The Escalade bill’s first hearing is 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 26 in Monument Valley.
Bill number 0293-16 – which seeks $65 million of the Navajo Nation Council to begin construction on the proposed Escalade in Western Navajo – is scheduled before Navajo Nation Council’s Law and Order committee. Legislative officials said Wednesday the hearing is not official until the item is listed on the agenda, which becomes available at, navajonationcouncil.org Friday, Sept. 23.
The hearing is at the Monument Valley Welcome Center and Hotel.
More details, Google Map, driving directions, etc., is here.The committee council members are Kee Allen Begay, Jr., Herman Daniels, Jr., Raymond Smith, Jr., Otto Tso and Edmund Yazzie. Begay’s chapters are Many Farms, Tachee/Blue Gap, Nazlini, Tse Lani/Cottonwood and Low Mountain. Daniels’ are Tsah bii Kin, Navajo Mountain, Shonto and Oljato. Smith’s chapters are Klagetoh, Wide Ruins, Houck, Lupton and Nahata Dziil. Yazzie’s represents New Mexico chapters Churchrock, Iyanbito, Mariano Lake, Smith Lake and Thoreau.
Fort Defiance Councilman Ben Bennett introduced the bill Aug. 29. Bennett represents Crystal, Red Lake and Sawmill.
Meanwhile, the tribe’s legislative offices posted on Tuesday night the first batch of petitions that show thousands of people are against the Escalade bill. The numbers show 8,417 signatures oppose the project and 131 support it.
Legislative officials said the result of the second batch of petitions will be available Thursday morning at the latest. These include more than 25,000 online petitions-which came from Save the Confluence website during the 5-day comment-that were missing and later found.