Democracy for New Mexico

Tonight On KUNM's Espejos de Aztlan: Topahkal Health Collective

From Javier Benavidez:
Check out KUNM 89.9FM tonight, Monday, August 20th, at 8:00 PM for a half-hour live interview with Andru Ziwasimon, MD, of the Topahkal Health Collaborative. Topahkal is an independent clinic interweaving traditional/indigenous medicines with conventional family practice medicine. They serve over 5,000 uninsured individuals and families annually and are located in the heart of the South Valley in Albuquerque, NM.

Next Sunday, August 26th, from 6 PM to 10 PM, Topahkal will host a celebration and fund-raiser at the Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center (on the corner of Silver and Harvard in the university area). Music will be provided by Nuevo Mexico Presente, La Junta and Le Chat Lunatique. Patients, their families, and supporters are invited to join in the homemade food, silent art auction, dancing and fun. For more information, please contact Cecilia at the Peace and Justice Center at (505) 268-9557.

Espejos de Aztlan has been on-air since 1979 and is part of the Raices Collective which conducts programming on news, culture and music from a Latino perspective on KUNM 89.9FM. For more information or to submit input about Espejos de Aztlan, please visit the "Raices" link at https://kunm.org/culture/.

Editor's Note: For more information on the work of Topahkal Health Collaborative, click:

• Healing Ourselves, Healing the Earth
• Healthy Choices; The Topahkal Health Collaborative Blends Traditional and Alternative Methods
• Albuquerque Tribune Event Item

Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe This Weekend

From the Center for Contemporary Arts:
Now in its seventh year, this celebration of indigenous media arts features groundbreaking films and videos by and about Native people. From classics to the best new works, these films celebrate innovation, challenging the persistent pop-culture misrepresentations of indigenous peoples. The showcase offers filmmakers a venue during the renowned Santa Fe Indian Market, the world's largest exhibit for indigenous artists, and provides an opportunity to advance dialogue about the essential issues facing Native communities.

The showcase is produced by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) Cinematheque in cooperation with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the Institute of American Indian Arts, the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, and the Gary Farmer Gallery of Contemporary Art.

SHOWTIMES

FRIDAY
6:30PM - Best of Sami Film Festival
8:15PM - Water Flowing Together

SATURDAY
2:30PM - Weaving Worlds
5:00PM - Journals of Knud Rasmussen
7:30PM - Imprint

SUNDAY
3:00PM - Cocalero
5:30PM - Trudell

Visit the to download a program and get more info. Tickets: All shows, unless otherwise noted:

• $8.50 general admission
• $7.50 CCA and NMAI members, students, and seniors
• $7 student and senior members
• $50/$40 Festival Pass, includes priority admission to all films and Opening Night Party

Box Office: Call 505-982-1338, or visit the Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail. Info: Call 505-982-1338 or visit www.ccasantafe.org.

Click for more info on the Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe this weekend.

(Updated) Gov. Richardson Criticizes Desert Rock Power Plant

UPDATE 6:38 PM: The complete statement by Gov. Bill Richardson about the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant is now available. Click here.
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"Woman in Gas Mask" (Credit: Small Axe Organization)

According to an article (also see audio-visual) in the New York Times on the controversial coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant proposed by the Diné Power Authority and Houston-based Sithe Global Power, which in turn is majority-owned by Blackstone, a large and much in the news private-equity firm:

The staff of Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic presidential aspirant, recently issued a statement saying that the plant “would be a significant new source of greenhouse gases and other pollution in the region” and that Mr. Richardson “believes, as planned, it would be a step in the wrong direction,” undoing his proposed reductions in emissions.

To my knowledge, this is the first time Gov. Richardson or his staff has spoken out publicly on the proposed plant, which is projected to increase greenhouse gas emissions in New Mexico by at least 15%, and produce significant amounts of other toxins like mercury. According to the New York Times, "each year, it would emit 12 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of adding 1.5 million average cars to the roads. Coal-fired electricity contributes more than half of the 57 million tons of annual carbon-dioxide emissions in New Mexico. Together, the two existing plants emit 29 million tons."

