Gu-meh! | Ah-meh-lwdawa! | Sai-ah-mah!

Greetings Relatives!
New Mexico's Pueblo Action Alliance is taking over the Indigenous Environmental Network Newsletter this week! Thanks to our relatives at Indigenous Environmental Network for allowing this space to share our journey across with you all across Turtle Island, including our call to action below.

Before we jump right into the action items provided at the tail of our communication, allow me to just give you a little background about who the Pueblo Action Alliance is. 
 

“Pueblo Action Alliance is a community driven organization that promotes cultural sustainability by addressing environmental and social impacts in indigenous communities.”
 

This model displays PAA’s ideology on Cultural Sustainability.
We are all connected and should treat sustainability as a relationship between the people and Mother Earth.  

 

PAA's Principles of ActionThese principles were formulated to accomplish the mission of Pueblo Action Alliance. They are meant to be utilized as tools by all members and volunteers of PAA. The foundation of these principles will perpetuate the change that we want to achieve.

Now that you know more about Pueblo Action Alliance, let's talk about our work to Protect Chaco Canyon and how you can work with us to protect this sacred place.

Protecting the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape has been a collective effort in protecting not just an ancestral site but it’s an extension of our present cultural integrity,

lifeways, and spirituality.

This place brings all Pueblo communities to a central space throughout spectrums of time. In that we all have ties to Chaco and was a place of creation for present Pueblo culture and traditions; also bringing the people of the global south and north together, what we call traditional migration routes. Into present-day Protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape has brought together those from different walks of life to collaborate, build solidarity, and educate communities of the negative impacts of oil and gas extraction and development. It has given the opportunity to create spaces, bring generations together, and continue sharing knowledge. The same way Indigenous peoples’ have traveled, traded, shared ceremonies and songs, seeds, and feathers. We are the present Pueblo descendants and are the continuation of their resilience and resistance.  


Through coalition work, community engagement and tribal government collaboration we have pushed for Greater Chaco protection bills in both the House and Senate. And have raised public awareness on how our community can be civically and directly active in the fight to Protect Greater Chaco. This has been a learning experience for us as well in understanding that our Dine Relatives face a different fight when it comes to the presence of oil and gas in their communities. The Navajo Chapter Houses, Torreon, Counselor, and Ojo Encino have politically joined together to create the Tri-Chapter Coalition. This coalition brings communities together to collectively share what sort of social, environmental and health impacts they have experienced. Protecting Greater 
Chaco is more than just a sacred site fight, but a public health and social justice movement as well. Resulting in the creation and strengthening of solidarity between Pueblo and Dine people. 
 

How you can take action to help Protect Greater Chaco 
 

Last week, the Rio Puerco BLM (Bureau of Land Management) office just leased 40,538 acres of land in New Mexico. This land lease sale for oil and gas drilling and fracking included 37,000 acres of Dinetah land. Despite recent protests, which included rallies and prayer runs, they are preparing for another lease sale on September 5, 2019. This will include land in Eddy County, Lea County, McKinley County, and Chaves county-totaling out to 13 parcels of land despite aggressive opposition of community organizations, environmentalists, tribal leadership and concerned citizens. 

The BLM has continued to make public input as hard as possible. In order for formal protest letters to be counted, community members must either hand deliver protest letters during the week of the protest period or by snail mail making sure that letters are received by July 18th. Another way to discourage us from expressing our opposition for further oil and gas development
 

It is crucial that we continue to protest the violence against the land, air, and water. Many of the communities are being treated as sacrifice zones as they are left to deal with the health impacts on their bodies and land.
 

Help us by submitting a letter to the BLM by clicking on the image below, be sure to edit the letter with a comment of your own- or the BLM will not count it. 



The formal protest period is July 8th - July 17th. On Monday, July 8th we will be hosting space for community members to fill out the formal protest letter templates from 4-7pm. We will make sure those letters are delivered.
 

Click the image below for navigation to the letter link. 
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Thank you relatives for sharing this space with us today.

Pueblo Action Alliance 
Julia Bernal – Co-Director/Environmental Justice Manager

Reyes DeVore – Co-Director/Community Outreach Manager
Sheldon Tenorio – Multi-Media Manager
 

Find us online:
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: [link removed] : [link removed] : [link removed] 1990, The Indigenous Environmental Network is an international environmental justice nonprofit that works with tribal grassroots organizations to build the capacity of Indigenous communities. IEN’s activities include empowering Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect our sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, the health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities.
 Learn more here: ienearth.org
 
To Make A Tax Deductible Donation: 
 Paypal.me/IENEarth           
 
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The Indigenous Environmental Network - PO Box 485 - Bemidji - MN - 56619

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