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Stan Bindell, for the Navajo-Hopi Observer

Stories by Stan

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Arizona State Rep. Mae Peshlakai, a Cameron Democrat, will be focused on education, health care, infrastructure and veterans issues in the next session of the legislature in January.

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Award-winning author Scott Graham’s book Saguaro Sanction, part of the National Park Mystery Series, takes place in Saguaro National Park and involves Tohono O’odham, petroglyphs and pictographs.

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Two points of agreement about the Northern Arizona Book Festival this year is that it had more Native American involvement than in past years and there was also a good energetic vibe to the gathering.

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Deidra Peaches: Preserving history through storytelling
Diné filmmaker's new short documentary illuminates the sacred significance of the canyon to the community who has inhabited it for centuries

Diné filmmaker Deidra Peaches sees her documentary “Voices of the Grand Canyon” as giving the Indigenous narrative that is often overlooked when people talk about the history of Grand Canyon National Park.

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ASU professor shares personal story of Yavapai-Apache scouts in new book
Maurice Crandall presented special program titled, "After the Whirlwind: Yavapai-Apache Scouts and the Worlds They Made" in Prescott Feb. 2

Maurice Crandall, a member of the Yavapai Apache Nation and a history professor at Arizona State University, presented a special program titled, "After the Whirlwind: Yavapai-Apache Scouts and the Worlds They Made" at the Natural History Institute in Prescott.

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Although the Hopi High School boys cross country team finished ahead of nemesis Northland Prep at the AIA Division IV Cross Country State Championship Nov. 12,

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Hopi High School boys cross country team placed second at the Division IV meet Nov. 4 in Holbrook, qualifying the team for the state meet.

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Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz, recently visited the Hopi and Navajo Nations continuing to address problems with broadband and infrastructure.

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Arizona Rep. O’Halleran, tribal and federal officials met Aug. 18 at Cameron Chapter House for a two-hour roundtable to discuss what to do about the more than 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.

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Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez expressed support during a news conference Aug. 16. for the Grand Canyon Protection Act and the need for cleaning up the 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.

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Former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt said Arizona’s tribes need to play an important role in protecting the state’s groundwater and dealing with the pending crisis because of the lack of water in the Colorado River.

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U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran said that the Native American vote continues to be important to his reelection chances even as the Congressional district changed because of redistricting based on the census.

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Cody Desautel, director of Natural Resources for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville (CTC) Reservation in Washington State, sees his tribe’s work with reintroducing wildlife to the lands as a model for other tribes.

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Wildlife and Ecosystems Management Program Manager Darren Talayumptewa would like to see more federal funding for a program to establish an overall wildlife plan that would address the tribe’s cultural needs and balance those needs with western science management.

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Sixty-two Hopi High students graduated May 26 at Bruin Stadium. About 300 parents, relatives and friends attended.

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Tha Yoties, a Native American reggae and rock band, is just as much about environmental justice as it is about the music.

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Skylar Begay, tribal outreach fellow for Archaeology Southwest, is coordinating the work called Respect Great Bend, which would preserve an area important to Native American tribes in the region because of its ancestral landscape.

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U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran attended two Memorial Day ceremonies on the Navajo Nation in Leupp and Window Rock May 30.

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Navajo blues electric guitarist Sir Harrison Begay will perform at Arizona’s largest blues festival the Flagstaff Blues and Brews Festival this summer.

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Officials from Energy Fuels Resources said that environmentalists and some Arizona tribes claim that their work at a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon will contaminate underground aquifers, is unsubstantiated.

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Environmentalists are upset that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) approved an aquifer protection permit April 28 for a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park.

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Curtis Moore, vice president of marketing and corporate development with Energy Fuels Inc., said a Grand Canyon Trust report about the White Mesa Mill is not credible and comes from an anti-nuclear group that is biased against them.

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Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and environmental organizations want to see the White Mesa uranium mill, located in San Juan County in Utah, shut down and are asking for the mill to be strictly regulated until that closure happens.