The fight against the power plant has received growing attention nationally, with increased coverage in the media and on progressive blogs. Gov. Richardson has made his generally very positive environmental record a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, but until the recent statement had refrained from speaking out clearly against Desert Rock.

The Four Corners region, where the plant would be sited, already has two coal-fired power plants that produce copious amounts of pollution, turn the skies in the area brown and deposit other dangerous substances in water sources for hundreds of miles.

Hearings on Desert Rock EIS
A series of public hearings in New Mexico on the projected environmental impacts of Desert Rock was completed yesterday. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, San Juan Citizens Alliance, as well as Diné groups like Dooda Desert Rock (their blog has lots of information about their vigil against the plant and more) and Diné CARE, joined many ordinary citizens in strongly criticizing both the plant and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that reports on its potential impacts.

Dem-Proposed Tax Break Defeated in NM Legislature
In the NM Legislative Session earlier this year, a proposed bill to provide an $85 million tax break to Desert Rock was introduced and pushed by two Democratic leaders, Senate Pro Tem Ben Altamirano and House Speaker Ben Lujan. The bills were eventually defeated with the help of state representative Ray Begaye, a Navajo, and lobbying by many others in the state in a process that often featured heated battles within legislative committees and behind the scenes. (See previous posts listed below.) According to a recent article in The Economist:

Ray Begaye, a Democratic state representative and a Navajo, worries that the new power plant will suck water out of the area's aquifer and contaminate it with mercury and other toxins.

What Gov. Richardson and NM Could Do
The state of New Mexico has no real jurisdiction over whether Desert Rock gets built since the plant would sit on lands within the sovereign Diné Nation. However, critics have suggested that Richardson and others could speak out publicly against the plant and apply other pressures to discourage or at least improve the project. The state, perhaps working with the federal government or private business interests, might also come up with a plan to offer financial and other incentives for the tribe to pursue green energy projects that might produce significant jobs and revenues for the Navajos. They might also help to attract capital and other resources in support of renewable energy development on Dine land. After all, the Four Corners has an abundance of sun and wind that could be harnassed to produce large amounts of power without adding to the already heavy coal-fired plant pollution in the region and beyond.

Another possible strategy would be to pass legislation to encourage Sithe's investment in rapidly developing carbon-sequestration technology to lessen the global warming impact of the plant's emissions. Again, according to the New York Times:

Some backers of the plant hope that Desert Rock could be a proving ground for an experimental technology to reduce carbon emissions by capturing them and injecting them deep in the ground.

Mr. Johns of Sithe Global Power and Senator Jeff Bingaman, the New Mexico Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, expressed hope that the carbon-capture technology could be incorporated into the plant with an additional $1 billion investment.

The Senate Finance Committee approved a measure for a production tax credit of $20 a ton for sequestered carbon dioxide, and Mr. Bingaman said he was looking for [a] bill to attach it as an amendment.

Many will be watching to see what Gov. Richardson says and does next on the power plant issue. Only time will tell if his critical statement was merely a political response to growing publicity about Desert Rock or if Richardson will be as outspoken against the plant as he has been against oil and gas drilling on New Mexico's Otero Mesa and other environmentally dangerous projects.

More Information
Some of our previous posts, including guest blogs, about the Desert Rock Power Plant issue:

• July 16, 2007
• July 13, 2007
• June 27, 2007
• June 14, 2007
• April 20, 2007
• February 27, 2007
• February 21, 2007
• February 17, 2007
• February 13, 2007
• February 5, 2007
• December 15, 2006

Also see an article on the plant and the recent EIS hearing in Albuquerque in this week's edition of the alibi.

High School Basketball Players Illegally Searched at NM Regional Tournament

From ACLU-NM:
TO’HAJIILEE, NM—The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed a lawsuit today on behalf of To’hajiilee Community School basketball players and the To’hajiilee School Board of Education, Inc., against three New Mexico State law enforcement officers for their illegal searches during a regional basketball tournament.

