One of the most repugnant chapters in American history, the Indian Removal, was led by Democrats in the 1830s. Nearly 200 years later, it seems that ignorant party members still continue to violate Native Americans’ rights.
President of the Navajo Nation Dr. Buu V. Nygren spoke before Congress on July 13 criticizing the disastrous energy policies of the Biden administration.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a Democrat, responded to Nygren’s testimony with the astounding hubris of an elitist who worships at the altar of climate change.
To oppose an oppressive decree, Nygren spoke before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
An area of New Mexico was subject to a 20-year prohibition on mineral and oil leasing on June 2 by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The restriction created a 10-mile perimeter around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and was issued under Public Lands Order 7923.
The Chaco region has long had cultural ties with the Navajo Nation. In the buffer zone, they also possess rich mineral rights.
Just The News claims that over the following 20 years, the ban will cost Navajo resource owners close to $200 million in earnings.
Haaland imposed the restriction in response to vehement Navajo criticism.
In his testimony, Nygren cited extreme Navajo poverty relative to the rest of the United States.
“The 10-mile withdrawal area includes numerous allotments and negatively affects the mineral interests of over 20,000 allottees,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Navajo Agency, a Navajo reservation, “lies within a portion of New Mexico that remains one of the least economically developed places in the United States.” The median income is less than $27,000.
Therefore, it is obvious that Public Lands Order 7923 poses a threat to the already vulnerable Navajo people.
The prohibition imposed by Haaland also violates the tribal right to self-determination.
Nygren testified that the ban “disregards and fails to honor the Navajo Nation’s sovereignty.”
He added that:
“This is an issue of great significance because it elevates outside special interest groups’ agendas over the sovereign interests of the Navajo Nation and the economic interests of our directly impacted allottees and local community members.”
When Ocasio-Cortez commented on the subject, one such “outside special interest” reared its ugly head.
The New York lawmaker backed the ban despite its negative effects on the economy, according to Just The News.
“The answer to that, in my view, is not to revert back to oil and gas mining,” she said, “but to invest and reinvest in these communities, particularly where there is harm being done.”
Nygren pointed out that it is a little late to start talking about alternatives now that the ban has already been implemented.
Every genuine American populist should have their head burst at the thought of Ocasio-Cortez sitting luxuriously in Washington, D.C., spouting bullshit about investing and reinvesting in one of the country’s poorest regions while endorsing a program that purposefully impoverishes the Navajo people.
It’s a lie that Ocasio-Cortez is a friend of the poor. However, her behavior demonstrates that she is willing to make a climate change altar out of really poor people.
Even though their voting history suggests otherwise, Democrats have traditionally mistreated American Indians.
The Navajo people have at least revealed another tone-deaf, snobbish hypocrite via their pain.
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