When the Warriors Came Home

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Guide to the Final Four, Sports Page 1

Thursday March 31, 2016 Number 106 Volume 129

College bound

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Sports Page 1 GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

Judge orders Willis Nez removed from ballot

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ART IMITATING LIFE AND DEATH

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — A district court judge Wednesday ordered that Willis Nez be removed from the ballot for the June 7 Democratic primary.

Nez had filed as a candidate for the District 3 New Mexico Senate seat that has been held

by John Pinto since 1977.

After a 5 1/2-hour hearing Wednesday that lasted almost until 7 p.m., 11th Judicial District Court Judge Louis DePauli Jr. threw out 57 of the signatures on his nominating petition after he found them to be invalid.

This left Nez with 85 signatures, short of the 106 signatures required by state law.

Most of the signatures were thrown out because the people lived in District 4 and not District 3 or were registered in the Republican Party as opposed to the Democratic Party.

Nez said during the hearing that he asked everyone who signed his petition where they lived and what party they listed on their voter registration. Several of the signatures that were thrown out were for people living in the Crystal area and he knew for a fact that they voted in the 3rd District.

An attorney for the New Mexico Secre-

See Nez removed, Page 5

Gallup counts achievements, aims to bring new money

Cable Hoover/Independent

Brandon Dinae, center, and the rest of the cast carry candles as they recite the names of Gallup’s exposure death victims during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile Friday.

Students act out sorrow, anger over exposure epidemic

By Patrick O’Malley Staff Writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @PKOmaly

GALLUP — City of Gallup staff and elected officials expressed frustration the past two days about the lack of knowledge regarding the city’s progress and accomplishments.

During two lengthy city meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, the city went through the items they’ve made progress on, as well as those they plan to tackle in the future.

“I’m going to make a comment on the achievements,” Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney said, “of just everybody getting together and the brain power and setting some goals, these are great achievements.”

Staff members and the Gallup City Council said they weren’t keen on “flag waving.”

However, the workshop encouraged a focus on achievements to give a sense of hope and optimism.

The Leadership and Strategic Planning Workshop was not geared toward simply creating a project list, but rather “institutionalizing a process” of leadership. Some of the key goals set by staff and council were to develop an intermodal logistics center and gateway to Native America, as well as create a vibrant and safe downtown Gallup.

The workshop began by looking at what

By Marley Shebala Photos by Cable Hoover/Independent

Above, an actor portrays drinking and death via shadow puppet during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile Friday. Below, Aaron Lee expresses rage about the exposure death tally in Gallup during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile Friday.

Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

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INDOW ROCK — It’s the kind of crying that wrenches your body, makes you catch your breath and forces you to feel the deepest sorrow you never want to feel again.

And for the audience members who watched and listened in the dark to the uncontrollable sobbing from 24-year-old Danielle Joe, of Lukachukai, you knew they felt, and maybe even shared, her sadness because you could hear them sniffling and softly weeping.

Joe’s gut-wrenching portrayal of Lorita Joe remembering her father, who died from exposure on the streets of Gallup, is

one of the scenes from “When the Warriors Were,” a one-act play written and directed by John Templin, the theater instructor for Diné College-Tsaile, for his 11 students.

Templin said he wrote “When the Warriors Were” because he wanted a one-act play that had meaning for his students — 10 are Diné and one is Filipino. That’s why he decided to base his play on headlines in area newspapers about the exposure deaths of Native Americans in Gallup.

“It has to have meaning,” he said.

Templin said the majority of his students are Native Americans and questioned why he would he have them perform a play by Tennessee Williams or

Life and death, Page 5

See Bring new money, Page 5

Group seeks $28,000 for Cibola promotional video

By Kathy Helms Cibola County Bureau cibola@gallupindependent.com

GRANTS — Barbara Wesley, executive producer for 7 Cities Productions, and a film crew traveled 580 miles and shot 5 1/2 hours of raw footage for a 28-minute video to promote Cibola County.

Manuel Vasquez, now a councilor with the city of Grants, drove 283 miles over a period of six days in his

vintage Pontiac GTO, “Flamed,” to help create the footage that will take tourists and other viewers of the video on a tour of the county.

Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace secured a 1950 Chevrolet that will be incorporated into a large sign to be displayed on a piece of city property on the east side of Grants to attract visitors.

All they need is $28,000 to com-

See Cibola promotion, Page 5

Ramah development to be completed in June

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

Courtesy photo

A video and this proposed sign with a 1950 Chevrolet are part of a proposal to promote Cibola County.

RAMAH — A Navajo Housing Authority development on New Mexico Highway 53 is scheduled for completion the first week of June — if weather permits, NHA spokesman Chris Bigwater said.

Bigwater said all 49 units have been set up in their indi-

vidual house pads. The main water line and sewer have been placed. The carports and porches are being framed

See Development, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Thursday, March 31, 2016 — Page

Bring new money Continued from Page 1 was done in the past year, with one of the most notable achievements being the high audit opinion for fiscal year 2014-2015. Gallup received the highest opinion possible, which was a drastic turnaround after previous years of poor audit findings partly because of the Gallup Housing Authority. The authority is now headed by Richard Kontz, who has been cleaning house for nearly two years.

“It was a big success,” Chief Financial Officer Patty Holland said of the workshop. “It took a lot of support from, you know, all the way up to City Council, and the departments, city manager.”

Holland said they’ve made a lot of changes and improvements, and that it’s still an ongoing process.

Councilor Fran Palochak said even though she has only been in office for a short time, the city’s financial staff seemed to quickly resolve the audit issues.

Development City staff also remarked that from a resident’s standpoint, they have been working to improve service for utilities customers. Gallup has clarified and updated a lot of its policies and recently added phone and Internet pay features.

Councilor Linda Garcia has heard from her constituents that the staff at the utilities department “actually listens.” The city has noticed a serious drop in customer complaints and phone calls this past year.

City focuses on bringing in new money In the past year Gallup has seen a couple new hotels built and a few new restaurants, including Panda Express, which had the highest opening day sales of any of its stores in the country. City Councilor Allan Landavazo said the opening day numbers at Panda Express “sent the rest of the country a message” in terms of the profit potential

in Gallup.

“Any new restaurant in town, they’re going to frequent,” Planning and Zoning Director C.B. Strain said. “We serve a lot of the surrounding area.”

McKinney reminded the council and staff that there are some promising projects on the horizon. One of them is the much discussed rail spur that could bring in numerous jobs, but he also mentioned that with trucking laws in the U.S. changing, it presents an opportunity for Gallup. A new federal law regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration states that by Dec. 18, 2017, truckers must install an electronic device that ensures they are not driving more hours/miles than legally allowed.

Because Gallup is situated on a major interstate and about 660 miles and 10 hours from a major transportation hub like Long Beach, California, it puts the city in a good position for truckers to stop since they are only legally allowed to drive for 11 consecutive hours.

McKinney said they want to get out ahead of this and make Gallup a destination for truckers staying the night.

Another potential future project for the city is to get commercial flights back to the Gallup Airport, which was the case in the 1960s.

