Navajo Times (Newspaper) - May 12, 1982, Window Rock, Arizona Americas Indian Weekly VOLUME 24 NUMBER 20 Copyright the Navajo Times Publishing BOX WINDOW ARIZONA 86515 TIMES MAY 1982 Federal Commissioner says Relocation is like Nazi concentration camps By Jerry Kammer Times Correspondent relocation commissioner Roger Lewis last Friday called the relocation of Navajos from lands awar ded to the Hopi Tribe a tragic thing and said he sometimes feels the commission is as bad as the people who ran the concentration camps in World War Lewis said the task of carrying out the congressionally mandated relocation program is an unpleasant chore and called on officials of the Navajo and Hopi tribes to negotiate changes in the new boun dary in order to reduce the number of people who must relocate from the former Joint Use Interviewed Monday evening by Lewis said the commission intends to present specific proposals for land ex changes to negotiating teams from the two tribes on May 21 in The aim of the proposals will be to reduce the num ber of families who must he At the instigation of the relocation and a federal in negotiations were begun in the middle of The talks quickly and the two tribes have not met The main people Im concerned with are the Navajo express frustration with relocation an man whose with lile at Flagstaff has become a symbol of Navajo frustration with set the mood when he said through an Relocation is nothing but and other Navajos Irom the Hopi portion of former Joint Use Area testified at a public hearing Thursday on the problems being laced by Navajos who have ac federal benefits to leave their Chair man Peter MacDonald al the afternoon session of the allday joining tribal from whose land has been lost I opart it Hosteen said that lie has been unable to meet the bills that are an inevitable part of off reservation His water has been turned and lie has been threatened with loss of heal lor his house in suburban He said thai when he left his home in I he Tolani Lake chapter lour year was unaware of the problems he would who has called his new home a prison and who has complained o feeling alien and alone in the restated a warning he has given several limes to who have until 10 leave land par to the Hopis I am urging all of you here today noi to He said lie has finally received approval for a homesite lease in Tuba where he will live near relatives alter selling the home pur chased for him by the federal relocation com John another said life off he reservation has caused our children to lose all concept of the real Navajo way and said he fears losing his home because he is unable to pay property taxes on Because of our way of life has been greatly Williams There is Continued on page 5 grazing families who will find it very difficult to find peace under any cir if they have to Lewis At last Fridays meeting Lewis spoke emotionally and with obvious pain about the task assigned to him and the two other relocation Hawley Atkinson and Sandra Here is what I many Lewis said of the congressionally mandated program to relocate Navajos from the area by I feel that in moving some of these elderly that I I feel that our staff sometimes we ane as bad as the people who ran the concentration camps in World War That feeling leads me to hope that the Navajo and Hopi negotiators can somehow agree on changing the partition he Lewiss statements were the highlight of a tly emotional meeting marked by a charge by Flagstaff private in Lake Headley that the commission had purchased guns and become a police and in The meeting also featured ver bal sparring between the commissioners and Leon the commissions former executive director who now directs a special land dispute task force for the Navajo The commission also endorsed the Navajo Tribes application for New Mexicos Paragon Ranch as a relocation site and called on Interior Secretary James Watt to transfer the land to the tribe Recalls Meeting After the Lewis elaborated on his feelings about recalling a meeting last year with members of the commission staff who were feeling remorse about the need to relocate traditional I told I know exactly how you Lewis feeland its the same feeling I Sometimes 1 feel like Im running a World War II German concentration I think that most people on that staff at times feel that what were cant say its not And we dont Standby status at UNC results in 450 layoffs CHURCH of the United Nuclear facing the reality of a depression in the uranium announced last week that were put ting their Church Rock facility on standby Navajo Relocatee Hosteen Nez testified in Flagstaff last Thursday that relocation is nothing but har This will they in layoffs to some 450 of its 560 employees for an indefinite During the past ter notices were sent out to almost 230 em The Church Rock the largest uranium milling operation in the follows the course taken by several other uranium mining operations in the Gallup Grants area during the past several Mining officials estimate that during the past year some 60 to 70 percent of those employed in the area have been laid Thomas division president for UNC Mining and said thai the company will keep 75 to 125 employees on payroll to keep the mill and mine in operable so that when market con ditions do the facility will be able to be UNC officials said they will be spending the next couple of weeks deter mining who among those remaining at the plant will be laid said the company has to take into consideration an employees seniority plans hospital structure repairs WINDOW ROCKNa vajo area Indian Health Service officials said Mon day that structural problems at several area hospitals will be corrected in the near future with the use of Medicaid and Medicare Shiprock Hospital is plagued with problems the Shiprock Indian Health Service hospital strives to provide quality health doctors and nurses here feel frustrated and a bit Why Because of limited funding due to budget cuts in federally funded programs and the situation where hospital staff and must cope with the present