“Fortunately, our young clients know that the police cannot just willy-nilly accuse them of a crime and then detain and search them, and they also know that something is very wrong when the police arbitrarily turn their power against Native Americans and no one else,” said Jane Gagne, ACLU of New Mexico co-legal director.

On March 3, 2006, basketball teams from the To’hajiilee Community School, Temple Baptist High School, the Springer High School, and the Des Moines High School competed in a regional basketball tournament hosted by Des Moines High School, in Des Moines, New Mexico. During the tournament the Temple Baptist coach reported to the police that items had been stolen from their locker room.  After items were reported missing, the police searched only the To’hajiilee team members, despite statements from coaches that the search was not necessary, and no indication that any To’hajiilee player had taken the items.  To’hajiilee is a Chapter of the Navajo Nation, and the To’hajiilee Community School is a Native American high school.

The policemen ordered the To’hajiilee team to line up on the basketball court, in front of the spectators, and then ordered the team to go into the locker room, where the team members were confined while the policemen searched their belongings.  Following the search in the locker room, police officials searched the To’hajiilee team bus which had been locked and attended to by the bus driver the entire time the alleged thefts could have occurred.  Police officials neither requested nor received consent to search any of the team members’ belongings or the To’hajiilee team bus, nor did they have any reason to believe that any of the To’hajiilee team members had stolen the items or that they would be on the team bus.  None of the stolen items were found.

“Police officials do not have a blank check to conduct searches at their will,” said Whitney Potter, spokesperson for the ACLU of New Mexico.  “Allowing police to conduct these kinds of searches of students with no consent or probable cause turns our schoolhouses into jailhouses.”

ACLU of New Mexico Staff Attorney George Bach and co-legal directors Jane Gagne and Phil Davis filed the lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

###

Download the complaint: https://aclu-nm.org/PDF/ToHajiilee_Complaint.pdf

The mission of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is to maintain and advance the cause of civil liberties within the state of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on the freedom of religion, speech, press, association, and assemblage, and the right to vote, due process of law and equal protection of law, and to take any legitimate action in the furtherance and defense of such purposes. These objectives shall be sought wholly without political partisanship. For more information, visit us on the web: www.aclu-nm.org.

American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
PO BOX 566, Albuquerque, NM 87103
Tel: (505) 266-5915 ext 1003 | Fax: (505) 266-5916
Email: wpotter@aclu-nm.org | Web: https://www.aclu-nm.org

Visit the ACLU of New Mexico's New Blog

To donate to the ACLU of New Mexico securely online, click here.

Ben Luce Guest Blog: The Real Reason Desert Rock Coal Plant is Happening

This is a guest blog from Ben Luce of Break the Grip!:
Have no doubt, plans for the Desert Rock Power Plant are still rolling forward: Break The Grip! has learned that Sithe Global intends once again to seek a tax incentive from the New Mexico Legislature, and recently obtained more money from the Navajo Nation to keep their development on track. Although there are upcoming hearings on the plant's Environmental Impact Statement, there is little reason to believe that these hearings will be little more than pro-forma inputs to an unresponsive EPA.

Why is this happening? How, in an age of near panic about global warming, and with New Mexico supposedly adopting greenhouse gas reduction targets and policies to achieve those measures, can another massive conventional coal plant be built in New Mexico?

The answer is simple: The Richardson Administration and the Majority Leadership in the Legislature have utterly failed to oppose this project. True, the Administration and the Legislature have little jurisdiction over the Navajo Nation. But this is beside the point: They do have jurisdiction over the proposed tax incentive, and if the Governor were really serious about doing something about global warming, he would use his bully pulpit to oppose the project and press for economic incentives to help convince the Navajo Nation that they do not need Desert Rock.

