“I’m not breaking the law when I walk across the park,” said Eddie Draper. “Where is my freedom?”
A Cortez resident for almost 40 years, Draper told Navajo Nation Human Rights Commissioners this week that police routinely harassed him as a Navajo man. Saying authorities had repeatedly mistreated him, Draper said he worries which officer will try to arrest him next.
“I’m not trying to be a racist, but when something happens, no one gets blamed but the Indian,” he said.
Addressing commissioners at City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 3, Draper acknowledged that violators of the law should be punished. Yet he questioned an incident at the Montezuma County jail, claiming he was stripped of his clothing and thrown into a cell.
“Is that how you treat people?” he asked. “Is that America?”
Aimed to solicit testimony about police treatment of Navajos in border towns, Wednesday’s public hearing was the seventh held by the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission. About 50 people, mostly white residents, attended, including Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin, Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane and Mayor Karen Sheek.
During the near 6-hour hearing, a Navajo man identified as Aaron stated that he and his brother would routinely travel from Arizona to Cortez in search of work through the city’s day labor program. When no work is available, he said Navajo men like him find themselves with no transportation home and end up homeless.
“We’re having hard times,” he said.
Aaron added he believes that local authorities unfairly target the city’s homeless Navajo population, stating police routinely harassed him for sitting in the park. He said non-Natives were often released, even given a ride home, if found drinking in the park.
“The Navajo, they just get hauled in,” he said. “There’s lots of prejudice here in Cortez.”
Aaron told commissioners the bias was evidenced by the disproportionate minority population at the jail and the criminal penalties dolled out to Natives.
“A majority of inmates at the jail are Navajo,” he said. “One man even received 60 days for stealing two cans of beer.”
Commissioner Jennifer Denetdale, an American studies professor at the University of New Mexico, said border town surveys dating to the mid-20th century reveal a widespread belief among non-Natives that alcohol has consistently been viewed as a Navajo problem. In response, border towns have instituted trespass and panhandling ordinances to target Natives, she said.
“As a commission, we know that racism exists,” she said.
Other Navajos complained that business owners would routinely keep eyes on them while shopping. They said it was offensive and uncomfortable to be unjustifiable targeted as suspected thieves.
“Everybody deserves to be respected,” one woman said.
Nora, another Navajo woman claiming she had lived most of her life in Cortez, praised local law enforcement.
“From my time in Cortez, I think they are doing a good job,” she said. “I’ve never had any problems with the police or the sheriff.”
Nora added that Navajo authorities had disrespected her more than Cortez officials, stating the Navajos need to examine their own bias against others.
“I believe we as Dine people need to learn how to get along with people with different skins,” she said. “The Navajo Nation needs to do a lot of changing itself.”
Leonard Gorman, executive director of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, said the group had received “numerous and unfortunate” complaints from residents in border towns. He said he was concerned after Navajo residents indicated they felt intimidated to report human rights violations due to fear of possible police retaliation.
“Yes, there are brotherhood environments in law enforcement,” said Gorman. “The role of police is to protect and to serve, but today the community thinks they must protect themselves from the services of police officers.”
During Wednesday’s public hearing, many residents spoke in Navajo. At the meeting, Lane was joined by two uniformed officers and two plain-clothes employees. Undersheriff Jim Kingery was also present with Nowlin, who told commissioners that he hopes to work closely with the Navajo Nation to address concerns and complaints.
“We need a cooperative partnership,” said Nowlin.
In order to move forward, Nowlin said, people needed to put the past in the past, saying misguided perceptions were a major obstacle toward improved relations. He also vowed to investigate any and all accusations of abuse.
“As law enforcement, we know that we have to be open-minded,” Nowlin said. “We want the community relationships that we need. It can’t get worst. It has to get better.”
As Nowlin closed, his remarks were interrupted when Draper stood from the back of the room, stating, “We don’t want to be labeled. Just because we’re Indian doesn’t mean we’re drunk.”
tbaker@cortezjournal.com