Yesterday I was talking with one of our members about the hardship so many Dine have obtaining water for their villages.  I understand that trucks deliver water to many of them on a schedule.  We wondered why they are not in general served by wells.  Is it the expense of drilling that prevents that?"
John

Jennifer Holmes, NB Board member <[email protected]> wrote:

Thank you for your question, and your prayers, encouragement, and interest about the Diné land and culture. The more folks know about our Diné neighbors, the more we can all understand each other.

About water on the Navajo Nation, here's my take: 

 Short answer: colonization.

Longer answer:  It's very difficult to get permission from the Chapter/Tribe/ Bureau of Indian Affairs/State of NM/ Bureau of Land Management/ to drill a well.  There's a lot of red tape and bureaucracy. All reservation land is held in trust by the US government via the Navajo tribal government. When "The Great White Fathers" in Washington set up the reservations, they had in mind individual land owners, like the bilagaana (white) way. But the Diné and most other tribes are a communal people and individual land ownership was a foreign idea.  Anyway, they did adapt to the new system and now any homes or home-improvement requires a home-site lease from the tribe.  Since the land was typically passed down to families through the generations, many of the allotments have been divided and subdivided which has caused strife among families.  So now people are fighting with each other about land allotments as well as fighting with the bureaucracy of the tribe and the  Bureau of Indian Affairs and all the other government regulatory entities. Then on top of that, a lot of private drilling companies don't like to do business on a reservation because of some bad history with collecting payments (both from individuals and from the tribe.) And there is a history of corruption with drilling contracts, both federal and tribal.  This is a simplistic analysis and is neither scholarly nor well researched.  Just my observation.  

June Leonard and Nelson Capitan from Laguna Presbyterian Church, and the Native American Ministries Coordinating Committee (NAMCC) of the Synod of the Southwest would be good resources to seek more infromation.  Both are experts on the subject from a personal and professional standpoint. June is a water/land-rights lawyer besides being a scholar on the Doctrine of Discovery.

Finally, there are many articles and videos reporting on Navajo water issues  and there are many other organizations beyond Nihitaa' Binaanish who are working on a solution, such as the Navajo Water Project and the Presbyterian Church USA. You can also see posts on Nihitaa' Binaanish's FaceBook page for our perspective and articles on land issues and why COVID19 is so devestating in Diné Bikéya.

Ahéhee

edited by Kenneth Holmes 

Fred and Lorraine Thomas, President and VP of Nihitaa' Binaanish started their day at 5 a.m. with prayer at the House of Fellowship.  By midnight they finally sat down and gave thanks for a day of giving and receiving in God’s name. 

Given out:  To over 400 families in the Bread Springs and Chichiltah communities, were ten tons of potatoes, cherries, mangos and bananas (called by some, “ ‘manas from heaven” in the food desert of the Checkerboard Area of the Navajo Nation, where no stores sell fresh fruit.) 

Received:   Overwhelming volunteer support from the community –over 40 family members and neighbors of all ages came out to help with the food distribution at the House of Fellowship.  In addition, eight volunteers from WRPC and Sandia Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque showed up to help load the produce at Roadrunner Food Bank.  Also received were numerous prayers for families as they waited in their vehicles; Pastor Fred visited and lifted up all who asked for prayer.

As with all work done in the name of Christ, participants felt they received so much more than they gave.  We praise God for his faithfulness!

Submitted by:
Jennifer Holmes
7.31.20


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For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:9

Nihitaa’ Binaanishi Distributes Food and Hygiene Supplies to over 150 families

Nihitaa’ Binaanish, Our Father’s Business partnered with White Rock Presbyterian Church, Operation Bandana NM, Road Runner Food Bank and the New Mexico National Guard to distribute much needed food and supplies to local families in the Bread Springs/Ch’ich’il tah areas south of Gallup on Wednesday, July 15.  This area is still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.  (Three local families had loved one pass away just last week.)

 This collaboration stands on the foundation of enduring support by the body of Christ at Navajo House of Fellowship and White Rock Presbyterian Church.

The five New Mexico National Guard trucks (including one with a forklift) roared onto the parking lot of  Ch’ich’il tah Chapter and unloaded pallets of fresh produce, food staples, cleaning supplies, hygiene items and even art kits from the Georgia O’Keefe Museum!  Fred and Lorraine Thomas and three other volunteers helped reload the items onto their trailers and headed back up highway 602 to House of Fellowship where there was a long line of cars waiting. God provided a cloudy day as volunteers scrambled to organize the items for distribution while recipients waited patiently in their vehicles. 

Thirteen local volunteers from House of Fellowship and two from White Rock Presbyterian Church had set up traffic control and signs, reminding all of the Navajo Nation Health protocols.  Volunteers passed out water and snacks to visitors. Several of the volunteers were Covid-19 survivors.  It was uplifting to see so many of the House of Fellowship church community (including a number of teenagers) come out to serve their community! They worked throughout the day, loading up people’s vehicles and greeting one another through cracked car windows.

When they ran out of food by late afternoon they started giving away the snacks reserved for the volunteers, then they gave away the ice chests and baby items donated by WRPC and friends.  EVERYTHING was gone by sundown! 

After cleaning up, volunteers went 30 minutes into Gallup, bought pizza for all, then hurried back to the church for  fellowship and reflection before the nightly Navajo Nation curfew set in.

​“Even though we have not been having worship services, the church is serving our people in the name of Jesus,” commented one weary volunteer.
  
Yes, the church has left the building!

by Jennifer Holmes



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