Chapter 37

Channel 10 had the big news all afternoon. Once he went on the air sometime in the afternoon, Fred went live from the Navajo Police HQ and he stayed on the air until the anchors got their make-up on. He ate it up, of course. He was the star reporter who had THE story of the year. The usual story coming from the Navajo or Hopi reservations was about the football team or Chief RedHat, Chairman of the Hopi. That was usually a story about the all-volunteer firefighters and EMTs, of which RedHat was the captain.

No mention of the pervasive poverty on the reservations, of course. But the media never mentioned the poverty in rural – or urban, for that matter – parts of Arizona. Poor people are invisible.

The biggest part of the story was the felony arrest of the Assistant U.S. Attorney. That dangerous criminal was led from his vehicle with his hands in cuffs – you could tell Fred was never in the Army, ‘cause he didn’t say ve-HICK-le. There must have been a general call out, because almost all the Navajo Police Force lined the way.

Those untrained, native savages were having a grand old time, showing off their shiny badges and uniforms to the AUSA. The AUSA, of course, never looked and was walking as fast as possible into the building.

Fred, for his part, was on the air live to cover the event. About fifteen minutes later, he was back on the air with Chairman Panther Strike.

“I am here with Chairman Panther Strike, of the Navajo Nation,” said Fred.

The Chairman had changed into a windbreaker with ‘Navajo Nation’ and the logo of the Nation on it. I was surprised to learn that the Navajo Nation had a logo. “I have recently had a phone call from the White House in Washington, D.C.” said the Chairman. “We had a brief and frank exchange of views on the current standoff.”

He paused, thinking. “Y’all know that ‘frank exchange of views’ means we didn’t agree on anything. We discussed the negative impact of the possible involvement of the U.S. Army. First of all, I reminded President Reagan that there were laws – U.S. Federal Laws – against using troops for enforcement of law in the USA.”

I’m sure that telling the exact nature of the exchange with Reagan was verboten. One didn’t DO that. Oh well, another first for the Navajo.

The Chairman was going on and on. “President Reagan questioned that if the Navajo Nation was truly an independent nation, why couldn’t he use the Army. I thanked him for acknowledging that the Navajo Nation was indeed an independent nation. With it’s own laws, as any independent nation should have.

“I may have mentioned that there were a good many native citizens scattered about the continental borders of the U.S. who would not take kindly to an armed incursion against the Navajo. Not a good way to start a second term. But if he wanted to try, bring on the tanks.”

The Chairman was calm, but he flat out challenged the Commander in Chief of the mightiest Army in the world.

“Sorry, Fred,” said the Chairman, who was not sorry at all. “I may have said too much. But I will not be bullied by anyone, representing any government. I will follow the counsel of Chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it of the Nez Perce. You may know him as Chief Joseph. He is famous for saying ‘From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.’ And we will not start a fight against the United States. If the U.S. Army comes here, it is THEY who start the fight.

“But remember that Chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it fought them for many years. The U.S. Army never defeated him. They starved the Nez Perce, an approach unworthy of the modern U.S. Army. They chased him across Montana, as they chased Sitting Bull of the Sioux into Canada. The United States entered into many treaties with Chief Joseph. They also entered into may treaties with the Navajo. We still wait for many terms of those treaties to be honored.

“If the Great White Chief in Washington wishes to start a war, on the excuse that the Navajo relies on the treaties signed by the United States, let him bring on his war. We do not welcome this ‘Reagan’s War,’ but we do not shirk from fighting against it.

“I say to the memory of Chief Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it: ‘We will spend millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute. Our land is ours.’”

Fred’s cameras kept rolling as the Chairman turned away from the microphone. They had not seen the appearance of several braves behind the Chairman. There were three old men standing in front of a bunch of braves. Tribal Chief Soaring Eagle was there, as were Tall Feather and Wild Mustang. They were wearing livid swipes of paint on their faces: white, brown and red. Behind them were a group of younger men, not painted. Not yet at any rate.

Five minutes later, there was an unscheduled press conference at the White House. Larry Speakes, Reagan’s Assistant Press Secretary, was at the podium.

“We wish to clear up a misunderstanding,” said Speakes. “There are no plans, I repeat, NO PLANS, for any sort of armed incursion into the Navajo lands, or any reservations of native citizens of the United States. There was a conversation between President Reagan and Chairman Panther Strike of the Navajo Nation. Several things were discussed, among them how to de-escalate the confrontation between the Assistant Attorney for the U.S. for Arizona and the local Deputies of the Navajo. This was a minor dispute over the activity of a small research company involving fissionable materials, over which the Department of Energy should have control.

“That dispute was based on a misunderstanding. The DOE is indeed charged with controlling fissionable materials. It is NOT in charge of control of FUSIONable materials, since there is not any definition of what materials could create controlled fusion reactions. The Spirit of the Hunter research company has filed a patent claiming to have created a fusion reaction.

“I say ‘claiming to have created’ because it is only a few days since the patent application has been filed, and the science is unclear. In any case, I am not a scientist. Anything further will come from DOE.