“Our city attorney is working diligently with getting air service back into Gallup,” McKinney said.

Public Works Director Stan Henderson said that with the design for the new runway completed they are positioned to try and receive federal aviation funding. Henderson said they’ve recently hired a new operator at the airport and three new hangers are going up. He said the terminal is a lot “friendlier and nicer” than it used to be.

The City Council and staff spent hours Tuesday and Wednesday prioritizing the most important issues to tackle in the next 12 months.

“It’s not all doom and gloom if we keep fighting the good fight,” McKinney said.

Life and death Continued from Page 1 Arthur Miller.

But Templin’s “When the Warriors Were” is reflective of Williams’ playwriting style, which has often been described as explosive, often violent and unconventional.

Street people In one scene, a homeless man named Ronnie, who is played by Warrior Brown, of Rock Point, endures the tongue lashing of business people and others: “Hey you, get the hell outta here,” “Why don’t you keep your dirty ass out on your land,” “I said if you don’t move on I’m calling the cops,” “All these drunk Indians walking our streets,” “Thank God none of my family is like that,” and “Can’t the tribe do something to help these damn bums?”

In another scene, Colin Denny, of Piñon, who is deaf, plays a young deaf man who sees a puppy wandering outside his apartment one cold night.

He chases after the puppy and comes across three men in an alley who are sharing a bottle of liquor between them.

They are also sharing an old blanket, but he can see it’s not keeping them warm.

One of the men tries talking to him, but the man doesn’t know that he’s deaf, so the man gets angry at him.

He gets scared and runs away.

The puppy follows him, and he takes the puppy home.

A few days pass and then he reads in the newspaper that three men were found in the alley dead from exposure.

He is haunted by the memory of the three men and why he didn’t contact the police.

People are dying As the play draws to a close, Aaron Lee, of Low Mountain, who plays the main character James Joe, stands on top of a step stool and yells, “While our Navajo leaders are found guilty of stealing tribal funds, people are dying. While Navajo tribal leaders and the city leaders of Gallup fight over who will pay, people are dying. There is no funding for ongoing operations and the detox center closes its door. And while Republican New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez vetoes state funding for the Gallup detox center and homeless shelter, people are dying.”

Also toward the end of the play, the students hold candles

Cable Hoover/Independent

Warrior Brown plays a drunken Gallup transient during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile Friday. and one by one call out the names of the 28 individuals who have died from exposure in the streets, fields and alleys of Gallup from Sept. 30, 2014, to Feb. 16.

In one of James’ final scenes in “When the Warriors Were,” he says eight people have died in the streets, fields and ditches of Gallup this winter.

“If this were happening to anyone other than Native Americans, it would not be tolerated,” James shouts.

“Why do we just accept this as an everyday, normal occurrence? These are our brothers and sisters.”

The play ends with all 11 of the cast members on stage speaking directly to the audience: “You see this happening every day, but yet you choose to look away. Anger without action is nothing.”

Lee, as James Joe, adds, “We made this play, but what will you do?”

In an interview, Templin said, “If this happened in any other town in America and involved Anglo victims instead of Native Americans, it would be on (ABC’s) ‘20/20’ and it would have national headlines.”

He noted that the “horrible” statements hurled upon Ronnie, the homeless character, were actually reported by area media.

First place The highly emotional performance of Templin’s 11 students, who are all ma-

College students, competing in the one-act play,” she stated to the subcommittee. “This group of young Navajos produced a play about an annual winter event: the march of death by exposure in Gallup, New Mexico.

“Last year, more than 20 Navajos died,” she reported. “This year, in about five weeks, eight Navajos died.

Anywhere else, anyone else, those students said, there would be a national outcry.

“In Gallup, New Mexico, it’s just an annual event,” Billy stated. “Not anymore.

That group of young Diné College students held all of us accountable: the Navajo tribal government that does little; the state of New Mexico that cut funding; and the city of Gallup that closed the detox center. ‘We told the story,’ they said. ‘Now what are you going to do?’”

She noted, “Diné College — like all of the tribal colleges — gave those young people the courage and, more important, the sense of responsibility to make their Nation a better place.”

In memory

Cable Hoover/Independent

Aaron Lee is stalked by the trickster coyote during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile Friday. joring in educational fields other than theater, earned them a first place award in the one-act play category at the 2016 American Indian High Education Consortium Student Conference in Minneapolis held March 13-16.

Joe, who is undecided about majoring in business or dermatology, received the best actress trophy, which she clearly deserved and earned from her riveting performance of Lorita, who is a single mother of a teenager.

American Indian Higher Education Consortium President and CEO Carrie L. Billy informed Templin in a Tuesday email, “The story your students told in the One Act Play NEEDS to be heard by everyone: the tribe, the states, the federal government, the entire country.”

Billy also said that she included her comments about the Diné College student play in a statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies in Washington March 17.

“The members were stunned with my remarks and all pledged to do all they can to support the TCUs (tribal colleges and universities),” she said. “They specifically loved hearing about your play and the student stories.”

Billy shared with the congressional subcommittee a few accomplishments of students enrolled in American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s tribal colleges and universities, which include Diné College-Tsaile.

“Finally, there are the Diné

The following are the names of the individuals who died from exposure or other means in open fields and the date that they were found, which the students called out during “When the Warriors Were”: ■ Ned Benally, Sept. 20, 2014.

■ Sarah Tom, Nov. 25, 2014.

■ Edwin Largo, Dec. 2, 2014.

■ Lee Armando, Dec. 5, 2014.

■ Jimmie Smith, Dec. 12, 2014.

■ Arlo Enoah, Dec. 12, 2014.

■ Irwin Wilson, Dec. 31, 2014.

■ Jason Whitehip, Jan. 2, 2015.

■ Daniel Nez, Jan. 6th, 2015.

■ Mark Spencer, Jan. 10, 2015.

■ Jerry Pino Jr., Jan. 30, 2015.

■ Billy Tom, Feb. 22, 2015.

■ Norman Sam, Mar. 11, 2015.

■ Tiffany Gishey, Mar. 15, 2015.

■ Delbert Gray, April 9, 2015.

■ Joseph Black, Oct. 2, 2015.

■ Gwen Becenti, Oct. 14, 2015.

■ Wilson Tsosie, Nov. 22, 2015.

■ Anderson Joe, Dec. 9, 2015.

■ Richard Pete, Dec. 24, 2015.

■ Wesley Yazzie, Jan. 8.

■ Derek Smith, Jan. 26.

■ Johnson Bigthumb, Jan. 29.

■ Samuel Blackhat, Jan. 30.

■ Josephine Yazzie, Jan. 30.

■ Wilford Tsinijinnie, Feb. 4.

■ Sally Nez, Feb. 16.

The body of Herman Lee, 64, of Pinedale, was found near a furniture store in Gallup March 17.

Cibola promotion Continued from Page 1 plete the project, Wesley told the Cibola County Commission during a March 23 meeting.

“What we’re doing here is we’re actually taking charge of advertising for the county,” Vasquez said. “Team 66 was involved in this too. We’ve proposed it to the city and they liked the idea. We’re bringing it to the county to see if you guys can possibly help us finance this — not necessarily the sign or the car, but the video you’re about to see.”

