Gallup attorney David Jordan filed a suit against the Zuni Pueblo on behalf of Tomicita Woodie Aug. 9.

The complaint, which specifically mentions Zuni Gov. Val R. Panteah, alleges that Panteah engaged in multiple abuses of his authority as governor.

The allegations stem from a grievance that Woodie filed Jan. 12.

“I have been targeted by Governor Panteah for vicious retaliation because I filed a grievance against him,” Woodie said.

In her complaint, Woodie alleged that Panteah created a hostile work environment for her by threatening her job. The threats related to the Hazard Pay for employees of the Pueblo of Zuni.

Woodie was concerned that Panteah was pressuring her to...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – President Kelsey Begaye, Navajo Nation Council Speaker, Navajo Nation President, and a Naat’áanii, passed away in Flagstaff, Ariz. Aug. 13 at the age of 70 due to natural causes.

Begaye was born on Jan. 7, 1951 in Kaibeto, Ariz. He was Tódich’ii’nii and born for Tł’ízí łání. Prior to his public service, Begaye served in the Vietnam War as a member of the United States Army. He later became a substance abuse counselor, helping many young people to overcome drug and alcohol abuse.

Prior to being elected President, he also served as a local school board member, President and Secretary/Treasurer for Kaibeto Chapter, and two-terms as the Speaker of...

The conclusion of the follow up to the story “A century of federal indifference left generations of Navajo homes without running water”

The first piece of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project began running in October.

Water came first to Huerfano, the closest community to the source, at the start of a six-month testing phase. Other communities will come online this year, all the way to Jicarilla Apache land.

For some communities, the project means access to running water. For others, the groundwater quality is poor, so this connects residents with water they might actually enjoy drinking, moves them off increasingly strained groundwater wells, and reduces risk of exposure to...

Week ending Friday, August 13, 2021

 

Decarbonize Now

Because the world ignored for decades the calls from climate scientists to curb carbon emissions, a new UN climate assessment warns that global heating is now at “code red” for humanity. It says the deepening climate crisis will see Earth’s average temperature reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by around 2030, a decade earlier than predicted three years ago. With increasing heat waves, wildfires and floods making headlines around the world, calls for immediate and decisive climate action are growing louder. “This report  must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our...