Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

June 14, 2012

Slick PR and green hoax aims to deceive Navajos


A new PR firm, and a slick green hoax, are aimed at the theft of Navajo water rights and keeping one of the nation's dirtiest coal fired power plants polluting on Navajoland.

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/06/slick-pr-and-green-hoax-aims-to-deceive.html
French translation:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.fr/2012/06/slick-pr-and-green-hoax-aims-to-deceive.html

Slick public relations campaigns are underway for the theft of Navajo water rights, and a green scheme for solar and wind projects. Both schemes are designed to keep one of the nation's dirtiest coal fired power plants operating on the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Generating Station.

The Navajo Water Commission has hired a public relations firm to try and deceive Navajos into giving up their water rights to the Little Colorado River. The firm Scutari and Cieslak was hired following the protests over the proposed water settlement.

The Little Colorado River settlement scheme is designed to give away Navajo water rights and continue to pour water into the coal fired power plant, the Navajo Generating Station near Page, Ariz, one of the dirtiest coal fired power plants in the US. The scheme is also to provide water for non-Indians living luxury lifestyles in southern Arizona's dry and thirsty desert cities.

The Navajo Generating Station, one of three on the Navajo Nation, is among the dirty coal fired power plants in the US responsible for the melting of the Arctic and global warming. Arctic villages are dropping into the sea and polar bears, walruses and other wildlife dying as their habitat vanishes.

This scam water rights deal was promoted by Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, who apparently believed it would be as easy to dupe the public about this, as the so-called Navajo Hopi land dispute, which was actually devised to clear Navajos from their land for Peabody's coal mining on Black Mesa, which feeds the Navajo Generating Station.

The Salt River Project was protested during the ALEC protest
in Phoenix. Navajo and O'odham were pepper sprayed
by police. Photo Resist ALEC.
In other news of the public relations spin promoting the dirty industries on Navajoland, the Navajo Nation has engaged in a carbon market scam with SRP, the Salt River Project, which operates the dirty coal fired power plant Navajo Generating Station.

The carbon market schemes, and carbon credits, are scams which allow the world’s dirtiest polluters to keep on polluting.
In this case, the Salt River Project will spend $220,000 buying renewable-energy credits. The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is a player in this green scam. To spin public opinion, there's dollars for solar and wind projects.

Aside from the slick PR, and pretty green goals designed to dupe the public, the real purpose is to allow the dirty power plant Navajo Generating Station to continue operating on Navajoland.

Meanwhile, across the west, non-Indian attorneys are attempting to convince Indian Nations to enter into water rights settlements, to give away their water for the benefit of non-Indians and corporations. Non-Indian attorneys, often employed by the tribes, are attempting to deceive Indian Nations into giving up their expansive water rights for future generations. This means severing expansive rights under the Winter’s Doctrine.
Navajo Marshall Johnson, lead organizer with To Nizhoni Ani is among those opposing the Little Colorado River settlement.
“This settlement is being fast tracked to satisfy Kyl and McCains’ efforts to continue the legacy of free and cheap electricity and water delivery to central and southern Arizona. It’s not about providing much needed services to the Navajo people as they claim. This should really be called the ‘Keep Navajo Generating Station Open Settlement Agreement.'"
Due to the collapse on the news industry, online aggregators of Indian news promote hoax news stories of politicians and PR firms, further promoting the destruction of the land, the poisoning of the air and water, and assault on the human rights of the people.

Navajo Water Commission hires PR firm
http://navajotimes.com/news/2012/0612/061412pr.php
SRP will buy credits from the Navajo Nation:
http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2012/06/13/20120613srp-will-buy-credits-navajo-nation.html

For permission to repost this article, contact brendanorrell@gmail.com

Also see:
Anna Rondon: Betrayal by Navajo President: Water rights giveaway
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/06/anna-rondon-betrayal-by-navajo.html
Navajo grassroots overwhelmingly oppose water rights settlement:
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/06/navajo-grassroots-overwhelmingly-oppose.html



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