Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

November 10, 2010

Navajos' Forgotten People to President: VETO! Water Rights Not for Sale!


Scanned signed copy of a Lis Pendens Forgotten People filed in Apache County Clerk and Recorders Office, a Notice to the President and a news release.
NAVAJO PROPERTY HOLDERS PUT WATER RIGHTS CLAIMANTS, THE NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL, AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE NAVAJO NATION ON NOTICE ABOUT WATER RIGHTS
By Forgotten People
Photo: Forgotten People/Pavement Pieces

November 8, 2010-The Forgotten People, a Navajo grassroots organization, on its own behalf and that of Navajo holders of various water rights, including but not limited to allottees, who hold preexisting aboriginal rights, allotment rights, original Indian title allotment rights, restricted allotment rights, public domain allotment rights, homestead allotment rights, and/or other rights, including federal reserved rights, to the waters of the Little Colorado River system and its tributaries, and to the Lower Basin of the Colorado River, and its tributaries, and such rights have not been extinguished; and there are such holders of rights to such waters under other legal theories or regimes; that the purported settlement of Navajo Nation water rights adopted by the Navajo Nation Council is invalid. The Council acted on November 4, 2010.

It is invalid for the reason that the holders of aboriginal, Treaty, homestead, allotment, and other water rights were not given adequate notice of the settlement and that their free prior and informed consent was not obtained by the Navajo Nation.

The Forgotten People organization is filing a Lis Pendens notice with the Apache County Clerk and Recorder on November 8, 2010 to put the world on notice of their property and water rights, and a notice is being sent to President Shirley of the Navajo Nation. The notice requests that he veto the Council action and, if passed, that he refuse to sign the agreement under the discretionary authority granted in the resolution.

Please refer below to the Lis Pendens and Notice to President Shirley for more details.
For more information, please contact: Don Yellowman, President The Forgotten People
(928) 401-1777 info@forgottennavajopeople.org
http://www.forgottennavajopeople.org/
Document filed with Apache County, download or print at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41923434/Forgotten-People-Navajos-Notice-to-President-on-water-rights

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