Marchers protest alleged comments from Shirley camp

A group of protesters, mostly women, join hands and pray Monday morning before starting a march from the Navajo Nation Museum to Veteran's Park in Window Rock. The protestors marched to show their outrage at allegedly racist remarks made by Clinton Jim and to demand an apology. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — A little over a dozen participants gathered together Monday morning at the Navajo Nation Museum in a peaceful march against racism.

A group of Navajo woman formed the "Women Against Racism" group, and decided to organize the march to the Veteran's Memorial Park, after learning about a comment made by Joe Shirley's staff assistant, Clinton Jim, during a meeting at Whiterock Chapter House last Monday.

According to organizers, Jim made a statement saying that "they (the Shirley Administration) are Navajo and they want to have Navajo all the way," which many women felt strongly alluded to a negative reference to Navajo people of mixed backgrounds.

Jim, and the Shirley administration, did not return phone calls regarding the comment, and the two women who said they witnessed the comment were not present at the start of the march.

A majority of the participants, who have children with mixed backgrounds, felt that what was said was inappropriate and racist.

Minnie Malone, 69, of Lupton said she was offended when she heard about the comment through several of her friends.

"I didn't like what was said. There's a lot of kids, not just my kids, that are half-breeds," said Malone.

Women at the march said that they have children, and grandchildren, who are of different backgrounds, including Mexican, Asian, African-American, and as well as other Native American tribes, besides Navajo.

"Some of us have half-breed kids," said Bessie Taylor, of Crystal. "We consider them Navajo still because they have census numbers."

Lousie Watch, 59, of Fort Defiance heard about the march on the radio, and wasn't happy with what she heard either.

"There's hardly any full-blooded children, youth," said Watch. "We can't turn back, we have to keep going."

Some participants of the march also talked about how men and women should have equal treatment, and equal rights in the workforce.

Before the march began, the group gathered together in prayer, where a male participant asked that women continue to move forward and progress, adding that women "no longer belong in the kitchen, but they are going into government, going to be doctors and lawyers."

"We just have to stand up to the government and what they're saying about women," said Watch. "We do more work then men; we wear different hats everyday."