Opinion

Opinion: Hawaii a special place for Navajos

Monday, January 21, 2008

"I'm just guessing, but I'll bet Mr. Denton Blueeyes never has visited Hawaii.

However, given that nearly 400 of his fellow tribal members spent perhaps $1 million in public money to go there, I'm sure he thinks it must be a pretty darn special place.

Mr. Blueeyes did not ask me to be his spokesman, nor to put words in his mouth. He may not care one bit about an ongoing federal investigation into Navajo travel to Hawaii as long as he can use an electrical hot plate instead of firewood to heat something for supper tonight.

I am, however, going to exercise my journalistic privilege on this one.

It stinks.

It's not fair.

And there are plenty, Anglo and Navajo, who should share the blame for this disgrace. Sending as many a 400 people to Hawaii for a national conference on education, using precious and limited tribal money and federal funds intended to help Navajo school children, should be illegal.

Perhaps, that is the case. The Department of the Interior confirmed that its Inspector General investigation continues into whether taxpayer money was misused for so many to go so far, and for what?

There were not 400 Navajo representatives at the same conference in the three previous years, including when it was in much closer Phoenix and Denver.

Yet, hundreds of Navajo school board members, council delegates and the Navajo president and his wife all felt this mission was more important than, say, Mr. Blueeyes."

Get the Story:
Troy Turner: Are Navajo Blueeyes seeing red? (The Farmington Daily Times 1/20)

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Navajo Nation Council - http://www.navajonationcouncil.org
National Indian Education Association - http://www.niea.org