Vasquez said the project doesn’t advertise just part of the county, but everything in Cibola County that people can come and do.

Scenic tour “It’s called ‘Cibola County Route 66 and Historic Byways,’” Wesley said.

“In this project it included research on the history of Route 66 and all of the

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interesting side trips in Cibola County.

For example, we have a Confederate cemetery here in Cibola County. Most people don’t even know where that is located. But those that are traveling through the area might be interested in going to see where we have two Confederate burials in a cemetery.”

“We’ve done Internet searches; read books, interviews; and obtained historic data,” she said. “They also identified all of the national parks and monuments, the visitor information centers and hiking trails in Cibola County, including Bluewater Lake State Park.”

Wesley showed commissioners a preview of the video. The reason it’s 28 minutes, she said, is if they submit it to public television, they’re going to want 28 minutes.

“Our own two stations will want 28 minutes also, so there can be commercials and various other things,” she said.

“The movie cost you $28,000?”

Commissioner Pat Simpson asked.

“The total project, the 28 minutes, will be $28,000,” Wesley said. “Keep in mind that the Chamber of Commerce paid $28,000 for two 30-second spots.

This is 28 minutes.”

Promotional tool Eileen Yarborough, executive director of the nonprofit Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation, said the video will be a link featured on city and county websites.

“We’re hoping to deploy it through all the hotels. When you go into the hotel and you turn on the TV, they usually have a spot where you can find out about local things. That would be an opportunity there, as well as public television and other stations,” she said.

“One that comes to mind is the ‘New Mexico True’ program that comes on every Sunday morning. That would fit appropriately in a spot like that as well.”

Copies of the video also would be

ideal for Yarborough to put in packets when she is out of state recruiting business to Cibola County, she said.

“It highlights all of the opportunities, not only for tourism, but they get an idea of what we look like here, how we live and the amenities that we have for recruitment as well.”

Commission Chairman Walter Jaramillo asked whether the county could pay the $28,000 in installments. Wesley said they could work with that.

“We need to make sure it’s going to fit in with the budget,” Commissioner Pat Simpson said. “We’re getting so many nonprofits, and Santa Fe is telling us to be a little bit more prudent and hang on to things a little bit. Let us think about it.”

The group’s goal is to help generate more income for the county, Wesley said.

“People would be spending the night, they would be eating here, they would be touring places, and they would be leaving their money in Cibola County.”

Continued from Page 1 and installed.

“Street work for curb is scheduled for this month,” Bigwater wrote in a statement Tuesday.

He could not release information about prospective tenants, citing public rental policies.

“The units at NM53 that are currently under development are public rental units and are subject to our public rental (PR) policies,” he stated. “As per the policy, PR units are available to those who apply, giving preference to Navajo Nation membership.”

The housing development is on a 26-acre lot of trust land leased to NHA, and it will include 49 prefabricated homes purchased from Clayton Homes out of Albuquerque. The cost of each single-family rental unit has been estimated at approximately $186,000 and it will be funded through a Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act Indian Housing Block Grant.

Nez removed Continued from Page 1 tary of State’s Office, attending the hearing by phone, said since the last reapportionment, there are some cities that have been divided with part in one district and part in another.

Nez said when he talked to people who signed the petition, many of them did not know what district they lived in.

The discussion over the names took more than four hours, but Nez admitted that he was not prepared as he thought the challenge would be dismissed because he had not been served properly.

Just two days before, 11th Judicial District Court Judge Lyndy Bennett dismissed a challenge filed against former Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly after he became a candidate for the state Senate District 69 seat.

In Shelly’s case, Keegan King, a researcher hired to examine the signatures he filed, said he sent an email to Shelly and went to his home in Thoreau twice to serve him. Shelly was not there either time.

On his first attempt, King said, he gave the packet to a woman who answered the door. He said he assumed the woman was Shelly’s wife, sister or some other relative. On the second occasion, he said no one was home so he left the packet between the front door and the metal screen.

Bennett ruled that neither attempt met state law, which requires that the individual be personally served unless he refuses service, in which case the server would then be allowed to leave the packet behind a front door screen.

Nez said he was at a meeting when the person hired to serve him never served him with the official documents.

Nez said he didn’t return home the day he was supposed to have been served until after 10 p.m. and found the packet at his gate.

He said he picked it up and brought it to the house but never opened it up, thinking it was something someone dropped by for him to read.

“I had heard about the lawsuit and was expecting someone to come by and serve me, but no one ever did,” Nez said.

The affidavit filed by the person hired to serve Nez with the lawsuit said he had dropped the packet at Nez’s gate when Nez refused service.

“How could I refuse service when I was at a meeting and never met him?” Nez said, adding that he was considering filing an appeal with the New Mexico Supreme Court.

“This was unfair,” he said, pointing out that one judge dismissed a case with similar facts while DePauli refused to dismiss his case.

If DePauli’s ruling stands, Pinto will have no opposition in the primary, and no one has filed in the Republican primary.

Primary candidate profiles, Page 2

Grants softball, Sports Page 1

Lady Patriots win Sports Page 1

Monday April 25, 2016 Number 127 Volume 129

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Gallup to form drought strategy

GPD officer arrested for assault on officer

Navajo-Gallup water project to be discussed

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindependent.com

By Patrick O’Malley Staff writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @PKOmaly

GALLUP — The Gallup City Council is scheduled to issue decisions related to the city’s limited water supply and the ongoing Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project during a regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is piping water from the San Juan River Basin to multiple locations on the Navajo Nation, Gallup and local pueblos.

On Tuesday, the council will vote on submitting a grant application to the Bureau of Reclamation for a “Water Commons” drought contingency plan. The purpose of the plan is to “protect Gallup’s limited ground water resources, especially in case of emergency situations,” according to city documents.

The plan will assess the area’s history with drought, vulnerabilities, response strategies and how to mitigate a worst-case scenario. The total cost of the program is estimated at $70,000 — $35,000 of which is from the Bureau of Reclamation, $5,000 from city staff hours and $30,000 to the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments for consultant fees. The funding will create a drought planning task force, a detailed work plan and a communications and outreach plan, according to the resolution.

While the city prepares for a worst-case scenario, they are also continuing to grant easements for the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in preparation for the much needed new water supply. Though the water is coming from up north near the San Juan River, it’s being completed in multiple locations such as Thoreau and the city of Gallup, titled Reach 27 by the project.

The city is set to discuss and take action on planning for Reach 27.13, which includes a waterline and 1.5-million-gallon storage tank that will affect the University of New Mexico-Gallup and the Navajo Nation chapters south of the city. As part of the intergovernmental services agreement, UNM-G will agree to

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An actor portrays drinking and death via shadow puppet during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile in this March 26 file photo. The play will be performed at Gallup’s El Morro Theatre Thursday.

DEATH COMES TO GALLUP El Morro Theatre hosting ‘When the Warriors Were Called Home’ and ‘Gary and the Angels’

GALLUP — A Gallup police officer was arrested early Saturday morning after she reportedly got into a confrontation with other Gallup Police officers.

