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Navajo Nation to discuss sacred sites with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

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ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. – In March 2015, the Navajo Nation filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the U. S. Federal Government for violations of Navajo Human Rights.

The petition addresses the violation of rights to religious, cultural, and judicial protection from the desecration of Doko’o’słiid, also known as San Francisco Peaks, through the continued use of reclaimed wastewater to produce snow for a commercial ski operation that is located on the site that is sacred to the Navajo People and 13 other southwest Indigenous Nations.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States, whose mission is to promote and protect human rights in the Western hemisphere. The IACHR consists of 31 Countries from North, Central, and South America.

As part of the ongoing petition effort, the Navajo Nation invited IACHR Commissioner Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, who serves as the Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People for an academic event to the Navajo Nation. Antoine will visit the Navajo Nation in her official role as a professor with the University of West Indies.

On June 18, Antoine will be visiting Doko’o’osłiid  Tsoodził, also known as Mt. Taylor,  and Oak Flat. Commissioner Antoine will be meeting members of the Navajo Nation Council’s Sacred Sites Task Force and San Carlos Apache, Havasupai, and Pueblos of Laguna and Zuni.  During Antoine’s tour of the sacred sites, she will be informed of the each sacred site and their meaning to Indigenous peoples.

On June 19, a panel discussion with Antoine and Indigenous leaders will take place at the Navajo Division of Transportation in Tse Bonito, New Mexico beginning at 8 am.

During the meeting the Navajo Nation and other Indigenous Nations will present information on various issues that focus on the desecration of Indigenous sacred sites and the importance of protecting such sites. The meeting is open to the public.

For more information regarding the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the role of the Rapporteur, please visit: www.oas.org

For additional information about Commissioner Antoine’s Academic Event contact the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission at (928) 871-7436 or visit the NNHRC website at www.nnhrc.navajo.nsn.gov

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