Village of Hotevilla formally rejects SB 2109
Unprecedented move by Hopi traditional village a first in disapproving LCR settlement

HOTEVILLA, Ariz. - Exercising its aboriginal sovereignty rights, the traditional village of Hotevilla, Third Mesa has formally rejected the Hopi tribal approval of SB 2109, making it the first of 12 villages located on the Hopi Reservation to formally notify the Hopi Tribal Council of its disapproval of any further action or legislative movement on its behalf.

In a formal village meeting held on May 21 at a regular meeting of the village community, Hotevilla adopted a proclamation and resolution directing and mandating that the Hopi Tribal Council reject Senate Bill 2109 - Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado River Rights Settlement Act of 2012 - and that "failure" to honor the village directive shall constitute gross neglect of duty as defined in the Hopi Constitution and Bylaws, Article V, Section 2.

Hotevilla's proclamation is consistent with the Hopi Appellate Court's final decision in the village of Bacavi's certified question filed in 2010 that traditional Hopi villages retain all aspects of "their inherent aboriginal sovereignty" and that those powers are "outside the scope of authority of the Hopi Tribal Council."

The discussion and approval of this village proclamation was a result of two separate village public meetings held at Hotevilla to educate its village membership on the water issue.

Public meetings were held on March 26 and April 13. During the April 13 meeting, the Hopi Tribes' Water and Energy Team Chairman George Mase, along with Hopi Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa, made their arguments to the village in favor of the settlement agreement and "agreement in principle." This meeting was requested by Hotevilla Village with the added special condition that no outside tribal attorneys be present and that the Hopi Chairman and his Water and Energy Team present their materials in the Hopi language solely on their own.

This proclamation asserts that the village of Hotevilla has the "inherent sovereign power" to maintain and exercise its rights and powers over all matters and resources belonging to the village and asserts that these rights and powers have "never been delegated to the Hopi Tribal Council."

The Hopi Constitution and Bylaws does in fact, specifically "admonish" that the Hopi Tribal Council "shall not sell or lease tribal properties which includes water rights."

Despite protests from Mase at the April 13 meeting, the Hotevilla Village Board of Directors, on behalf of its traditional village membership, wholly reject SB 2109 and "any form of agreement intended to waive, or extinguish our rights to our sacred waters," directing the Hopi Council to reject the bill.

The formal three-page village proclamation by Hotevilla is titled, "HV-102-2012" and was signed off on May 21.

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