What benefit to the Navajo people would ever come from the Navajo Nation threatening to sue the federal government over Bears Ears National Monument being reduced?
Suing the government over the anticipation of reducing Bears Ears National Monument pays more lip service on the land issues then it actually does protecting it. Not to mention the resources needed for filing fees and court costs are probably going to come from resources that could be used elsewhere. Should be used elsewhere; are needed elsewhere.
Unemployment hovers around 42 percent on the Navajo Nation (the national average is 4.4 percent). According to the 2010 Census and 2010 American Community Survey, “more than one-third of the Navajo Nation tribal members are classified as 'severely poor,' with poverty ratios that range from below 0.5 to .99.” A further 19 percent of the Navajo Nation is right at the poverty line. Forty-three percent of Navajos exist below the federal poverty line of $24,250 for a family of four. With numbers like those, who can afford to support a Navajo Nation that pushes for a frivolous lawsuit against the federal government on land that was already federally protected before a massive 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears Monument designation?
The monument designation is entirely outside the borders of the Navajo Nation. It would have zero impact on the everyday lives of our Navajo people, who struggle to simply put food on the table every day. The only economic impact of the monument is for the very people who initially pushed for its creation in the first place, radical environmentalist organizations with extremely close ties to the tourism industry.
Of course it would benefit them, but would it help the Navajo people living on the fringes of the Navajo Nation nearest to the national monument? Hotels, restaurants and outdoor-clothing companies that cater to the superrich would gain, with Navajo workers seeing no improvement in their financial status. It’s no secret to Navajo workers that tourism jobs do not pay well, resulting in our people having two, even three, jobs at the same time. Plus they're seasonal; no one likes being laid off for four to five months out of the year.
More urgent issues on the Navajo Nation far outweigh the need to initiate costly lawsuits. We have reservation roads that need improvements all over, and children missing class because they can’t even make it to bus stops. We have families living in the 21st century who still have no electricity, no running water or any housing. Around “34,000 new homes are needed on the Navajo Reservation,” according to AZCentral. Each is an important and pressing issue, yet threats of frivolous lawsuits are all we have to look forward to?
What is the reason to threaten a lawsuit of this nature? Reducing Bears Ears National Monument? One thing most don’t know but are beginning to understand is that reducing it is probably the best solution. Why? Well, for one thing, it sits over 11 existing federally protected wilderness areas. These aren’t particularly small areas, either, as they are about 400,000 acres combined, which protect and preserve the cultural heritage sites and sacred areas.
The highest form of federal protection, wilderness areas, already in place never should have required an unfunded national monument designation. In addition, these sites are well protected by 11 federal laws, which include Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Government, the Archaeological Resources Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
It’s unfortunate that the Navajo Nation would rather sue the government for the needs of business owners and clothing companies when we need the attention of our Navajo leaders for our everyday struggles here on the Navajo Nation.
Ryan Benally is a member of the Navajo Nation from Montezuma Creek, Utah.