I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission has published a report about race relations in towns bordering the reservation. The commission conducted 25 listening sessions over the course of a year, hearing from anyone who chose to speak about racism and discrimination. Of the 25 towns highlighted in the report, 12 are in New Mexico. The process was described as an opening of “forbidden doors” against candid discussions of racism and discrimination, which the commission says will thrive among mankind until it’s collectively acknowledged and eliminated.
A number of key issues surfaced in the testimony presented at the hearings. These include the problems faced by Navajo families forcibly relocated from their ancestral land; the threat posed by development to sacred sites; environmental hazards; and a prevalence of unsolved deaths of Navajos. A key recommendation is that the border towns establish official agreements for ongoing cooperation with the Commission.
The Commission also raised the issue of economic development, characterizing as “staggering” the amount of Navajo money spent off the reservation. While unemployment is at 49 percent, the Navajo Nation government spends approximately $64 million annually with off-reservation businesses. The overall annual personal income on the Navajo Nation is $1.6 billion, and about 70 percent of that is spent in border towns.
“The Commission finds this staggering,” the report states, while providing an analogy of a river overflowing its banks:
There is no attempt to divert or minimize the flow to allow for the development of the land for farming and eventual growth of vegetation that could be used to feed a growing nation. Instead, the people take from the river only what they need for the day. Enormous opportunities are lost each day as the water flows away from the people.
The issue of economic development is critical, the Commission states in the report, due to the economic conditions found on the reservation:
Indigenous communities are the most economically depressed communities in the United States and the Navajo Nation is no different. No other area in America suffers more from inadequate infrastructure and economic development opportunities than Indian Country. Third world conditions compare in employment rates, lack of education and inadequate healthcare are some examples of social conditions Indian Nations are confronted with.
Noting that young Navajo entrepreneurs expressed frustration with the lack of development support, the Commission suggests in the report that an income tax be enacted that is specifically earmarked for infrastructure and economic development within the territory of the Navajo Nation.