Carmelita James, 26, of St. Michaels, was charged with assault upon a peace officer and resisting arrest. She has been a patrol officer for almost four years.

Gallup Patrolman Dominic Molina said he was on patrol about 2:17 a.m. when he saw a big crowd outside the Shalimar, 2618 W. Historic Highway 66.

He noticed a woman, later identified as James, kicking the front passenger door of a vehicle in the parking James lot. She eventually opened the door, pushing it as far as she could.

Molina said that when he approached the vehicle with his emergency lights on, James stopped what she was doing. He said he then approached the driver of the vehicle, who he identified as James’ girlfriend, Marisa Watch-

See Officer assault, Page 5

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

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INDOW ROCK — Babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome don’t remain babies forever, but they remain children, or rather childlike, for the rest of their lives.

John Templin, a Diné College-Tsaile theater instructor, wrote a play about fetal alcohol syndrome through the eyes and heart of Garrison “Gary” Lee Murphy and through some of the Diné fundamental teachings of the Holy Ones.

The Diné teachings that Templin, who is not Diné, managed to capture are about seeing all of life on Mother Earth through one’s heart and spirit, Ké or understanding and respecting one’s kinship to immediate and extended family members, and that everything on Mother Earth has a positive purpose but it can become negative when it is abused.

For example, alcohol is a medicine. And if one doesn’t truly understand and respect the power of alcohol, it becomes easy to abuse, which results in serious and even fatal consequences.

In the Diné way, when a woman becomes pregnant, she must be careful about how she conducts herself and that includes what she eats, drinks and even sees, smells, touches and what she does. The behavior of the father during the woman’s pregnancy is just as important.

But for whatever reason, that teaching and many others are not taught or are ignored.

Photo courtesy Margo Manaraze Wagner

Garrison “Gary” Lee Murphy (1976-2007).

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

Gary Lee Murphy’s grave in Gallup is seen in this undated courtesy photo.

‘Gary and the Angels’ Templin said he never met Murphy, who died from injuries when he ran in front of a moving vehicle in Gallup in 2007.

He said Murphy was a child in a man’s body, a child living alone on the streets of Gallup and

See Diné College play, Page 5

Zuni school superintendent candidates down to 2

Courtesy photo

See City Council, Page 5

ZUNI — One of the three finalists who applied for the job of superintendent with the Zuni Public School District has decided to withdraw from the race.

Brian Staples has decided to keep his job as principal of Tsé Yí Gai High School in Pueblo Pintado and cited “personal reasons” during a phone interview Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Zuni Board of Education was scheduled to meet Saturday to discuss which of the remaining candidates is a better fit for the district. They are Mike Hyatt, an associate superintendent for Gallup-McKinley County Schools, and Troy Webb, principal of McCoy Elementary School in Aztec.

Tammie Gerrard, director of human resources at the school district, said the board is scheduled to report a decision at a meeting Monday night.

Navajo wins dispute over removal of Canyon de Chelly remains

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

WINDOW ROCK — The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco found that more than 300 human remains were illegally removed from Canyon de Chelly by the National Park Service.

The Navajo Nation Department of Justice stated in a news release that the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the U.S. Department of the Interior April 6 by reversing the federal Arizona district court’s dismissal of the Navajo Nation’s lawsuit, which sought an injunction of an inventory of human remains and funerary objects removed from Canyon de Chelly Nation Monument on the Navajo Reservation by the National Park Service.

The Nation’s lawsuit, which cited the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, also peti-

tioned the federal court for the immediate return of the human remains and funerary objects.

The Nation’s justice department stated that the reversal of the federal Arizona court’s dismissal of the Nation’s lawsuit returns it to Arizona where the Nation will aggressively seek the immediate return of the human remains and funerary objects for reburial in Canyon de Chelly.

The Nation’s position is that the Nation has the right of control over the human remains and funerary objects because the National Park Service removed them without the Nation’s consent from the Nation’s trust lands as affirmed under the 1849 U.S.-Navajo Treaty, the Nation’s justice department stated.

“Therefore, the National Park Service does not have ‘possession or control’ as required to allow it to conduct a cultural affiliation determination under the Native

See Human remains, Page 5

Independent file

Canyon de Chelly is seen in this Jan. 20, 2010, file photo.

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Monday, April 25, 2016 — Page

5

Hopi, Navajo water rights claims advance

By Kathy Helms Cibola County Bureau cibola@gallupindependent.com

KYKOTSMOVI — Special Master Susan Ward Harris issued parallel rulings in mid-April to accelerate judicial review of water rights claims by the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation in the Little Colorado River General Stream Adjudication.

The Navajo Nation filed a statement of claimant in November 1985 to assert rights to water within the adjudication of the Little Colorado River system and source. The longstanding Arizona state court matter will determine water rights to the Little Colorado River Basin water resources.

Harris has been appointed special master by Arizona Superior Court to preside over aspects of the case.

In orders issued April 13-14, Harris set July 7 as the date for Hopi to update its claims concerning the Hopi Industrial Park and Hopi ranches, including the Aja, Clear Creek, 26 Bar, Hart and Drye ranches, according to a news release from the tribe.

Hopi Tribal Chairman Herman G. Honanie expressed the tribe’s commitment to obtaining sufficient water to meet all the needs of its homeland.

“The Hopi Tribal Council continues to be very focused on securing an adequate supply of good quality water for the Hopi Tribe, as water is essential to our future as a sovereign nation,” he said. “Good quality water is becoming less and less available in northern Arizona due to rapidly rising rates of use and drought conditions.”

Harris additionally ordered the Arizona Department of Water Resources to prepare a hydrologic survey report to provide new technical information about the Navajo Nation’s claims, which have not been revised since 1985.

The report will include hydrological and technical information about available surface water and groundwater resources; information about historic and existing water uses on land referenced in Navajo’s claim; proposed water attributes; priority date and other information.

Harris will set a final deadline for the Navajo Nation to update its claims during a July 12 status conference.

Decades of litigation The Little Colorado River General Stream Adjudication has been pending for decades.

More than 3,100 claimants have filed more than 11,300 claims in the case, which will determine the priority and allocation for all water rights claims in the Little Colorado River Basin, including surface water and groundwater.

To secure water for the Hopi Reservation’s present and future needs, the Hopi Tribe claims water from all available sources in the basin, and dates its priority over these resources to the beginning of time.

Hopi also recently restarted talks with Navajo to identify water resource goals common

to both tribes, and pursue agreements to further those interests.

Hopi Tribal Council Vice Chairman Alfred Lomahquahu, a participant in the historic meetings between the two tribes, viewed the talks as an important opportunity to find common ground.

“Both the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation have interests in securing water to preserve their traditional ways of life as well as for future economic growth,” he said. “It makes sense to explore ways the tribes can work together to strengthen our position on our water rights.”

