Tó, water is Our strength

Today I sit amongst my beautiful Navajo people in Shiprock, NM located on the northern area of Navajoland near the belove Animas and San Juan Rivers.

Today, a young group of Diné (Navajo) called Tó BéNahídziil has called a community 'Teach In' meeting with goals to dialogue on the current and ongoing situation of contaminated waters from the Animas River and San Juan River. As many now now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "accidently" let a flood of highly toxic, metal-laden water flow from the abandoned Gold King Mine near Silverton, CO, into the Animas River. Later that water from the Animas could converge into the clean waters of the San Juan River in NM.

Though most of the national converage of this dire issue has faded out, the issue is still relevant a severely critical for the Diné community of farmers and ranchers of the San Juan valley including: Kirtland, Upper Fruitland, Hogback, Shiprock and into the Navajoland in southern Utah. The plain truth is that the plants (Navajo corn, melons, squash, Alfalfa) are dying and, as a result many of the Diné people are suffering; mentally, spiritually and physically. As water continues to be a scarce element the community suffers. And, due to the politics and propaganda of the government(s) tribal and non-tribal- and national interests, the individuals of the community are not helped.

The 'Teach In' meeting of Tó BéNahídziil works to bring awareness of water on the Navajo reservation, and also to educate on critical issues specifically related to the Navajo Nation. Today, we as community members of the San Juan Valley and concerned citizens all 'converge' for one reason: to find solutions to this water crisis. We converge to share, discuss and brainstorm on the problems and issues facing Dinétah (Navajo Nation) at is time and look for solutions to assist.

Today a Diné elder, farmer and Hogback resident who is present at the event shared his current experience on dealing with the contaminated Navajo waters. He expressed that attention needs to be focused back to 'K'é' which is the basis of the Diné ways of life, or 'epistemology.' He voiced that the EPA's contamination of the Animas and San Juan rivers is about "cultural trauma." Furthermore he stated that the negative experience of contaminated water on Navajo Nation concerns 'colonization' perpeptuated by American government as colonizers. But, above all he stated on the importance of Navajo individuals working to "de-colonize," and to find solutions on our own without always looking to the American government to help. In his emotional address, he said that we need to support our Diné community.

Though water is a physical necessity of human life, the current issue of the contamination of the Diné waters moves deeper, more organically. Water is Life. It is a concept of our Diné existence, one that many of us learn from the time we are children. This understanding of water concerns the spiritual first and foremost. Water is a part of our prayer life, it is a element that begins and ends our tangible rituals for healing. Truly, you must understand for we Diné, water is Our strength.

-Venaya Yazzie-