THE KAYENTA BONE THUGS N HARMONY SHOW THE NEWSPAPER OF THE KAYENTA TOWNSHIP AND COMMUNITY Robberies and Shootings Page 4 Page 9 TODAYA Free Publication from the Kayenta Township Winter 2010 WWW.KAYENTATOWNSHIP.NET Kayenta Family Healing Alliance Kayenta To Tell It’s Centennial History Looks To The Future In “Images of America” Book Series By Malcolm Benally By Malcom Benally KAYENTA, AZ - The Kayenta Fam- KAYENTA, AZ – The Kayenta ily Healing Alliance (KFHA) and Township is beginning planning the Process Serving Taskforce held a and organizing stages for the 100th meeting at the Hampton Inn Confer- Centennial of Kayenta, Arizona 2010, ence Room on Tuesday, November most of the events and activities 24, 2009 from 10 am to 1 pm. The will be held in conjunction with the group holds its monthly meetings on coming 4th of July festivities. Book the third Thursday of each month, authors, Harvey Leake and Carolyn usually at the Kayenta Baptist Davis, will be working with Arcadia Church behind Amigos Café, unless publishing’s (www.arcadiapublish- it is announced and noted otherwise. ing.com) “Images of America” book series to publish a book about the the area through time, and early new places, and events that define the com- The KFHA met with its core group community of Kayenta. building scenes. In fact, already on file munity. Harvey Leake, the lead author which consists mainly of service is sepia a tone black and white photo of the book is the great grandson of providers within the local Kayenta A significant portion of the book will of President Theodore Roosevelt, who John and Louisa Wetherill. Service Unit, such as the Tohden- cover the years 1910 to 1940 when visited Kayenta in 1913 with his sons nashai Shelter Home, Public Safety, John and Louisa Wetherill made their before going on a horseback expedi- “We are lacking coverage of the period Social Services, the Health Nursing home (in Monument Valley and Kay- tion guided by the Wetherills to Navajo following the early 1940s, and are in- Program, and the Ama Doo Alchini enta), opened up the Kayenta Trading Mountain and Rainbow Bridge. terested in locating sources of images Bighan, Inc. (ADABI) program Post, and thus began the develop- from that era in Kayenta’s history,” he from Chinle, AZ. Rebecca Joe, TSH ment of the town of Kayenta, AZ and Arcadia Publishing, the publishing writes in an email. “We would also Victim Advocate, facilitated the its surrounding areas. In the later house that is best known for its popu- welcome suggestions regarding topics meeting. years, from the 1950s to present, the lar “Images of America” series, has to include [regarding the growth of book proposes to cover the transition chronicled the history of communities Kayenta] After going through the opening that the town of Kayenta has made from Bangor, Maine to Manhattan formalities for the meeting, Ms. Joe through time. Beach, California. Arcadia will be the ” Examples, from the more recent highlighted some of the achieve- press that will publish the as-yet- un- period, would require the involvement ments of the Tohdennashai Shelter of Kayenta residents, community lead- Through suggestions from Harvey titled book on Kayenta. With more Home in the past three months. She ers, people in the military, construction Leake, the Kayenta book project than two hundred vintage black-and- said, “The month of October was projects, and community events, such would like to collect photos from the white photographs, each title celebrates very busy for everyone and we have as the annual 4th of July rodeo and community showing Navajo life- a town or region, bringing to life the festivities. achieved a lot during this month in styles, people of interest who visited Continued on page 3 raising awareness about domestic people, violence. We hosted a vigil, a play Kayenta Township Introduces Five New Business Site Leasing Committee Members “This House of My Pain” (by Na- vajo comedian Ernest David Tsosie By Malcom Benally 30 potential businesses that are cur- the first Tuesday of each month. III), several marches, and a commu- KAYENTA, AZ - The Kayenta Town- rently interested and have inquired This way, their report can be ready nity luncheon.” The most success- ship Business Site Leasing Committee about a business site in Kayenta, AZ. when the Kayenta Township Com- ful of all, she said, was the October recently held its first meeting to choose mission holds its monthly Town Hall 10, 2009 NPBR Bullriding Event Committee officers and set up its first In an effort to provide detailed re- on the second Monday each month. in Kayenta where professional bull meeting dates on Wednesday, Decem- ports monthly to the Kayenta Town- fighters lead by Brandon Lincoln, ber 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm. Economic