Indian Relocation in Arizona

In addressing the issue of forced relocation of Native Americans in your editorial (July 13), “Hopi vs. Navajo,” The Times has apparently gotten caught up in some misconceptions while voicing a concern over the tragic conditions that exist at Big Mountain, Ariz.

The title of the editorial and the term “land dispute” are both misleading. The Hopi Tribunal Council, set up originally by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), would like the Navajos to leave the land at Big Mountain so that they can sell it to Peabody Coal Co. and Kerr-McGee for coal and uranium mining. The Hopi traditional elders (by custom, the spokespersons for the tribe) have declared their opposition to such an invasion of their land and the Navajo people have declared their opposition to such a sell-out. So there is unity among Hopi and Navajo traditionals in their determination to preserve the land in its natural state.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has challenged the will of the people to remain in their homeland by slaughtering their sheep and plowing under agricultural land, both essential to survival. It is now reported that people are starving in outlying areas of the reservation.

We do need the help of members of Congress, to introduce legislation repealing Public Law 93-531, ending a relocation program that has, so far, wasted enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money and caused physical and mental hardship to many Navajos. To say that “this must be left to the Indians themselves” is to oversimplify matters, since this whole tragedy originated with a piece of U.S. legislation and must be addressed through legislative procedures.

KATHLEEN LYONS

Santa Monica