After years spent stopping threats one project at a time, Save the Confluence families are now supporting historic legislation before the Navajo Nation Council that would permanently recognize and protect the Confluence as a sacred site under Navajo Nation law.
For more than a decade, families from Bodaway/Gap, elders, veterans, youth, and
community advocates have stood together to protect one of the most sacred places in
Diné homelands, the place where the Little Colorado River meets the Colorado River
deep within the Grand Canyon.
Known to many simply as the Confluence, but to the Diné as Tooahidiliih, this place is
not just a destination. It is a living sacred landscape. It is a place of prayer. A place of
emergence. A place of turquoise waters, songs, offerings, ceremonies, and responsibilities passed from one generation to the next.
It is a place where Diné families have prayed for countless generations and where neighboring Nations, including the Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Zuni, Havasupai Tribe, and Paiute peoples also maintain deep cultural and spiritual connections.
Today, STC stands at another important moment in that journey. This is not just another campaign.
This is the next chapter in a movement that began with local families simply saying: “Enough.”
A Movement Born from Protection
When the proposed Grand Canyon Escalade emerged more than a decade ago, many
local families were shocked by what was being proposed, an industrial tramway
descending into the Grand Canyon, hotels, restaurants, retail development, and large-
scale commercial tourism near one of the most sacred places in Diné history. What
followed was not just opposition but a movement.
Community members organized chapter meetings. Elders spoke. Veterans spoke. Youth
found their voice. Families traveled, testified, and educated while allies from neighboring
tribes stood in solidarity, and in 2017, after years of advocacy, the Navajo Nation
Council voted to reject the Escalade proposal.
For many, it felt like victory. But for those closest to the Confluence, it also raised a
difficult realization: What stops the next project?
The Threats Did Not End with Escalade
In the years that followed, new proposals emerged, including preliminary discussions
surrounding Pumped Storage Hydropower projects in and around the greater Grand
Canyon region. To many, these proposals looked different from Escalade, in that they
were replete with words like “renewable energy,” “infrastructure,” and “economic
development.” But for families who had spent years protecting the Confluence, the underlying question remained the same:
Would these projects alter sacred landscapes, sacred waters, and the spiritual integrity of the Canyon?
The answer, once again, required vigilance and local communities to mobilize, and as
STC members continued monitoring industrial proposals, a deeper truth became clear:
Winning individual battles would never be enough if the sacred place itself remained
legally vulnerable. That realization led STC toward a new goal: Long-term protection.
Why Sacred Site Legislation?
Therefore, rather than waiting for the next development proposal, STC is now
supporting legislation introduced by Honorable Delegate Curtis Yanito that would
formally designate the Confluence as a protected sacred cultural landscape under
Navajo Nation law.
“For years, our families have had to react to one threat after another. Escalade taught
us something very important—if we truly love this place, we cannot only defend it when
danger appears. We must protect it permanently, according to our own Diné laws, our
own teachings, and our own responsibilities to those not yet born.” said STC Steering
Committee Chair Nelda Dugi
For STC spokesperson Delores Wilson Aguirre, the legislation is about honoring those
who carried this fight before.
“Our elders, our veterans, and our families fought too hard to save this place just so our
grandchildren have to fight the same battle again. This legislation says clearly that some
places are not for sale, not for industrialization, and not for commercial exploitation.
Some places are sacred.”
Frequently Asked Questions
“Wasn’t the Confluence already protected?”
This is one of the most common questions STC receives.
The Confluence has been recognized as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) under
the National Historic Preservation Act, which acknowledges the cultural significance of
the area.
That recognition matters. But TCP status is not permanent tribal protection.
A TCP can require consultation when federal actions are involved, but it does not
automatically prohibit future development, nor does it permanently withdraw land from
commercial proposals.
Sacred site legislation does something different. It allows the Navajo Nation itself to say:
“This place is sacred. This place is protected.” And it does so under Navajo law.
Will this create new government offices or cost taxpayers’ money? No.
- The proposed legislation is designed as an unfunded policy measure. It creates no new
departments, no new regulatory offices, and no new staffing requirements.
It simply establishes a permanent legal framework using existing Navajo Nation
governance structures.
Will this affect grazing rights, homesites, or traditional family use? No.
- Families will continue to pray, graze, gather, and steward the land as they always have.
The legislation is aimed at preventing incompatible large-scale industrial or commercial
development—not traditional Diné use.
What about economic development?
- STC understands the importance of jobs, economic opportunity, and long-term
prosperity for Navajo communities. But STC also believes that not every sacred place
should be treated as commercial real estate. As Delores Wilson Aguirre explains:
“Economic development matters. Our people need opportunity. But our identity, our
prayers, and our sacred places matter too. Once a place like the Confluence is
industrialized, you cannot rebuild what was lost. You cannot replace a sacred
landscape.”
A Call to Protect What Cannot Be Replaced
For more than a decade, Save the Confluence has stood alongside local families,
elders, veterans, youth, and neighboring tribes to defend one of the most sacred places
in the Southwest.
Today, STC respectfully asks members of the Navajo Nation Council, chapter officials,
veterans, and community members to stand with the families who have protected this
place for generations.
Support sacred site legislation. Honor the voices of local communities. Protect the
Confluence—not just for today, but for the future, because some places are simply too
sacred to lose.
- Note: This is an opinion piece by a volunteer for savetheconfluence.com
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