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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Navajo Nation leaders have again come out in opposition to a federal decision to ban oil and gas drilling on lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historic Park in northwestern New Mexico.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and Speaker Crystalyne Curley released a joint statement condemning the decision and urging President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to reconsider what they called "a breach of trust." The statement comes a few weeks after Navajo Nation lawmakers passed legislation opposing such a ban.
"The decision is unjust and may violate individual landowner rights (Navajo allottees)," the statement reads. "President Nygren respectfully requests the Biden administration work toward a solution that respects the rights and dignity of the Navajo people due to the long-lasting consequences to the Navajo people."
The Biden administration announced the 20-year ban Friday, touting the decision as a means to protect cultural and historic resources that are sacred to the Navajo, or Diné people, and the Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico.
Other tribal communities in the area, namely the Pueblo Tribes and the Hopi Tribe, as well as some Navajo tribal members and a number of environmentalists, have voiced support for a ban. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo. The decision is also a win for New Mexico's congressional delegation, which reintroduced legislation last month to formalize the same buffer around the park.
The ban only applies to federal public lands in a 10-mile radius around the park and doesn't impact existing leases, which some tribal members rely on for their livelihood. However, critics argue that the checkerboard layout of land ownership in the area will negatively impact the Navajo Nation, which oversees much of the land that surrounds the national park, and individual Navajo allottees who were allotted the land by the federal government generations ago.
"The secretary's action undermines our sovereignty and self-determination," Nygren said. "Despite my concerns and denunciation, the Department of Interior has moved forward, which is highly disappointing. Secretary Haaland's decision impacts Navajo allottees but also disregards the tribe's choice to lease lands for economic development. Ultimately, this decision jeopardizes future economic opportunities while at the same time placing some 5,600 Navajo allottees in dire financial constraints."
Today, Speaker of the 25th Navajo Nation Crystalyne Curley & I, issued a statement denouncing Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland's decision to impose a 10-mile freeze around Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Her decision undermines our sovereignty and self-determination. pic.twitter.com/akD9wJHCN0
— Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren (@BuuVanNygren) June 2, 2023
Navajo mineral owners could lose an estimated $194.3 million over the period of the ban, according to a December 2022 statement from Western Energy Alliance. However, former Navajo Council Delegate Mark Freeland reported during an April 2022 government-to-government consultation meeting that the ban would impact 53 individual allotments, generating $6.2 million a year in royalties for approximately 5,462 allottees. It is estimated that 418 unleased allotments are also associated with about 16,615 allottees, and the withdrawal could adversely affect well over 22,000 allottees, reports AZ Central.
Meanwhile, a Bureau of Land Management environmental assessment found that fewer than a dozen Navajo allottees will be highly impacted by the decision, 39 could see moderate impacts, and 177 could see low impacts. The majority, over 1,000, wouldn't be impacted, according to the assessment.
The Navajo Nation completed its own study last year and previously advocated for a smaller area to be set aside for the oil and gas leasing ban. Curley said the Navajo Nation "strongly disagrees" with the Interior Department's assertion that there was significant consultation with tribal nations prior to the announcement of the ban.
"The current resolution and position of the Navajo Nation supports no land withdrawal. In the past, the Navajo Nation attempted to compromise by proposing a 5-mile buffer as opposed to the 10-mile," Curley said. "While we explore our options, we remain open to discussing a path toward compromise."
