Thursday, August 30, 2007

Navajo President praises water rights report

For Immediate Release: August 27, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., praises Arizona Republic for special report spotlighting Navajo water rights, needs
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- ­On Sunday and Monday, the Arizona Republic published a two-part, 4,500-word special report titled "Navajo Nation Crisis" about the Navajo Nation's efforts to assert its water rights to bring drinking water to its people.
The paper reports that, if approved by Congress, Navajo settlements would result in the largest Indian water rights settlement in history.
Written by the Republic's water and environment reporter, Shaun McKinnon,the stories begin with a description of an elderly Navajo grandmother who ran out of water and had to endure a weekend without any.
"Ethel Whitehair ran out of water again over the weekend, emptied every bucket and pot, drained the barrels lined up outside her front door," Mr.McKinnon wrote. "The community well was closed until Monday."
"Water from a well at a nearby windmill could supply the sheep, but it was untreated and made Whitehair's skin itch. At another windmill down the road,vandals had torn the cover off the storage tank. Deep inside, a car battery steeped in the soupy dregs, the surface stirred by the bloated bodies of three dead crows.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532