Relevant stakeholders from various parts of the Navajo Nation congregated near the nation’s council hall in Window Rock, Arizona on a recent Monday. Their aim was to express their discontentment and disappointment with Navajo President Buu Nygren’s sudden endorsement of Donald Trump’s executive policy focused on reviving U.S. coal industry. Unfortunately, President Nygren had jetted off to Washington, D.C. His office cited the reason as ‘interaction with our federal partners’, thus he wasn’t present to face the disgruntled Navajo Nation Council in their inaugural meeting.
The absence of President Nygren escalated the frustration among the advocates who couldn’t personally share their worries with him. They vociferously voiced their concerns during Monday’s speeches, critiquing the Nygren administration’s recent covert deal with Energy Fuels. This uranium company acquired permission to transfer uranium ore across the Navajo Nation, in return for a fee and a pledge to clean up deserted uranium mines within the Navajo domain.
As a result of this late January agreement, a numerous array of trucks laden with uranium ore and other materials can be seen regularly crossing the western part of the Navajo Nation. These trucks transport the material from a mine situated near the Grand Canyon, all the way to a mill located in Utah. The agreement also extends to the eastern part of the Navajo Nation residing in New Mexico, contingent upon the sanction of an anticipated large uranium mine near Mount Taylor.
This proposed venture, christened the Roca Honda Mine, has recently been knighted as a ‘priority project’ at the Cibola National Forest. Trump’s executive order designed to escalate domestic energy output has contributed to this. In addition to the controversial uranium transportation deal, the advocates pointed out that Nygren endorsed Trump’s ‘Reinitiating America’s Majestic Clean Coal Industry’ executive order during the previous week.
One of the advocates, Percy Deal, delivered a speech in both English and Navajo during Monday’s rally. He reviled Peabody Energy’s coal mining operations starting from the 1960s, for depleting an immeasurable quantity of water from an aquifer his community in the northeast Black Mesa plateau in Arizona has depended on for generations.
Moreover, Mr. Deal shed light on the contribution of said operations to climate change. What disturbed and alarmed him was Nygren’s support for executive orders that boost coal production, carried out without seeking insights from individuals like him who have borne the adverse impacts of coal extraction. ‘It appears as if all these matters are now in the hands of Mr. yellow hair. The saddest bit is that he never spoke to any of us. Never did,’ Mr. Deal shared with the attendees.
President Nygren, by way of response, offered a written defense stating, ‘I accepted the invitation [to the White House] because the three executive orders that President Trump signed are intended to advance America’s dominance in energy.’ He justified his stance by stating that the Navajo Nation has been embedded in the energy framework of the United States for a century.
He further argued, ‘Our lands possess natural resources and transmission lines, also known as the grid. We will eternally be a component of the American energy framework. Hence, Navajo’s voice and involvement in these negotiations are essential.’ However, the advocates highlight Nygren’s pronouncements as utterly contradictory to the language on his official website, which outlines his priorities for the environment.
His website asserts, ‘Mitigating the impacts of climate change on Navajo land is our obligation, and the Nygren Administration will vouch for the empowerment of Navajo community voices to safeguard our water, air, and land.’ This stark contrast seems to have struck a wrong cord with the advocates.
Taking center stage at the rally, Larry J. King, who hails from Church Rock, shared that he once served in the uranium mines in New Mexico. In 1979, he was witness to the United Nuclear spill there, which stands as the largest accidental radiation release in the United States.
Mr. King expressed that Nygren, who commenced his presidential term in January 2023, repeatedly assured during his election campaign to clear off the uranium mine waste from his community at Red Water Pond. However, Mr. King claims that these assurances were not met and his calls were sidelined. This is why Mr. King views Nygren’s promises of the new transport agreement resulting in the cleanup of legacy uranium mines in areas like Red Water Pond with a pinch of salt.
He interprets Nygren’s recent endorsements as a sheer violation of his promises and a snub to his constituents. ‘He’s simply doing a turnaround, supporting all these industries that aim to barge in and despoil,’ stated Mr. King. Those in attendance at the rally could not help but wonder, is the energy dominance holders so proudly proclaim beneficial if it compromised the interests and well-being of their own constituents?