GRANTS - Last week, according to several sources, the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe have declared environmental groups unwelcome on the their reservations.

Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., and Hopi lawmakers said environmentalists' efforts could hurt the tribes' struggling economies by slowing or stopping coal mining.

    “Environmentalists are good at identifying problems but poor at identifying feasible solutions,” Shirley said in a press release. “Most often they don't try to work with us but against us, giving aid and comfort to those opposed to the sovereign decision-making of tribes.”

    According to the USA Today last week, Andy Bessler, a Sierra Club representative in the Southwest, expressed dismay at the resolution and noted that another tribal group, Hopis Organized for Political Initiative, supports environmental efforts. “We work with anybody who wants to help protect the environment, stop global warming and transition our economy to a clean economy,” Bessler said. “We won't discriminate and we'll continue to honor invitations we get from Hopi and Navajo communities to work with them.”

    According to sources, the primary reason the tribes have come against environmental group representation on their lands is because the groups have sought to block or shut down coal-fired power plants that provide vital jobs and revenue to tribes in northern Arizona.

    “These are individuals and groups who claim to have put the welfare of fish and insects above the survival of the Navajo people when in fact their only goal is to stop the use of coal in the U.S. and the Navajo Nation,” said President Shirley.

    The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation, which sprawls over three states and claims a population of about 250,000.

    In the USA Today, Jerry Padilla, executive director of the National Tribal Environmental Council, said, tribes frequently partner with conservationists to protect resources and sacred sites, however, he added, “With 564 diverse tribes, there are times when they get crosswise with the green movement.”

Calls to both Acoma and Laguna Pueblo seeking comment were not returned as of press time.