Hopi priority limits set In April 2013 Special Master George Schade Jr. issued a report regarding seven issues pertaining to the priority of water rights claimed by the Hopi Tribe. The court received comments and objections from Hopi, Navajo, the United States, Tucson Electric Power, Salt River Project, the city of Flagstaff, Freeport McMoRan, Arizona Public Service, Catalyst Paper, the Arizona State Land Department and a group commonly referred to as the Little Colorado River Claimants.

The court subsequently heard argument on the comments and objections and issued a ruling this past January.

In the 2013 report, the special master found that the Hopi Tribe holds water rights with a priority of time immemorial only in the area within Land Management District 6, and not on other tribal lands within the 1882 Executive Order reservation or Moenkopi Island. The court agreed with those findings.

The special master stated that Hopi holds an implied reserved water right to Moenkopi Island with a date of June 14, 1934.

The court amended language in the special master report to state, “The 1934 Act provided federal reserved water rights for the use of the Hopi Indians residing in Moenkopi Island.”

The special master also found — and the court agreed — that Hopi does not hold water rights as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

“The treaty did not create or establish water rights but protected existing property rights within the lands acquired by the United States,” the special master stated.

The court additionally agreed with the special master’s finding that the tribe holds federal reserved water rights with a priority date of 1882 on Hopi partitioned lands.

Various parties claimed that the priority date should be much later, and should coincide with the date of the actual partition of the lands, but the withdrawal of the lands in 1882 created a federal reserved water right that was essentially transferred to the tribe as part of the subsequent partition, the court stated.

The special master concluded in 2013 that he was unable to make any recommendations regarding Hopi Industrial Park, Aja, Clear Creek, Drye and Hart ranches.

Independent file

Aaron Lee is stalked by the trickster coyote during a one-act play at Diné College in Tsaile in this March 25 file photo. The play will be performed at Gallup’s El Morro Theatre Thursday.

Diné College play Continued from Page 1 addicted to alcohol.

Templin said he met Murphy through a documentary, “Gary and the Angels,” which was produced by Margo M. Wagner, a co-founder of Extol! Charitable Foundation.

He said he believes that the angels are the nurses, emergency medical personnel, special education teachers and administrators, and anyone who helps individuals who have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Templin said “Gary and the Angels” will be shown before his Diné College-Tsaile theater students perform “When the Warriors Were Called Home,” a play that he wrote about the exposure deaths in Gallup.

El Morro Theatre is featuring the play and documentary, plus special speakers, at 7 p.m.

Thursday.

Headstone Templin said Extol! Charitable Foundation and CARE 66, which are both nonprofit

organizations, are sponsoring the event Thursday and are raising funds to purchase a headstone for Murphy’s grave site.

He recalled that after his play about Murphy, “When the Holy Ones Sent Coyote Down from the Stars,” took first place in the one-act play competition at the 2015 American Indian Higher Education Consortium conference in 2015, he decided to thank Murphy by placing some flowers on Murphy’s grave.

Templin said he searched and searched for Murphy’s grave and finally found it.

He said he couldn’t find Murphy’s grave because there was no headstone.

The Extol! website — which honors Murphy through its Pass It Forward Campaign to educate the world about fetal alcohol syndrome and Murphy’s huge contribution to the prevention of the syndrome — features a trailer of “Gary and the Angels” and a short story about how Wagner met Murphy:

“I spied him walking down a city street in Gallup, New Mexico, a forlorn, ragged, filthy yet beautiful creature who had not been warmed with kindness far too many days of his life.

“His cold, hard aloneness, the anguish he exuded, stretched to the edges of the Earth and wrung my heart into threads. This could not be.

“I would search for him and leave food on the curb where I would see him hiding behind bushes and buildings.

I learned his name from townsfolks and greeted him.

He was catatonic, not speaking or looking at me.

“Time passed. He learned to trust me and became my beloved comrade.

“This is Garrison Lee Murphy, a young, homeless Navajo boy, suffering the effects of full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome. He is the personification of the innocence and wisdom of a 7-year-old, disguised in the body of a man.

“The film, ‘Gary and the Angels,’ is a tribute to Gary’s life.”

‘When the Warriors Were Called Home’ This year Templin’s oneact play, “When the Warriors Were Called Home,” also took first place at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Conference.

Templin said both plays were connected because when he started researching Murphy through local newspaper archives, he couldn’t help but read about the exposure deaths in Gallup.

He noted that “When the Warriors Were Called Home” should be given an “R” rating for “reality” because some of the scenes in the play are challenging and infuriating and sometimes the language reflects the rough and rawness of the subject.

Online: For information about Extol! Charitable Foundation, visit www.extolcf.org

Human remains Continued from Page 1 American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,” the Nation’s justice department noted.

According the decision of the San Francisco federal court, between 1931 and 1990, the National Park Service removed 303 sets of human remains and associated funerary objects from Canyon de Chelly National Monument, a sacred site on the Navajo Reservation.

In the mid-1990s, the Park Service decided to inventory the remains and objects pursuant to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act with the ultimate goal

of repatriating the remains and objects to the culturally-affiliated tribes.

The Nation sued, seeking an injunction ending the inventory process and returning the remains and objects.

The Nation argued that the Park Service’s decision to inventory the remains and objects instead of returning them violated the Nation’s treaties, various laws and the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

The federal Arizona district court dismissed the Nation’s lawsuit because the U.S. had not waived its sovereign immunity and the Park Service has not taken any final agency

action on the disposition of the remains and objects.

The federal justices further stated that Navajo creation stories include events in Canyon de Chelly and Navajo history maintains that key spiritual figures still reside in the canyon.

They also stated that in 1849, the U.S. and the Nation signed a treaty acknowledging that the Nation was “under the exclusive jurisdiction and protection of the government of the said United States.”

But in 1864, the federal government forcefully and violently removed the Navajo from their lands, including Canyon de Chelly, and relocat-

ed them to Fort Sumner, 300 miles away, the justices stated.

They noted that Navajo villages and food stores were destroyed during the forced move and hundreds of Navajos died as a result of this forced relocation.

They added that after four years of exile, the federal government allowed the Navajo to return to Canyon de Chelly and in 1868, the United States and the Nation signed a second treaty ceasing hostilities and establishing, among other things, the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation, which included all of Canyon de Chelly.

Officer assault Continued from Page 1 man, 26, of Gallup.

Watchman told Molina the two had been arguing because she was trying to get James to leave with her, but James refused to do so.

James was placed in the back seat of a police unit after being told to call a family member to come and get her.

Gallup Police Sgt. Emery Holly at that point directed Molina to perform a breath alcohol test on her.

Molina said when she blew into the portable test unit, however, it came back as failed because she did not

blow into it long enough. Two more attempts were made without success.

At that point, she asked for permission to go to the bathroom and stepped out of the unit. When she was told to attempt the test again, she said she wouldn’t do it until she had a chance to go to the bathroom.

Molina said James then took her cellphone out of her pocket and dropped it. She bent to pick it up and instead began running south away from him through the parking lot.

“I ran after her and grabbed her right wrist to stop her,” Molina said in his report. “She swung her left fist

toward my face. I leaned back and she missed.”