Instead, Richardson only indicated some mild concern about Desert Rock's impact in one newspaper article during the last Legislative Session, and nothing since, a far cry from his extensive opposition to drilling in Otero Mesa (which he also lacked jurisdiction over). The impact from Desert Rock will likely be far greater than drilling in Otero Mesa, by about a factor of 50 in terms of emissions (and more over the long term).

What about the Democratic Majority Leadership? They were fully FOR Desert Rock: The Senate Sponsor was the Senate Pro Tem Ben Altamirano and the House Leadership, headed by Speaker Ben Lujan, was by all accounts pushing hard for Desert Rock behind the scenes. Watch for the Speaker to route the Desert Rock incentive directly to the House Business & Industry Committee in the next session, to simply bypass the House Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Committee (which opposed and helped kill the bill during this past session). The House Business & Industry Committee is completely hopeless from an environmental issues standpoint (and the committee is chaired by the Speaker's goddaughter).

Why is the Democratic Leadership so in favor of Desert Rock? It is enough to note that the lobbyist of Sithe Global, Richard Minzer, is a major fund-raiser for the Democratic Party, and that Sithe Global has lots of money to contribute. It's another classic example of undue corporate influence in New Mexico.

It's great that there are environmental groups and Navajo groups like Dooda Desert Rock out there fighting hard. But they have no power to stop this project directly: Their role can only be to get our governments to oppose this project. Either that or be dragged off the site in hand-cuffs at the bitter end.

Unfortunately, they will likely fail to sway our state leaders, because the Governor, and the majority leadership, completely let us down. And the Navajo Nation, in the face of the possibility of $50 million in cash from Sithe Global each year, and with no counter offer from the State, is unlikely to change course either.

It's time for the New Mexico public to realize that the environmental and Navajo opposition to Desert Rock has effectively been steam-rolled by our elected officials, and to start really holding those officials accountable.

You can email the Governor at https://www.governor.state.nm.us/emailchoice.php?mm=6.

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Ben Luce, the former Chair and Policy Director of the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (CCAE). Luce recently launched the nonpartisan citizen action group Break the Grip! because of concerns about the undue influence of powerful corporations on New Mexico government. Ben's previous guest blogs can be found here and here.

Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express their views on pertinent issues. The views expressed may or may not represent our views. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand side of the page.

You can access recent posts on DFNM about the Desert Rock Power Plant and the public environmental impact statement hearings now being held around the state here and here.

July 16, 2007 at 09:03 AM in Corporatism, Democratic Party, Energy, Environment, Guest Blogger, Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (5)

Friday, July 13, 2007

7/19: Speak Out Against Coal-Fired Desert Rock Power Plant

From the Natural Resources Defense Council:
I hope you’ll join NRDC and your fellow activists next Thursday in Albuquerque to speak out against a proposed power plant on the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation:

• When: Thursday, July 19th, 1:00 PM
• Where: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW (1 block N of I-40), Albuquerque, NM

A global energy company and Diné Power Authority want to build a dirty, coal-fired power plant in northwest New Mexico, when the Four Corners area already has two of the most polluting power plants in the country!

The proposed Desert Rock power plant would release mercury and other toxic contaminants into the environment, polluting waterways and threatening human health. It would also significantly increase global warming pollution in New Mexico, at a time when states should be working to cut back these dangerous emissions.

The people of the Four Corners region would bear the burden of the plant’s environmental impacts – even though most of the power would be exported to Las Vegas and Phoenix. The Navajo Nation would receive less than 5 percent of the projected electricity output from Desert Rock. Many Navajo citizens still have no electricity in their homes.

If you are able, please join us at a public hearing in Albuquerque on July 19th and make your opposition felt. You will have the opportunity, if you wish, to speak publicly for two or three minutes against the proposed power plant. (See full details below.) Whether or not you wish to speak, I hope you will join us because there is great strength in numbers.

If you can attend, please email me at nrdcmembers@nrdc.org (and be sure to include your name and phone number). We’ll get back to you with more information and details, including pointers for preparing your comments, if any, and how to find an NRDC staffer when you arrive.

