[News] Hopi are true environmentalists

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Hopi are true environmentalists

Posted by 
<http://narcosphere.narconews.com/users/brenda-norrell>Brenda Norrell 
- September 30, 2009 at 5:47 pm
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2009/09/hopi-are-true-environmentalists

By Brenda Norrell

When the news was released that the Hopi Tribal Council had banned 
environmentalists today, it was a sure sign that Hopi struggling to 
defend the land, along with their colleagues, were making progress 
against coal mining and power plants on sacred lands.

Alph H. Secakuku, Sipalulovi council representative from Second Mesa, 
released the following statement. Secakuku says Hopi are the best 
environmentalists, despite the current political coup:

Comments by Alph H. Secakuku, Sipaulovi Council Representative, 
Village of Sipaulovi, Second Mesa, AZ, Hopiland,  September 30, 2009:

"The Hopi/Tewa people have always considered themselves to be the 
best environmentalists in the world.
We made a sacred covenant with Maasaw, our Supreme Being, to be good 
stewards of the Fourth World we live in today.

We, as people, all have the responsibility of being Caretakers of 
Mother Earth.  You care for it and take from it only what you need, 
and it will provide for you.

I never thought I would see the day when being "Hopi" meant being 
anti-environment, pro-big corporate energy, and actually promoting 
pollution and global warming in favor of dollars/money.

This is the new world image of Hopi, thanks to Scott Canty, Nada 
Talayumptewa, Phillip Quotshytewa, Mary Felter, Ivan Sidney, Sr., and 
the rest of the illegally constituted Hopi Tribal Council...in 
essence, a coup.

It is a sad day for Hopi/Tewa people, and I am disappointed.

We, the Hopi/Tewa people, have worked closely for many years with our 
allies from the environmental community to protect sacred lands from 
development and to stop uranium mining from poisoning our 
water.  Water is life, therefore, it is sacred.

We will continue to work together-tribal communities and other clean 
energy jobs advocates-to bring green economic development to our 
lands that respects our air and water.
Together with our partners in the environmental community, we are 
working to secure long term solution to energy, health and water 
issues in northern Arizona by cleaning up dirty coal plants and 
promoting solar and wind projects on the reservations.  The time to 
transition from dirty old coal plants to clean energy from the wind 
and the sun is now.

We see a positive future ahead with results like the Navajo Nation's 
recent unanimous green jobs resolution and will continue to support 
clean energy projects with Navajo and Hopi communities.
We all know that climate change is predicted to bring hotter and 
drier conditions to the Colorado Plateau, an area which may see even 
greater temperature increases than the rest of the country.  This 
threatens our water supplies and livelihoods.

Working together to stop global warming pollution from coal-fired 
power plants is vital to future generations.  Now is the time to look 
forward and plan to transition existing coal plants to cleaner power.
Hopi Organizational Political Initiative (H.O.P.I.) is a united, 
strong, clear, organized and non-partisan voice made up of members of 
the Hopi/Tewa community both on and off the reservation.  It is there 
to serve as conduit for the Hopi/Tewa people to effectively raise 
concerns and resolve issues that affect the Hopi/Tewa people.  It 
promotes issues and emerging concerns primarily within the Hopi 
tribal government, but also with the local state and federal 
governments.  As such, we support all political candidates who seek 
public office who will address the concerns of the 
communities.  H.O.P.I. mission is to insure that we impact policy 
regarding the issue of concern and quality of life to our community 
and future generations.
Chairman Benjamin H. Nuvamsa and Vice-Chairman Todd Honyaoma, Sr., 
both resigned on December 31, 2008.  Hopi Tribal Constitution, 
ARTICLE IV, Section 1-mandates the "Hopi Tribal Council shall consist 
of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Representatives from various 
villages."  Without a chairman and vice-chairman, there can be no 
constitutionally authorized council to conduct meetings.

The Hopi Bylaws, Article 1-states "The Chairman shall preside over 
all meetings of the Tribal Council..."  Clearly the delegated 
authorities do not include designating a member of the council to be 
the "Presiding Officer".  In fact, it expressly forbids it.  This was 
a form of check and balance to prevent council from taking complete 
control of the government as is happening now.

It does not take a legal expert to interpret what the above Article 
means.  It simply means that no legislative sessions can be conducted 
in the absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman under the current 
Hopi Constitution and By-laws.  The council cannot legally conduct 
business, appoint people to run the so-called "interim government," 
expend tribal and federal funds, or accept federal grants and contracts.
ARTICLE V, Section 2-mandates that filling vacancies in the office of 
the Chairman and Vice-Chairman that may occur for any reason, "shall 
be filled for the rest of the term in the same manner as those 
officers are ordinarily chosen."  This mandate does not allow for any 
discretion on the part of the council.  Council has no authority to 
decide that it simply is not convenient to hold an election to fill 
the vacancies.  Yet, this is precisely what they have done.

Had the illegal "interim council" not interfered in the activities of 
the Election Board by refusing to allow them to conduct a special 
election, the objective of this Article would have been fulfilled and 
the current vacancies of our top officials would have been filled and 
the people would have had new duly elected leadership in office by 
the first week of April 2009.  This would have met the Constitutional 
requirement and we would already have a legitimate fully functional government.

On December 28, 2008, the illegally functioning Hopi council enacted 
Resolution H-007-09 setting up an interim tribal government.  The 
rhetoric of the resolution was carefully crafted to create the 
illusion of a legitimate justification for illegal acts.  The illegal 
council used the resolution as a deliberate and illegal way of 
reviving outdated practices established in the original 1936 Hopi 
Constitution which has since been formally amended to eliminate those 
practices."




Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20091001/31599161/attachment.htm>