A security guard working at the bar helped Molina take James to the ground. As Molina attempted to put a cuff on her left wrist, James placed her right hand under her body in an attempt to stop from being handcuffed.

Eventually, James was handcuffed and placed on her feet. When police attempted to walk her back to the police unit, however, she continued to attempt to pull away.

When she was finally placed back into the police unit, Molina said James removed her handcuffs and be-

gan yelling.

“She also started to use her head to hit the windows of the unit,” he said. She was then transported to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center without handcuffs on her.

Once at the jail, James reportedly refused to exit the vehicle at first.

When police were able to get her out of the unit, she refused to enter the jail.

“After several attempts to talk her into walking to the jail, she finally entered the jail doors,” Molina said.

Gallup Deputy Police Chief John Allen said any time a police officer is

arrested, it is a prima facie violation of the department’s personnel policies.

He said that a review of the department’s history for the past eight years shows that any officer who has been arrested is no longer employed by the department.

“We take this very serious,” he said. “We are not happy and disappointed. As soon as the internal affairs investigation is done, we will take swift action.”

That investigating began Monday, he said. James is on administrative leave with pay.

Growth Management Master Plan.

■ Request for street closure along Aztec Avenue for the Memorial Day Parade May 30.

■ An ordinance concerning the city of Gallup liquor license tax.

Because of changes from New Mexico’s Liquor Control Act, the due date for restaurant and club licensees will change from July 1 to Nov. 1. The city will still collect $250 annually; this ordinance only affects due dates for restaurants and clubs.

■ Addendum to the water service

agreements with Be Greene LLC. ■ Joint powers agreement with McKinley County for animal control. The agreement would create a board, with three members from the city and two from the county, responsible for hiring animal control personnel and submitting a budget to the city and county.

■ Approval of corrective quitclaim deed to Joey L. and Donna J. Corley. The Corleys were granted a quitclaim deed from the city in 1989; however, a title company

recently discovered there was a mixup. The deed including the west half of an alley instead of the east half of the alley as was intended.

■ Third quarter fiscal year 2016 budget update from Chief Financial Officer Patty Holland.

■ Mentmore lift station rehabilitation project. This station recently had a pump failure, and another one of its pumps is in poor condition.

This project would replace both sewage pumps with more modern designs.

The council has regular meetings at 6 p.m. every second and fourth Tuesday of the month in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, 110 W. Aztec Ave. Agenda packets are available about 72 hours prior to each meeting through the City Clerk’s office or the city’s website. The council accepts public comments on non-agenda items near the end of each meeting.

Information: City Clerk’s Office, 505-863-1254 Online: www.gallupnm.gov

City Council Continued from Page 1 pick up the project costs that pertain directly to its expansion plans.

Also during the regular meeting Tuesday, the council is scheduled to cover the following action topics: ■ Authorizing the execution and delivery of a local government planning grant agreement with the New Mexico Finance Authority.

The city is seeking reimbursement in the amount of $50,000 from the state, which was used to update the

Relay birdhouse auction, Page 6

Miyamura softball, Sports Page 1

Weekend Saturday

Page 21

April 30-May 1, 2016 Number 132 Volume 129

A day in the life

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

©2016 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

PHONE 505-863-6811

PER COPY $1.50

Following the money

IHS: Little has changed at Sage Hospital, funds flow to Razaghi

By Sherry Robinson Independent correspondent

GALLUP — Sage Memorial Hospital wants more money from U.S. Indian Health Services and has filed a new request to overcome what IHS claims are continuing problems with conflict of interest, Indian hiring and procurement and are the basis for the federal agency’s resistance to increased funding.

The most recent Form 990s filed with the IRS show that former Sage CEO Ahmad Razaghi’s companies continue to be big beneficiaries.

On April 15, Sage asked the U.S. District Court of New Mexico for permission to file a supplemental complaint because of IHS’ Oct. 26, 2015, refusal to approve Sage’s proposed fiscal year 2016 annual funding agreement.

Sage operates a 25-bed acute-care hospital in

Ganado. In 2007 it contracted with IHS under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Act. Following reports of financial irregularities by newspapers and former Sage employees, IHS conducted a performance review and contracted for a forensic audit. Based on conclusions from those inquiries, IHS in 2014 refused to renew its contract with Sage.

That would have cost the hospital nearly $20 million a year, 55 percent of its revenues.

Sage sued, and U.S. District Court Judge James Browning ordered IHS to approve an annual funding agreement to keep the hospital operating until issues could be resolved in court. IHS subsequently turned down two more contract renewals. On Aug. 31 the court granted Sage summary judgment and invalidated the IHS refusals.

See Follow the money, Page 5

City, county to team up on animal control

By Patrick O’Malley Staff writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @PKOmaly

GALLUP — In an attempt to maintain a clean audit, the city of Gallup and McKinley County are working toward a joint powers agreement regarding animal control in order to clarify their roles.

The city funds three animal control officers while the county contracts services with the Gallup-McKinley County Humane Society.

Recently county staff, along with City Attorney George Kozeliski and City Manager Maryann Ustick, got together to review their animal control policies.

They realized they had a lot of shortcomings.

“We’re a little worried — (Chief Financial Officer) Patty (Holland) finally got us a clean audit and there aren’t any real checks and balances,” Kozeliski said regarding their current services. “So the plan was to set up a JPA.” The goal is to create a clear role for the city and county in regard to funding and policies for animal control services.

Kozeliski mentioned that someone had come up with the idea of forming a joint powers agreement in the 1980s, but there was no follow through at the time.

The city plans to model the new animal control board off of the McKinley County Metropolitan Dispatch Authority, which has a board consisting of both county and city representatives. The new animal control board would have five members, three from the city and two from the county.

The cost of operations in the agreement is split, so the city pays 60 percent and the county pays 40 percent.

“Right now, if you put the money together, we’re paying a little over that, so we’re going to

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Aaron Lee opens the play “When the Warriors Were Called Home” with Navajo symbology of the Warrior Twins and the Trickster at El Morro Theatre in Gallup Thursday.

SPOTLIGHT ON EXPOSURE Instructor under investigation as play hits close to home

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

G Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Danielle Joe plays Loretta, who is mourning the death of her father in “When the Warriors Were Called Home,” the one-act original play performed by Diné College students at El Morro Theatre in Gallup Thursday.

ALLUP — Once again, the award-winning play “When the Warriors Were Called Home” by Diné College-Tsaile theater director and playwright John Templin hit close to home.

Gracie Apachito, from Pinehill, was among a few people walking slowly out of El Morro Theatre after the performance of the play by a small team of his theater students

Thursday evening. Apachito’s eyes were red from crying.

“It hit home,” she said.

Apachito immediately lost her fight to hold back tears.

“One of my sons is an alcoholic,” she said. “It’s hard.”

“When the Warriors Were Called Home” is about the annual winter exposure deaths, sometimes referred to as open field deaths, of Native Americans — primarily Navajo people — in the city of

See Spotlight on exposure, Page 5

See Animal control, Page 5

Vet sees light at the end of the tunnel Gallup Solar offers to help install panels on home

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com Independent file photo

In this April 12 file photo, Navy veteran Jim Smiley looks out the front door of the house he has been building for the past seven years at his plot in Crownpoint.

