by Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Director
Sitting at an Earth Day information table on the South Rim last month, Renae Yellowhorse answered the same question—over and over: “How can we stop it?” Two days later, Navajo voters answered.
April’s election of Russell Begaye as Navajo Nation president is a significant setback for Escalade, the proposed mega resort and tramway on Grand Canyon’s east rim. It effectively ends promoters’ multi-year push for approval, which gained momentum under the Joe Shirley/Ben Shelly administration (2007-2011) and reached its apex under President Shelly's four years in office. Shelly was the only elected official to ever endorse Escalade. Out of touch with his constituents, he finished seventh in the presidential primary election last September.
Today, Begaye takes office during an inaguration ceremony in Fort Definace, Arizona. The political landscape on the Navajo Nation is still uncertain given the new administration, but the voices of Navajo residents who oppose Escalade are being heard.
When you talk about Escalade or any projects out there, we need to involve … the voice of the local people, rather than allowing big corporations to make those decisions. Yes, we’re trying to create jobs, but we’re doing it in the wrong places and in the wrong way, and [Escalade] is one of those.
– Russell Begaye, campaign statement
Save the Confluence family members have spent thousands of hours traipsing across the reservation to do radio programs, attend council meetings, and meet with community leaders, journalists, presidential candidates, and anyone who might lend a hand in stopping the Navajo Nation from approving Escalade. During the four years that outside developers have been trying to obtain the council’s necessary approval, not a single delegate has ever spoken in support of the project or sponsored the legislation required to approve it.
Delores Wilson-Aguirre, Earlene Reid, and a tenacious band of opposing residents and grazing permit holders earned candidate Begaye's support through regular briefings before the election. In the Bodaway/Gap Chapter, where the development is proposed, Begaye out-polled Joe Shirley by more than a two-to-one margin. Tuchoney Slim, their newly elected council representative, is also opposed to the project.
The campaign to defeat Escalade is not over. A fleet of black jeeps carrying interested investors on their way out to visit the proposed site of the project was recently intercepted by a local sheepherder. Escalade lobbyists are still courting council delegates. And there’s talk of a revised development plan in the works. But the reign of Escalade advocates employed within the Navajo president’s office, is over…at least for now.
With your continued support, the Save the Confluence coalition will keep educating the new administration and work to permanently prevent development below the entire eastern rim of Marble Canyon, down to the confluence.
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