of Grants and Carmelita Epodaca of Belen; parents, David and Berta Lerma of Chihuahua, Mexico; brothers, Guadalupe Lerma of Grants, Jose Manuel Lerma, Rafael Lerma, Juan Lerma and George Luis Lerma all of Chihuahua, Mexico; sisters, Estella Lerma, Ramona Lerma and Graciela Lerma all of Chihuahua, Mexico, Manuela Lerma and
Bertha Lerma both of Grants and four grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Guadalupe Lerma, Raul Lerma, Leonardo Salazer, Rogelio Enriquez, Rafael Sigala and Mario Apodaca.

Merle Wayne Jones

ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. — Services for Merle Wayne Jones, 24, will be announced at a later date.

Jones died Jan. 26 in Sanders, Ariz. He was born March 19, 1976, in Fort Defiance, Ariz., into the Bitter Water People Clan.

There will be a family meeting tonight at the Fort Defiance Chapter House.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Catalina "Katie" Estrada-Martinez

GALLUP — Services for Catalina Estrada-Martinez, 84, will be announced at a later date.

Estrada-Martinez died Jan. 25 in Gallup. She was born Dec. 2, 1916, in Santa Maria-Jal, Mexico.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.