Q: Scholars of modern Hopi history often describe you as a "traditionalist," no doubt trying to distinguish you from those with more "modern" values. Do you see yourself in the same way?

A: I never considered myself a traditionalist, but rather a student of Hopi culture and traditions. I am always trying to understand and interpret for myself the meanings of Hopi teachings and traditions and their usefulness in today's highly technological society.

Q: Do you feel that these traditions give you a special perspective on the land or on the natural world?

A: When I started schooling in white men's schools, I was taught that man is master and in control of nature and that all natural resources are at his disposal. Instead of working with nature, we are taught to manipulate it. Hopi view their relationship to nature in a different way. According to our creation story, only water existed at the dawn of time; from water came land; from land and water all forms of life were created, including mankind. Because all life comes from the same source, we are all interconnected, and I am as much a part of the clouds as they are of me.

Q: So the Hopi would see the current controversy over groundwater in larger terms?

A: Western science describes neat but unconnected layers of aquifers. Hopi see the water underneath us as a living, breathing world we call Patuwaqatsi, or "water-life." Plants breathe in moisture from the sky, and cloud people reciprocate by pulling the moisture to the plants' roots. Hopi believe that when we die we join the cloud people and join in their journey home to Patuwaqatsi; and so all Hopi ceremonies are tied to the water world, and all the springs along the southern cliffs of Black Mesa serve as religious shrines or passageways to water-life. The water model developed by Western scientists does not include any of these values because they cannot be measured or quantified.

Q: When did you first become aware there was a problem with the aquifer?

A: I didn't understand or comprehend the magnitude of the problem until I saw a graph of water withdrawals by Peabody. Prior to 1969 the average water withdrawal from the confined part of the aquifer was about 300 acre-feet per year. Two years later it surged to 4,200 acre-feet! Common sense says any time you pump huge amounts of water from a dry desert, you guarantee the natural balance will be disrupted.

Q: But impacts on the environment can be hard to see, even above ground, and the aquifer is covered by tons of earth and rock. How do you know that the aquifer is in trouble?

A: The farmers and ranchers who walk the land every day talk about springs running dry, water levels dropping in wells. A retired windmill repairman named Alvin Honyatewa told a recent gathering of Hopi that he personally logged water levels dropping 100 feet in several windmills near the village of Moenkopi. He also said that for the first time in his memory he did not see water flowing in Moenkopi Wash, which used to run every day. This is why Hopi are very skeptical of assurances from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and Peabody Coal Company that our resources are vibrant and healthy.

Q: Back in the early 1990s, you were chairman of the Hopi Tribal Council. Was the Council aware of the problem then?

A: The Hopi Tribal Council was very aware of the problem. Hundreds of pages of testimony against the use of groundwater to slurry coal were provided to Office of Surface Mining officials, who were conducting an environmental impact study. But our testimony was not taken seriously.

Q: If you could speak directly to the Secretary of the Interior today about this issue, what would you ask him to do? [Editor's note: President Clinton was in office at the time of this interview. Bruce Babbit was Secretary of the Interior.]

A: I would tell the Secretary that it is not too late to address the water problem. He already has on his desk a proposal to bring renewable water from Lake Powell up to the minesite. He needs to carry out the proposal as soon as possible. I would emphasize to him that 10 billion gallons of pristine groundwater will be pumped from our sole source of water during his watch. This is enough water to sustain 10,000 Hopi for 80 years.

Black Mesa Trust was born out of impatience with the slow pace of resolving this issue. Our immediate objective is to put a stop to mine-related use of our drinking water by 2005. This can be done without interrupting mining operations, which does provide substantial economic benefits to families, tribes, and state and county governments. It is our hope to wake up the people and engage them in developing wise-water and sustainable water-use programs on Black Mesa.

Photo: John Running

Related NRDC Pages
Drawdown: Groundwater Mining on Black Mesa (full report)
Drinking Water Jeopardized in Arizona's Black Mesa Region (report summary)

last revised 10.23.00