A group of young Navajo activists have embarked on a yearlong 1,200-mile trek across their sacred land to raise awareness about the environment.
Dubbed Nihígaal bee Iiná (pronounced ni-hi-gahl beh ee-nah), which means “Our Journey for Existence,” the advocates launched their protest from Huerfano, N.M., the birthplace of the Navajo Nation, on Jan. 6. The area is currently under threat from fracking, according to the group.
“There are over 400 proposed drill sites, and within the past couple months, over 100 have been started in the region,” the group stated on its Facebook page.
The faction intends to walk to the four mountain peaks that border the 27,000-square-mile Navajo Nation. They concluded their first leg to Mount Taylor, the Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain, to the south near Grants, N.M., in February. They are marching toward San Francisco Peaks, the Abalone Shell Mountain, near Flagstaff, Ariz.
Last week, they stopped at the Wide Ruins Chapter House outside Chambers, Ariz., where they shared information about environmental issues. The band aims to emphasize that the Navajo Nation is one of the country’s richest energy corridors, and for nearly the past century has provided cheap energy and water in the Southwest.
“Since the 1920s, our land and people have been sacrificed for energy extraction for oil, gas, uranium and coal, which is poisoning our land, water, air and people,” the group says.
This summer, the rally includes walking to Mount Hesperus, or Big Mountain Sheep, to the north near Hesperus before wrapping up in the fall with a trek to Mount Blanca, the Dawn or White Shell Mountain, to the east near Alamosa.
The group says its people haven’t benefited from energy extraction. They say a quarter of Navajos live without electricity or running water.
During the journey, the group also intends to document the beauty of the land and people as well as the footprints left by energy companies.
“Our hope is that we can help to inspire our people to become engaged in the care of our land, air, water and culture so that we will have a future as Diné,” the group posted online.