CROWNPOINT — James Smiley might not have to struggle anymore without electricity at his home in Crownpoint.

The 63-year-old Navy veteran’s plight to build a house in the country and connect it to the grid caught the attention of the right person.

Bill Bright, president of the board at Gallup Solar, said he read about Smiley’s plight and decided to contact him and offer assistance to install a solar panel large enough to run a refrigerator.

“We have several panels donated to us

by Engineers Without Borders,” Bright said Friday. “They wanted us to distribute them on the reservation.”

Bright said the panels are used because they were tested, but they are in fairly new condition. Since they are free, the cost of

installation could go down to about $3,000 apiece.

“We are looking at sharing the cost,” Bright said.

Gallup Solar, a nonprofit organization based in Gallup, has assisted other families in the area with similar issues to connect their homes to the grid. Bright said funding can be shared with the local chapters of the Navajo Nation, which every year are allocated several thousand dollars to assist community members. In the case of Smiley, funding may be available from two different sources.

See Gallup Solar helps vet, Page 5

LOCAL Animal control get a break from the county on the deal,” Kozeliski explained.

The plan is for the agreement to go into effect by July 1, and they anticipate the cost to the city for the first year to be $270,000. The new agreement would create a board; allow them to lease a facility; place animal control officers under a single municipality, the city; and would allow

them to make a request for proposals for veterinary services and shelter services.

Instead of splitting roles between the county and city, the new animal control officers would become city employees covered by city insurance plans. They would also have jurisdiction to work in the city and county — everywhere except on federal lands.

Kozeliski describes their current shelter and veterinary services as sort of an

“understood handshake” between the city and Dr. Clint Balok, of the humane society. Kozeliski even suspected that the city may be underpaying for services because of the kindness of Balok.

The city has officially approved the agreement; however, the same agreement still needs to be approved by the McKinley County Board of Commissioners and then the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.

Gallup Solar helps vet Continued from Page 1 Mariano Lake Chapter President Anthony Begay said Smiley, as a veteran, is entitled to financial assistance from the chapter where he is registered, and from two different funds: the veteran fund and the regular chapter fund. However, Smiley has already missed the March deadline and might have to wait for the next funding cycle.

“I’m very happy. I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Smiley said Friday. He is scheduled to meet with Bright Wednesday.

Smiley, who over the past seven years built his home outside of Crownpoint, is on a tight budget, depending mostly on his disability income. He lacks a home site lease, which is a requirement by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority to connect a

home to the grid.

Smiley has been trying to secure a home site lease for many years. As part of the process, he has to secure about 500 signatures form other Navajo tribal members with rights to the grazing area where he built the home. In addition, approval of a home site lease requires numerous surveys, including archaeological, natural resources and species of concern.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Aaron Lee, center, plays the roll of James Jones, whose father froze to death in Gallup, in the one-act play “When the Warriors Were Called Home” performed by Diné College students at El Morro Theatre in Gallup Thursday. The play addresses the issue of alcohol abuse and exposure deaths in Gallup.

Spotlight on exposure Gallup, but it’s told from the angry and frustrated voice of James Joe, whose alcoholic father froze to death in a ditch in Gallup.

Diné College-Tsaile theater student Aaron Lee, of Low Mountain, plays the part of James Joe. From Lorita Joe, James Joe’s sister, we learn that their father became an alcoholic after their mother died.

The father is living with his daughter, Lorita, when he gets into an argument with Lorita’s live-in boyfriend, Jimmie, who is also an alcoholic and verbally abusive.

The father and Jimmie are both drinking alcohol.

Jimmie tells Lorita that it’s not his fault that her father ran out into the freezing night.

“I told him to shut up about all that medicine man shit, and he just kept on,” Jimmie says.

“It wasn’t my fault; he knew I had a temper!”

Danielle Joe, of Lukachukai, who plays the part of Lorita Joe, was awarded best actress at the 2016 American Indian Higher Education Consortium Student Conference in Minneapolis in March.

“When the Warriors Were Called Home” took first place in the one-act play competition at the conference.

Not homeless Gracie Apachito’s son, like the father of James and Lorita Joe, has a home.

“He’s not on the streets,” Apachito said. “He has a home; he has an apartment.”

And, with a forlorn smile, she said her son is a talented artist. But Apachito said her son spends most of his days drinking.

“That’s his life,” she said tearfully. “We talk to him. We can’t find a way of turning him around. Today’s his 33rd birthday. So we’re here and we’re wondering what he’s doing. It’s just too much.”

5

Follow the money

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Saturday, April 30, 2016 — Page

Solutions Emily Piltch, 37, and Pam Bell, 58, both of Gallup, were among the first group of people that left El Morro Theatre after the play was finished.

Piltch described the play and performances as “powerful, well done.”

She added that the creative depth of the play was very real and truly raised an awareness of the exposure deaths in Gallup.

Piltch, whose eyes began tearing up, said she believes that something can be done about preventing the deaths but that it will be challenging and that it will require the voice and participation of everyone involved, including the people who have alcoholism.

Bell said she owns a business on the downtown walkway and so she sees the people with alcoholism.

“It breaks my heart,” she said.

Bell also advocated for everyone coming together because the issue is so huge.

“We need some action,” she said as she smiled sadly at Piltch, who also looked back at her with the same sad smile.

Before they walked away, they comforted each other with a hug.

Lashona James, of Piñon, a dorm student at Diné College-Tsaile, said it was her second time seeing the play and it was still “heartbreaking.”

James let out a deep sigh before saying that she wanted to see the play a second time because “that’s what my family went through — losing family members.”

Like Piltch and Bell, James believes there are solutions but everyone needs to understand the issues.

“We underestimate it and so we’re not really aware of it,” James said.

She shrugged her shoulders and said that the No. 1 reason for the exposure deaths is alcohol, so maybe alcohol needs to be removed.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Warrior Brown plays the role of a homeless alcoholic in the one-act play “When the Warriors Were Called Home” performed by Diné College students at the El Morro Theatre in Gallup Thursday. sized. “But they completely Investigation overreacted. They put him on and lawsuit administrative leave so they could investigate.”

Most of the crowd was gone Jordan added that the from El Morro Theatre when college’s 30-day administraAbraham K. Bitok, dean of acative leave and investigation of demics for Diné College-Tsaile, finally agreed to talk about why Templin is how an individual is treated for allegedly carryTemplin was conspicuously ing a handgun on campus. absent from the performance.

“She’s saying, ‘He was rude “I can’t give you a reason to me on a trip’ and that’s basiwhy,” Bitok said. “I’m not cally the allegation,” he said.

John’s supervisor. I run the Jordan said the 30-day student activity part. So I’m not administrative leave and aware why he was put on administrative leave. But all I can investigation of his client is the college directly interfering say is call human resources.”

Several telephone messages with the success of the play.

“There are people within left with the office of interDiné College that are very im Diné College President jealous of the success of the Martin M. Ahumada were not play,” he said. “It’s fantastic. returned Friday.