Thank you for helping to protect New Mexico’s environment.

Sincerely,
Laura E. Sanchez
Energy Solutions Advocate
Natural Resources Defense Council

Editor's Note: Also see our previous post about the public hearings and comment period on the Desert Rock Power Plant.

July 13, 2007 at 09:13 AM in Energy, Environment, Events, Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (3)

Friday, July 06, 2007

Where and When Can I See Live Earth? (Starts Tonight)

From Live Earth:
MSN will stream the Live Earth concerts LIVE from all seven continents starting from Sydney, Australia and continuing geographically and chronologically across the globe. Log on tonight -- Friday, July 6th -- at  7:15 PM (MT) (since it's tomorrow already in Australia) for the start of what is destined to be an incomparable 24 hours. Watch the Al Gore webcast video.

OFFICIAL CONCERTS AND SCHEDULE

USA START TIME (MDT): Summary Sheet
Live Earth Sydney - 7:10 PM, 7/6
Live Earth Tokyo  - 9:00 PM, 7/6 
Live Earth Shanghai - 5:00 AM, 7/7 
Live Earth Hamburg - 6:00 AM, 7/7
Live Earth London - 6:30 AM, 7/7
Live Earth Johannesburg - 10:00 AM, 7/7
Live Earth New York - 12:30 PM, 7/7 
Live Earth Rio de Janeiro - 1:00 PM, 7/7

Due to the global nature of this event, all times are subject to change. Stay tuned to www.liveearth.msn.com for the most current information on all the Live Earth concerts.

LIVE EARTH ON THE AIR
Live Earth will be transmitted worldwide in standard and high definition across multiple media channels - TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels. In the US, highlights from all Live Earth concerts and events will air on NBC at 8:00 PM on Saturday, 07.07.07. Visit www.liveearth.org for a more expansive list of International Broadcast Partners or click this direct link to on the air providers. Don't wanna watch it alone? There are over 8000 Friends of Live Earth events happening worldwide. Find one near you right here. Washington DC concert added.

Note: I'd double check online with the MSN and Live Earth sites as the events near their stated start times as last minute changes are to be expected. One event that doesn't yet show on the schedule is today's addition of a Live Earth event in Washington DC in the form of a Mother Earth concert and program hosted by Native Americans at the National Museum of the American Indian. Besides Native American speakers and musicians, including Albuquerque reggae band Native Roots, the event will feature a performance by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. It looks like it's scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 AM MDT. It's unclear when the band of scientists in Anarctica will perform!

Also see our earlier post on LIve Earth, which includes links to local viewing gatherings.

July 6, 2007 at 03:20 PM in Energy, Environment, Events, Music, Native Americans, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Desert Rock Power Plant Update: Public Hearings Set for July

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:
Public Hearings will be held for citizens to speak out about the planned Desert Rock Power Plant in the Four Corners area. This is your chance to stand up for clean air, land and water in New Mexico! On May 22nd the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) released a draft EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) which strongly supports the Desert Rock Power Plant and 10 public hearings will be held on this, starting July 17th, 2007 (see below).

The BIA is holding these hearings because these communities and the people living in them will be directly affected by the Desert Rock coal-fired power plant. The mercury emitted by Desert Rock will find its way into the watersheds serving these communities, including both rivers and fishing lakes.

For more information, please contact Trisha London: trishal@nmwild.org.

Editor's Note: Here's the listing of all the scheduled hearings from https://www.desert-rock-blog.com, which is an activist site that covers the fight against the proposed filthy, coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant:

• July 17, 5 - 8 PM, Farmington Civic Center.
• July 18, 10 AM - 1 PM, Ute Mountain Casino, Towaoc, Colo.
• July 10, 5 - 8 PM, Iron Horse Inn, Durango, Colo.
• July 19, 1 - 4 PM, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Albuquerque.
• July 20, 1 - 4 PM, Runnels Building (Larrazolo Auditorium), Santa Fe.
• July 23, 10 AM - 1 PM, Shiprock Chapter House.
• July 23, 5 - 8 PM, Nenahnezad Chapter House.
• July 24, 10 AM - 1 PM, Burnham Chapter House.
• July 24, 5 - 8 PM, Veterans Memorial Center, Sanostee, N.M.
• July 25, 10 AM - 1 PM, Navajo Nation Museum, Window Rock.

