'40 years too late'
Council approves Bennett Freeze deal

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council passed historic legislation during a special session Tuesday, approving the Navajo-Hopi intergovernmental compact and possibly ending decades of litigation.

"We're 40 years too late," Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said during a press conference following the 75-3 vote. The event was attended by council delegates, members of the 1934 Subcommittee, chapter officials from Bodaway-Gap, and people living in the Bennett Freeze area.

Shirley said the Navajo Nation wanted the freeze "out of the way (and) the land thawed out ASAP after it was frozen. That was over 40 years ago."

"I'm just glad that we did it today. We will continue to send our prayers to the deities that the Hopi Nation council will acquiesce what the Navajo Nation Council has done." Shirley said he will be signing the compact "as soon as I get the legislation."

The compact could put an end to a decades-old freeze on any development on land in the Bennett Freeze area.

Navajo Nation Attorney General Louis Denetsosie said the compact will now go to the Hopi Tribal Council. "The Hopis have to approve the same version of this. After that, tribal officials get to sign off, along with the Secretary of the Interior. Then we submit a stipulation to the federal court as soon as that happens" for their signature.

Denetsosie said Hopi attorneys along with their negotiating team will present the compact legislation to the Hopi Tribal Council; however, he did not know how soon it is likely to be addressed. "The ball's in their court," he said.

President Shirley said, "We will continue to send our prayers to the deities that (Interior) Secretary Kempthorne will sign off expeditiously, and so will the judge. ... The land should not have been frozen to begin with."

Delegate Evelyn Acothley, a member of the 1934 Subcommittee, said, "This is the people's victory." Tribal officials at the press conference agreed.

Despite allegations by some council delegates that the intergovernmental compact is mere election-year politicking, legislation sponsor Duane Tsinigine said there was no timeline to have the compact approved by council.

"Fortunately, it was done at this point in time. Unfortunately, it was done during a political season. But it had to get done," he said, adding he originally planned to introduce the legislation during the past spring session.

"This is a humanitarian issue where we're dealing with the lives of people. As a leader, I want the people to live in harmony and the Beauty Way, without mental defect or hindrance. That's what Navajo is all about.

"It's my job to help people. In a political world, nothing is ever going to be perfect; so, you have to make decisions on some parts on these types of issues. A small percentage won't agree, but that's our duty and our job to push these issues," he said.

Tonalea Delegate Leslie Dele, vice chairman of the 1934 Subcommittee lives in the affected area. Dele said that when he returned from the military he found himself in the midst of the Bennett Freeze.

"I had a homesite lease that I had withdrawn, and then I was told to wait. I found out that the homesite lease that I was going to withdraw, it was cut right in half. One side was Bennett Freeze, the other side was NPL (Navajo Partitioned Land) area."

He had to move his homesite, and now, "I'm right on the fence," he said.

No funding
Even if all parties sign off on the intergovernmental compact, that does not mean that Bennett Freeze residents automatically will receive a fistful of dollars for renovations; however, Acothley said the subcommittee is working on the rehabilitation trust fund.

"We already have a legislation working with Rick Renzi; so, once this is approved, the process will continue. The process of getting the reauthorization of rehabilitation funds is in the works," she said.

Currently, those involved are trying to work with all affected chapters to come up with their assessments. "Based on that, we're trying to get those funding amounts included," Acothley said.

It will be up to the next Navajo Nation Council to sponsor legislation to acquire rehabilitation funds, according to Tsinigine, "but the congressmen are looking for this legislation."

Amos Johnson, one of the three delegates voting against the legislation, had planned to make an amendment to the compact legislation, requesting funding for the Bennett Freeze area, when Speaker Lawrence Morgan called for the vote.

"No one really addressed the issue of appropriated funds," he said. "People out there have suffered many years without electricity or infrastructure, like all the people on NPL as well. The amendment I was going to propose was to immediately identify funding for infrastructure on Bennett Freeze.

"The council has passed the legislation to support lifting the freeze, but now there's no funding," Johnson said.

Delegate Hope MacDonald-LoneTree said the "irrevocable" compact contains language which prevents the Navajo Nation from seeking damages from the United States; therefore, she questioned whether residents of the Bennett Freeze would ever see any rehabilitation funding.

Delegate Alice Benally also raised a funding issue. "How fast will the process be for these people to gain the homes, the road improvements, the infrastructure, when there's no funds addressed? And the process of the red tape, the bureaucracy that exists for such assistance from the Navajo Nation they're backlogged as it is with requests. How soon are these people going to get their houses addressed?"

People's victory
Benally said she viewed the passage of the compact not as a victory for the president and his bid for re-election, but "a win for the actual people that reside in that area that are in need of infrastructure, that are in need of homes, that are in need of improvements to their homes, that are in need of roads.

"That's what it is for, not for the president's re-election," she said.

President Shirley said going after rehabilitation funding is a matter of priority. "Of course, everything is a priority. We're trying to get this thing finalized and get the land thawed out. ... The Hopi Tribal Council, the Secretary and the judge, when they sign, that's when the land's going to be thawed out, and then we talk about monies."

Delegate Dele said subcommittee members had met with U.S. Sen. John McCain's staff on rehabilitation funding. "They said, settle your dispute first before we can talk. They wanted to separate the two legislations. That way, he can introduce a legislation to fund this."

Delegate Orlanda Smith-Hodge said she would like to see residents get the needed infrastructure. "I hope they get the development that they have always wanted to do. I think that was mostly what the council was looking at when they were discussing those issues. It's a great opportunity for them."

According to Delegate Omer Begay Jr., the compact "is in the best interest of the Navajo Nation as a whole." Begay anticipates the agreement will result in water lines, power lines and homes for people in the Bennett Freeze area, including power for one veteran who has been handicapped since returning from the service.

"He had some severe trauma and has a hard time staying afloat. Now that guy is going to have his power," Begay said.