ship Commission, the Business Site Continued on page 4 and the bull riders wore pink and Development Director Ed Whitewater Leasing Committee decided they Continued on page 5 briefed the new committee on at least will hold their monthly meeting on 2 From The Desk of Commissioner Richard Mike Life is actually different when the on the reservation is not a big con- Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Crazy average citizen of Kayenta is respon- cern of the Navajo Nation Council. Horse, Manuelito put their lives on sible for waste management in Kay- Getting more federal funds is. We the line fighting the U.S. Calvary in enta, crime in Kayenta, pan-handlers don’t have to live off of government the face of modern weapons like the bothering the tourists, the direction hand outs. That’s why the people of Gatlin Gun, Canons, repeating rifles, of their children’s education, and Kayenta need their own local gov- Winchesters, and they faced certain they will have access to many more ernment. The Navajo Nation Coun- death using mainly bows and ar- choices like in other prosperous cil is not going to lead the people of rows at first. To me, the reason these town in a free society. Kayenta to self-sufficiency. warriors fought and put their lives on the line against improbable odds The government cannot make real The Kayenta Township and its citizens, we need the freedom to - is because every man wants to be economic development because real make our own rules within the city free. Back then, no one wanted to be development happens in the minds limits of Kayenta. I think once cloistered on an Indian Reservation. of ordinary people. It happens by we’re given the freedom to control These warriors wanted to master them and with them. Governments their own destiny. They wanted to our own town and our local re- on the other hand, have to set the be masters of their own lands. If we can get a 99-year lease from sources, mainly with the ability to social structures, institutions, incen- give 99-year business site leases. I the Navajo Nation Council, then we tives systems which are able to pro- Today, most jobs on the reserva- believe that we can start tackling can get some of our freedom back. duce developmental attitudes, which tion are government jobs. You can I ran for Commissioner because I city problems before they emerge. when supplemented with aptitudes, work for NTUA, the public school want to fight for this shot at freedom Furthermore, I think Kayenta will such as literacy, technical skills, system, reservation community that we were given. have the largest and best Vocational schools, NHA, at the dialysis center, knowledge and training; this can Education School in the State of the Navajo Police Department or for I’ve been fortunate to have deep produce true economic development. Arizona. We’ll have a huge Adult the Indian Health Services. All these learning experiences when I travel and Juvenile Detention Center, and jobs are provided by the U.S. gov- abroad. Britain obtained a 99-year Being unemployed is hard on peo- perhaps we can even rent out land in ernment. If these offices shut down, lease from the Chinese government ple. Studies show that problems like the middle of nowhere for a Federal the clients, the administration, and over a hundred years ago. With suicides, teen pregnancy, alcoholism, Prison. Our Kayenta Courts will be the employees; they would all suffer that 99-year lease, Hong Kong and child abuse, drugs, is tied to unem- the first ever on an Indian reserva- and it would affect daily Navajo life. its surrounding areas has become a ployment. Unemployment tion to enforce property laws. I can guarantee that this scenario multi-billion dollar commerce. In wouldn’t even make a single dent in Banff, Canada the Canadian Na- Arizona’s economy. Life would go tional Park Service owns all the on. land. The City of Banff has home site leases and business site leases Whether you are a hard working em- like we do on the Navajo reserva- ployee or not the government makes tion. The town is about half the size Indians in all sectors of the Reserva- of Flagstaff, AZ, and it has a multi- tion economy dependent on Federal billion dollar commerce. The City dollars. Yet, it seems the simple of Banff leases the land from the rule here in America is that freedom Canadian National Park Service. comes to you only from private land ownership. The hard truth is, the In about five more years, I can see Navajo reservation breeds depen- the Kayenta Township start assign- dency because the Indians don’t own ing a Possessory Interest Tax (PIT) the land they live on. giving value to Navajo home site leases similar to the small Canadian Indian Law says that a “trusteeship” town of Banff.