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UNM Lobo
Nikka Peralta
Big Mountain, an area near Black Mesa, Ariz., used to be a place of peace
and tradition, but now the land is being destroyed by the Peabody Coal
Company, said Allen Cooper, a former member of the Big Mountain Support
Committee.
Cooper said the Navajo land has no electricity or water, and the people
there provide for themselves.
The land also happens to be extremely rich in strippable coal.
Bahe Katenay, spokeswoman for the tribe, said people of Big Mountain have
lost part of their simple traditions and culture. The way of life on the
mountain has changed because the effect of having a coal-mining operation
near the land has left a large portion industrialized.
"Dust and smoke from the machines settles in the valleys, and people are
getting sick from exhaust and emissions," he said.
Beth Sutton, a spokeswoman for Peabody Coal, said the company moved to the
area in 1970. Peabody Coal operates about 15 to 20 miles away from Big
Mountain and does not affect the people that live there, she said.
