Much of the idea behind this trip came from an experience we had last summer when I interned with
Keepers of the Mountains. We started out by attending the Week in Washington, then to the
Mountain Justice Summer Camp. During these we were invited by our good friend Kim of the
RAMPS Campaign to travel to the Navajo Reservation, to Black Mesa, to learn about and help the Navajo (Dineh) people fight against forced relocation by Peabody Coal Company and their expansive mining.
Thanks to the efforts of the RAMPS Campaign and the people of
Black Mesa Indigenous Support we were given a life changing experience as a family.
We lived on the reservation, atop the Black Mesa as the elders do, with no electricity, no running water, no access to water other than hauling it in by pickup trucks. For one week, we helped the Dineh elders with their chores, herding and sheering sheep, fixing food, feeding horses, and meeting dozens of other people from other struggles. We learned how people are still being treated, how terrible things are for some.
Right now, the Big Mountain Training Camp is going on and we were unable to attend due to the children's school schedules, but none the less, our thoughts are with them, amongst the Pinion and Juniper, in the struggle to save the land, the need for a better energy future.
Please watch this video.
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