GRANTS - City officials, police representatives, District Attorney Lemuel Martinez and concerned citizens of all ethnicities met at Grants City Hall on June 23 to discuss the recent beatings of Navajo men with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission.

At least six Navajo men were attacked and received severe beatings on the streets of Grants between June 9 and June 18. One of the men is still hospitalized in Albuquerque, but only one of the attackers has been arrested.

The hate crimes have received considerable coverage by Albuquerque media and caused anger and concern among local residents.

Although these crimes became the focus of the meeting, the commission also heard testimony about other instances of discrimination in housing and employment. The meeting had actually been scheduled before the beatings occurred.

Duane H. Yazzie, chairperson of the commission, led the meeting. Also in attendance were commission members Irving Gleason and Clarence Chee. The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission defines its purpose in terms of:

1.    Conducting public hearings in or near border towns to assess the state of affairs between Navajos and non-Navajos.

2.    Investigating written complaints involving discrimination against Navajo citizens.

3.    Networking with local, state, national and international groups and advocating for recognition of Navajo human rights violations.

4.    Educating the public about human rights and the Navajo Nation's intolerance of human rights violations.

Creation of the commission was spurred by the abuse of Navajo street inebriates in Farmington in the 1970s. Several Indian men died as a result of the attacks. In 2006 a Navajo man was fatally shot in a Wal-Mart parking lot by an Anglo Farmington police officer.

These events, among others, led the Navajo Nation Council to enact the Human Rights Commission Act in October, 2006, which established the commission.

Chee opened the meeting by noting that many Navajos, who live on the reservation, are verbally and physically abused when they travel to border towns to shop and conduct business.

Gleason added that Navajos spend approximately $263 million in border towns annually and should be provided fair service. “We all need to develop mutual respect and promote understanding,” he said. He added that the testimony heard at the Thursday meeting would be summarized into a report and that Navajo leaders would return to Grants to interact with city officials.

“We don't assume any jurisdiction outside of the Navajo Nation, but we need to confer in the spirit of neighborly relations,” Gleason explained.

Navajo Nation Vice-President Ben Shelly gave a statement, saying, “These senseless and severe beatings and the alleged racial statements made during the beatings tell us, that as a community, ignorance, prejudice and cultural indifference toward Navajo and Native American people continue to challenge us.”

He went on to talk about the basic rights of Native Americans. “The Navajo people have the same right to be treated fairly, equally and to have their values and beliefs respected like all citizens of the United States. These rights are protected by the United States Constitution, and are further supported by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” he stated.

Shelly asked that the citizens of Grants and Milan, along with their elected representatives, join hands with the Navajo Nation and condemn the kind of behavior that caused the attacks.

Following the completion of a report on testimony from the meeting, Navajo officials hope to meet with Grants city leaders to discuss their findings. There will be further information on the meeting, including statements from the Grants Police Department and District Attorney Lemuel Martinez, as well as testimony from Navajos living in Grants, in the Friday edition of the Beacon.