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Sovereign Dineh Nation (SDN)

Media Release
For further information please contact:
Pamela Kraft (212) 564-3329 or Marsha Monestersky (718) 349-1841
January 26, 1998 


On February 3, 1998 Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, of the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights, will meet with traditional Dineh (Navajo) in Black Mesa,
Arizona to investigate charges of human rights violations.

This is the first time the US will be formally investigated by the United
Nations for violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The
role of the Special Rapporteur is to examine incidents and governmental
action in all parts of the world inconsistent with the provisions of the
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance based on
Religion or Belief, and to recommend remedial measures for such situations.
Although Mr. Amor will visit with other indigenous peoples, this is his
only on-site visit.

The Dineh filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Commission
in 1997 charging the US government with human rights violations. The Dineh
suffer from the consequences of US governmental laws that have legalized
the denial of access to water, livestock confiscation, the ability to
gather firewood to heat their homes in winter and any housing improvement -
even in cases of life threatening illnesses.

British-owned Peabody Coal Company (PCC), the world's largest
privately-owned coal company, operates the Black Mesa/Kayenta strip mine in
the heart of Black Mesa.  Over 4,000 burial and sacred sites have been
destroyed as a result of strip mining. There is no protection given to
Dineh burial grounds and sacred sites.  Their religion which is land-based
and site specific represents the foundation of their lives. 

The Dineh continue to this day to face forced relocation, eviction, and
human rights violations. Since 1974, over 12,000 Dineh have been relocated
from their ancestral land, 3,000 remain, sheep herding and weaving rugs.
They endure because of their sacred ties to their traditional land - their
Jerusalem, their Mecca. Mr. Amor's mandate  "urges states to exert their
utmost efforts, in accordance with their national legislation and in
conformity with international human rights standards, to ensure that
religious places, sites and shrines are fully respected and protected."

The Dineh are heartened by the support of over 250 Non Governmental
Organizations (NGOs), many affiliated with the Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) of the UN, representing some one billion individuals worldwide.
An inter-faith coalition of NGOs will be in Black Mesa February 2-4, 1998
at the invitation of the Dineh to witness the
historic meeting.  They include the United Methodist Church, the World
Council of Churches, National Council of Churches, NGO Decade Committee of
the World's Indigenous Peoples, International Indian Treaty Council, the
Human Rights Caucus, the Values Caucus, and others. Reverend Dr. Thom White
Wolf Fassett, General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society
of The United Methodist Church, has been chosen by the NGOs to lead the
delegation.

It is hoped that the United Nations report will result in the repeal of the
Relocation Acts,  P.L. 93-531 and P.L. 104-301.  The Dineh and Hopi peoples
should be protected as Living Treasures, their right to practice their
traditional ways on their land preserved. Their teachings about living as
caretakers of the Earth provide unique insight regarding the protection of
human values, religious freedom and the global ecosystem. December 10, 1997
marked the beginning of a year long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, during the United Nations Decade
of the World's Indigenous Peoples. We urge you to provide media coverage of
this historic event.

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