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Micro homes planned at former Navajo Generating Station site
ZenniHome hopes to help with jobs, housing for Navajo and Hopi families near Page

Jobs and another option for homes is available to Navajos and Hopis thanks to ZenniHome, which has resurrected the area by the shuttered Navajo Generating Station by Page, Arizona.

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The Bruin players, coaches and managers who were on that team were recognized for that victory during halftime of this year’s 2A state championship game.

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A surge in COVID-19 and the Omicron variant threw Hopi High School’s academics and athletics into havoc and forced online learning during much of the third quarter of this school year.

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U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran announced Dec. 23 he will seek reelection in the newly formed Congressional District 2, which includes the Navajo and Hopi reservations.

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Derrick Watchman, one of five commissioners on the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), said the northern Arizona tribes should continue to have a high percentage in the legislative district and enough to swing the vote in the congressional district if the proposed redistricting maps are approved.

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Hopi High School sports has returned this year after athletics were canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Strawberry Crater is not as well known as Sunset Crater and the trail is one of the lesser known trails in the Flagstaff area, but it is well worth the trek because of its unique landscape, wildlife, plants and Native American history.

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Native American teenagers, who are feeling lost, can find guidelines for life and how to live with nature in adopted Native American author Doniga Markegard’s book ‘Wolf Girl.’

Navajo clean energy advocates hope that when the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), which is being debated in Congress, is approved that it will include resources for the Navajo Nation.

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Ganado High School won both the boys and girls cross country races at the 2A North Regional meet Oct. 27 at Hopi High School.

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Mary Grace Pewewardy, a graduate of Hopi High School’s media program, is now working as a broadcast intern for Indian Country Today (ICT) at their Phoenix office located in the same building as Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.

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The Navajo Family Assistance Services (NFAS) have received numerous applications for Navajo School Clothing and Supplies (NSCS) since releasing applications Aug. 27.

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First Mesa and Second Mesa could have clean drinking water running to their villages and homes by March or April, according to Hopi Tribal Councilman Ivan Sidney.

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Hopi High’s music program is making a comeback now that students have returned to in-person learning. The program was on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Leaders seek to revitalize Navajo and Hopi economies through alternative energy options
Tribal leaders, federal officials discuss development projects, federal funding to help restore economy

With the closure of the coal powered Navajo Generating Station in 2019, the Navajo Nation and Hopi tribe began seeking options in alternative energy to replace lost revenue and jobs on the reservations.

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Amber Labahe, a graduate of Hopi High School’s media program, is one of five students selected nationally for the $10,000 Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) Facebook Journalism Project Scholarship.

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Hopi Jr/Sr High School started school Aug. 13 with in-school learning, practicing safety protocols and with its enrollment jumping to 480 —its highest enrollment in years.

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Hopi Jr/Sr High School Athletic Director Ricky Greer said student athletes, parents, coaches and community members were ecstatic about the return of sports following the 2020 pandemic.

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Water settlements with the federal government in New Mexico and Utah are bringing more drinking water to the Navajo Reservation in those states, but a similar settlement in Arizona has not been reached yet.

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Arizona State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai sees the impact of global warming on reservations around Arizona, including the Navajo Reservation, which is why she supports the infrastructure bill Congress is considering.

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Yhe NAU program partners with tribal communities on cancer research projects.

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Hopi High Coach Rick Baker was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame for outstanding leadership and coaching skills that led to a national record of 27 consecutive state cross country championships for Hopi High School athletes from 1990 to 2017.

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The Hopi Elections Board has certified four candidates for chairman and two candidates for vice chairman.

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Native American students have chance to win $2,000 scholarship
Essay contest recognizes Native American youth

The Frank Harrison and Harry Austin Voting Rights Essay Contest offers Native American college students a chance to win a $2,000 scholarship.

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Along with bills addressing infrastructure, tribal health and community development, U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D – AZ) is discussing long and short term strategies for problems caused by wildfires in Arizona.

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Hopi High School held its graduation ceremony for its 36 graduates June 15 at the football field with Miss Native American Lexie James, a graduate of Hopi High who won state awards for her media work, serving as keynote speaker.

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Diane Wilson, one of the most successful Native American authors, is drawing rave reviews for her recent book “The Seed Keeper.”

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