It’s great for college and it Templin declined to comment and referred all questions raises important awareness of very tragic and critical issue. to his attorney, David Jordan, “But unfortunately, not of Gallup, who said Friday, everybody is happy with the “A student filed a complaint success of what the students which is full of false allegaare doing,” Jordan continued. tions against John. They’re “It’s ridiculous that they sent petty allegations. him home when the play he “She didn’t like how she wrote and the students he was treated on a trip,” Jordan explained. “She didn’t like the taught were performing this fact that he was impatient with important play for the public.

“And the decision-making her, things like that. The way at Diné College, as it has been the school should have hanfor many years, is very, very dled it as this is one student’s poor,” he said. “We’re very review of the professor. upset about it. We’ve filed a “All students turn in their harassment charge with the reviews of their professors; Office of Labor Relations. And that’s how the school should we’re going to sue them.” have handled it,” he empha-

Continued from Page 1

Numerous, repeated violations On May 28, Sage submitted its proposed fiscal year 2016 annual funding agreement.

Sage CEO Christi El-Meligi said in an Oct. 13 letter that the proposed 2016 agreement is “substantially the same” as the 2015 agreement, so IHS is required to approve it “under this Court’s reasoning.” The 2015 agreement asked for funding of $32.6 million — nearly $20 million in base funding and $12.6 million in contract support costs.

IHS had denied the 2015 renewal, in which Sage also argued that proposed funding was “substantially the same” as the year before, and IHS argued that it was a 55 percent increase over 2013 funding.

Judge Browning agreed with Sage and was unmoved by IHS’ argument that the proposed 2015 contract “vastly exceeded the funding provided in 2013.”

On Oct. 26, in a 24-page letter to then Sage board President Stenson Wauneka, IHS declined to renew the 2016 contract.

John Hubbard Jr., then area director for Navajo Area IHS, wrote that the “service to be rendered … will not be satisfactory,” and the funding request was not substantially the same. Sage asked for $19.99 million, which is $8.7 million more than the 2013 amount and “exceeded the applicable funding level for the contract,” Hubbard wrote. IHS denied Sage’s entire request for contract support cost funding because it too exceeded applicable funding levels and “the proposed amounts are not supported by sufficient documentation.”

The agency also took issue with Sage over conflicts of interest, procurement and Indian hiring.

Hubbard said the agency’s review of Sage operations and records “demonstrates numerous and repeated violations of the regulations regarding conflicts of interest, open procurement regulations, and Indian preference in employment and award of subcontracts, “and there is no indication that Sage has changed any of its practices or actions.”

Hubbard noted that in fiscal year 2014, Sage incurred $6.65 million in fees under the management agreement with Razaghi Healthcare. Under a contract extension, signed by the board May 17, 2013, Sage pays $175 an hour for CEO services — ($364,000 a year if he works 2,080 hours. The Sage board must pay the CEO an “incentive fee” if they find Razaghi Healthcare’s performance “at least satisfactory,” Hubbard wrote. If Sage terminates the contract, even for such cause as its own insolvency, it must pay Razaghi Healthcare a severance payment equal to the average of the most recent four years of service. And the board surrendered to Razaghi Healthcare responsibility for contracting the next CEO and for hiring and firing the key executives reporting to the CEO. According to Form 990 filed with the IRS in 2013, Sage’s conflict of interest policy covers employees and the board of directors, and the executive determines whether conflicts exist.

Sage and IHS tried to resolve the 2016 contract issue and in early April those attempts failed. Now Sage wants the court to force IHS to fund the submitted contracts; require IHS to account for funds from Oct. 1, 2013, onward; reverse last year’s denial of the contract and contract support costs; and award Sage damages and attorneys’ fees.

Follow the money Sage’s Form 990 for 2013, filed with the IRS on April 1, 2015, shows that its highest paid contractor was Razaghi Healthcare, at $3.2 million; the third highest was Morgan & Razaghi at $909,857.

During the previous year, Razaghi Healthcare was also the highest paid contractor, at $1.85 million, and Morgan & Razaghi was fourth, at $979,260. Ahmad Razaghi owns Razaghi Healthcare and controls Morgan & Razaghi.

He was CEO through Sept.

26, 2013, when Christi El-Meligi, director of nursing, became CEO. Under a management agreement approved by the board of directors, Razaghi provides consulting services through Razaghi Healthcare, which performs the duties and responsibilities of the CEO, according to the Form 990.

All of Sage’s officers and key employees work for Razaghi Healthcare, which “also receives a management fee for performing such services.”

The 990s for 2013 and 2012 show that for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014, Sage paid $1.2 million in attorney fees, up from $594,051 the year before. Travel expenses were $215,405 plus another $344,992 for conferences and meetings; the year before they were $226,373 for travel and $13,543 for conferences.

Stipends for the hospital’s board members increased steadily, from $86,413 in fiscal year 2012, to $168,087 in fiscal year 2013, to $226,543 in fiscal year 2014. Individual board members in fiscal year 2014 received from $17,500 to the $33,500 paid to Wauneka, then board president.

In May 2013 the board approved an extension of the management agreement from February 2015 to September 2020; it was this extension that IHS objected to in its October 2015 letter.

Different recollections In its April 15 filing, Sage recounts its version of events that led to the standoff with IHS. Sage says that on Sept. 29, 2014, IHS didn’t approve its three-year contract renewal because of an IHS performance monitoring review and a forensic audit by the Albuquerque accounting firm Moss Adams.

Sage claims the audit’s conclusions are irrelevant, incorrect or speculative. And it says that disgruntled employees who were fired or laid off “banded together to regain control of Sage” and complained to newspapers and governmental agencies.

In his Oct. 26 letter, Hubbard wrote that in July 2013 Navajo Area IHS received information from “numerous former employees of Sage” that “the management company with which Sage contracted was misusing funding and exerting undue influence over the operation of the hospital.”

Because of the magnitude and seriousness of the allegations, Navajo Area IHS investigated and also hired Moss Adams.

IHS concluded that “Sage failed to properly administer its contract,” and the hospital’s board of directors “failed to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities to the hospital.” As a result, “waste and/or misuse of contract funds directly affected Sage’s ability to provide satisfactory services to the patients.”

In interviews, two former employees said they quit after refusing to participate in Razaghi’s plans to convert management from hospital employees to Razaghi Healthcare employees.

Razaghi, Wauneka and Sage sued five former employees alleging defamation, false light invasion of privacy and false statements.

In their response, the whistleblowers said they reported “financial and managerial improprieties” to various government officials and continued to report their concerns after leaving Sage, according to court documents.

Former finance officer Charity Yessilth said in her response that Razaghi “is the leader of a massive scheme to defraud the federal government, Sage Hospital, and the Navajo people.” She said Sage entered into sweetheart contracts with business entities that Razaghi owns or controls and that Wauneka had allowed Razaghi’s inappropriate control and undue influence over Sage’s board of directors. She said Razaghi had forced Navajos out of Sage’s workforce and replaced them with non-Navajos, even though qualified Navajos were available.

That lawsuit continues in federal district court in Arizona.