You can download a copy of the draft EIS here, where you can also submit written comments about the proposed project. The closing date for comments is Aug. 20, 2007.

Also of interest is a recent that describes how the originally scheduled hearings were abruptly postponed without word getting to the Navajo activists who intended to testify, many of whom traveled many miles to attend the hearing orginally set for June 18. The article also reports on the process for plant approval and had this to say about the draft EIS:

The draft environmental impact statement, a document about the size of the Phoenix phonebook, analyzes how the power plant would affect the surrounding environment and people under various development scenarios. A technical consultant funded by Sithe Global and the DinŽ Power Authority prepared the EIS, which is required under federal law.

It concludes that there will be adverse impacts but that these would be outweighed by the benefits of job creation and revenue for the tribal government.

Opponents fault the study for inadequate research and misleading conclusions, and say it dodges the most significant question of this era - how the power plant would contribute to global warming.

You can find most of our previous posts on the Desert Rock Power plant in this archive.

June 27, 2007 at 02:01 PM in Corporatism, Energy, Environment, Local Politics, Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Video and More: Honor the Earth in NM, AZ

After their Santa Fe concert last month, the Indigo Girls performed at Honor the Earth clean energy benefit events in Shiprock and Flagstaff. Amy Ray provides a report and videos about the events via their e-news:

Notes from Amy Ray of Indigo Girls:
We had a couple of really successful Honor the Earth shows in the Southwest last month. Both of these shows were held to benefit a renewable energy future in Native Communities. As a lot of you know, this has been a main focus for Honor since its inception. In these times of growing awareness and access to more resources for wind and solar development, we feel even more excitement than usual for what can be achieved in Indian Country.

Shiprock, NM: We started out in Shiprock, New Mexico in Navajo country where communities have been in a stand off with Sithe Global Power and the Dine Power Authority over construction of a new coal fired power plant at Desert Rock. A group of hardy folks have been camped out since December where the proposed plant would be. This plant would drain the water aquifer even further and contribute an alarming amount of pollutants to the struggling atmosphere of the Four Corners Region where numerous other power plants already exist. The communities suffer from respiratory diseases and cancers from the current coal industry. They have continuously been asked to trade their health and ecosystem for an economy. The money raised from this show went to: Dooda Desert Rock Committee, Operation Desert Rock, Dine Citizens Against Ruining the Environment (DINE Care), and Utah Dine Bikeya Committee.

Earl Tulley, Winona LaDuke and Lori Goodman

The event was a total communal effort with all the groups tabling in the lobby, Winona LaDuke speaking, and the Hopi Reggae band Casper opening the show. We ended the night with a Q and A between the audience and the beneficiaries that quickly turned into a really interesting public forum.

Earl Tulley, Amy, Elouise Brown, Lori Goodman and Emily

Video from Shiprock Honor the Earth:

• Shiprock Part 1
• Shiprock Part 2
• Shiprock Part 3
• Shiprock Part 4

Flagstaff, AZ: We drove on our bio-diesel fueled bus to Flagstaff, Arizona for the next show. This show was the second half of the “turning bad energy to good” equation. Proceeds benefited Native groups within the Just Transition Coalition, such as the Black Mesa Water Coalition. The Just Transition plan is a totally brilliant model of how to shift to renewable energy. The Coalition developed this strategy when a super polluting power plant called the Mojave Generating Station closed down in Laughlin, Nevada. This plant served Southern California’s power needs, but it did it by destroying the health and ecosystem of the Hopi and Dine people. When the plant was forced to close due to work by groups such as the Sierra Club, this team of strategists developed a plan that would take the revenues from the sale of Southern California Edison’s sulfur credits and turn the to good use.