problems for an indefinite Operating on about ess than last years the staff is constantly coping with outdated equipment and The 22 year old hospital facility is too old for health care This years million funds the operation of three clinics and the With an increasing number of patients coming in for medical at the doctors and nurses are They have a good reason to sin ce with an inadequate facility and equipment to handle the many of the patients are referred to other hospitals on the reservation and to surrounding Even if the hospital Continued on Done IS Little Bears May Celebration Continues Last Chance to registar for Free house to be given away on Saturday May IS Savings in every department gifts or grads Utle Bears Tr Company Utle Bears Plaza Gallup John ac ting area said that his office is aware of the need to maintain struc tural safety at all of the IHS facilities all of the These structural problems present no danger to patient he although some hospital administrators and doctors have com that they are worried if the problems become any more they For at the Fort Defiance one of the oldest hospitals in the said there were a lot of structural problems that were in need of There needs to be some elevator some replacing of the wiring needs to be replaced in some sec tions and some work has to be done on the parking he There also needs to be some work done at he in expansion of the laboratory and xray As long as we can prove that the repairs directly affect patient we can use Medicaid and Medicare The problem will be o find funds for needed renovation like the parking Medicaid and Medicare funds come from patients who are eligible for care under these The IHS for the past two or three years has been billing the federal agencies for care they have given to eligible earning a couple of million dollars in extra revenue The first reduction In the these renovation problems have been paid for out of the regular IHS the million or so the Navajo Area gets each year to operate but because of cutbacks in this years there have been no funds available to do anything but maintain present Its been a difficult said who came in with the task of operating the Navajo area for the first it had had its budget reduced by five We were able to ac the reduction by reducing our area office staff by 20 percent while reducing staff at the ser vice level only two and a half said Por Under the budget proposed by President Reagan for next the IHS would once again he getting an increase big said to meet the costs of in and a little hit It is not as much as IHS of If Congress goes along with Reagans proposals for IHS and if it approves Continued on page 5 This will mean that some employees with seniority be given a chance to lake a job under their own classification for less if the em ployee so Bailey stressed that the decision to shut down the facility wa based on market conditions and had nothing to do with the uranium tailings spill that occurred at the plant in spill resulted in more than 100 million gallons of radioactive water being spilled into the Rio Puerco near Gallup and traveling about 30 miles west of the mill Some 100 Navajo families are now suing UNC for damages as a result of this since that UNC has been having difficulty main any kind of share in the uranium market and has had to reduce its per by more than 500 even before the latest layoffs were Bailey pointed that the price for uranium has been dropping steadily since then as from about per ton to the price now of about per As to when the Church Rock facility will said that there is no was of telling that right now I he uranium market would be well he once uranium prices hit per ton but even UNC would have to be certain that if it produces uranium it would be able to sell all it Continued on page 3 know if its I think everybody on that staff would like to see some other the two tribes getting together and throwing in some land Responding to statement that the commission had pur chased com missioner Sandra Masset to acknowledged that weapons had been pur chased but said she knew nothing about it and that the guns have since been removed from the com missions possession at the direction of the com After the meeting Berger said ten Smith and Wesson caliber had been purchased with his during his tenure as the com missions executive He said the guns were for the potential use of an emergency management team consisting of com mission That team was directed by Dave a for mer naval intelligence of ficer who is now the tor of the commissions technical services No weapons are needed Williams said alter Fridays I think that at the present time though theres a lot of are not having the incidents of controversy we were seeing Nor do we see the numbers of outside flocking to the area to take part in the Headley does in Continued on page 3 Chinle Hospital is on schedule CHIN met ion of the new Indian Health Service hospital here con to be on schedule and Navajo Area IHS of say they expect to be able It start providing services at the facility by September or Huns i he good I he bad news is that the stall housing problem is si ill hovering over the project and il may be another iwo years or more belore the entire hospital will be open for We plan to I he clinic operations to the new building ai the end of this John acting area li will he stal led seven davs a 24 hours a day and will serve as both an outpatient facility and an emergency He estimated that only about 25 percent of the 60 bed built at a cost of almost will be used when the facility is opened later this The he will have to wait until more staff housing is The housing problem has not been Marlene spent a good part of her last year as director trying Continued on page 3 at the shiprock IHS hospital shows a homemade board used as back rest for patients in the delivery companying and more pictures oa page 15 A Plate Steak Dinner By Committee to elect Raymond Tso for chair Navajo Tribal Purpose Campaign Fund Raising Place Steakhouse 666 South New Mexico Date May All are