So Cal Edison received credits when the plant closed, these can be sold to other polluters that need them. It’s sort of a bad system of big profits that allows those with the money to keep polluting but it can also be used for good like in this case-where the money could go to the Hopi and Dine communities that sacrificed for decades to provide cheap power to the customers of So Cal Edison. This revenue from the sale of sulfur credits could amount to as much as 20 million dollars a year and give immediate relief for lost water and coal royalties, lost jobs from the closure, and support the building of a renewable energy industry in this region, which would provide jobs and income.

What has been the most striking to see is that these communities don’t even use much of the power they generate. Many of them are still living off the grid and the rest don’t benefit because most of the power is transported off the reservations. After draining the water aquifers and poisoning the earth and sky, this plan would usher in a new energy economy to the Dine and Hopi people, who have suffered the most for the sake of our energy needs. I think the Just Transition is a model for turning the tide of our energy future.

Members of the Just Transition Coalition and allies in Flagstaff

The show itself was very festive. Hoop dancer, Nakotah LaRance opened the event, Sonaya and the People’s Crew played a set of world music, Winona spoke, and we ended the night with an IG music set. We had an auction to sing with us that raised about $4,700. Cheers to Jamie Gillette, Michelle Picini, Kerry Gilbert, and Teresa Murphy for donating the money and doing a fine rendition of Closer to Fine.

Video from Shiprock Honor the Earth

Editor's Note: To learn more about the battle against the Desert Rock Power Plant visit the Dooda Desert Rock website. For more info on the work of the Just Transition Coalition, visit the . Make a donation. Write a letter to the editor and Governor. Get involved.

June 14, 2007 at 10:34 PM in Energy, Environment, Music, Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, April 23, 2007

UNM Native American Heritage Festival Starts Today

From UNM Today:
Join the University of New Mexico’s celebration of Native American culture and heritage at the 52nd annual Nizhoni Days April 23-29. All events are free and open to the pulbic. The festivities open on Monday, April 23 with an all day Native American Film Makers Showcase beginning at 10 AM and the Miss Indian UNM pageant at 6 PM in Student Union building ballroom C.

Other events include the Indigenous Nations Library Program lecture series featuring musician, activist and entrepreneur Tom Bee at Noon and 3 PM on Tuesday, April 24; “Weaving Worlds” by Bennie Klain, a film premiere in SUB ballroom C at 6:30 PM on Thursday, April 26; Native Xperience in SUB ballroom C at 6 PM on Friday, April 27; and the Sin Fronteras Film Festival. Capping off the weeks’ events is the Nizhoni Days Honoring our Alumni Pow Wow on Johnson Field, starting at Noon on Sunday, April 29.

“Nizhoni Days is a celebration of Native thought and presence on and off the UNM campus and of Native American culture both traditional and contemporary,” said Kellen Shelendewa, president of UNM’s Kiva Club. “Nizhoni, a Diné (Navajo) word meaning beautiful, exemplifies what the week represents.”

Sponsored and organized by the Kiva Club since the 1950s, Nizhoni Days demonstrate the wealth of Native American achievements in the arts, activism, politics, academics and culture.

For more information contact kiva@unm.edu or 277-7236

Today's Albuquerque Journal adds some detail for several of the events:

• The premiere of the film "Weaving Worlds" by Bennie Klain at 6 p.m. Thursday in SUB ballroom C. The film explores personal stories of Navajo weavers and their relationships with reservation traders;
     
• The Native Xperience Concert will begin at 6 p.m. Friday in SUB ballroom C. Besides musical performances, the night will feature the documentary "When Your Hands Are Tied";
     
• Sin Fronteras Film Festival beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday at City on the Hill Theatre, 3007 Central Ave. NE;

April 23, 2007 at 09:20 AM in Native Americans | Permalink | Comments (0)

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