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Opinion: Hawaii a special place for Navajos
Monday, January 21, 2008
Filed Under: Opinion

"I'm just guessing, but I'll bet Mr. Denton Blueeyes never has visited Hawaii.

However, given that nearly 400 of his fellow tribal members spent perhaps $1 million in public money to go there, I'm sure he thinks it must be a pretty darn special place.

Mr. Blueeyes did not ask me to be his spokesman, nor to put words in his mouth. He may not care one bit about an ongoing federal investigation into Navajo travel to Hawaii as long as he can use an electrical hot plate instead of firewood to heat something for supper tonight.

I am, however, going to exercise my journalistic privilege on this one.

It stinks.

It's not fair.

And there are plenty, Anglo and Navajo, who should share the blame for this disgrace. Sending as many a 400 people to Hawaii for a national conference on education, using precious and limited tribal money and federal funds intended to help Navajo school children, should be illegal.

Perhaps, that is the case. The Department of the Interior confirmed that its Inspector General investigation continues into whether taxpayer money was misused for so many to go so far, and for what?

There were not 400 Navajo representatives at the same conference in the three previous years, including when it was in much closer Phoenix and Denver.

Yet, hundreds of Navajo school board members, council delegates and the Navajo president and his wife all felt this mission was more important than, say, Mr. Blueeyes."

Get the Story:
Troy Turner: Are Navajo Blueeyes seeing red? (The Farmington Daily Times 1/20)

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Navajo Nation Council - http://www.navajonationcouncil.org
National Indian Education Association - http://www.niea.org

Related Stories:
Editorial: Accountability in Indian education (1/18)
Probe into Navajo trip to NIEA in Hawaii expands (1/14)
Former education employees in New Mexico sue BIA (1/14)
Navajo Nation leaders travel to Las Vegas and DC (12/10)
Editorial: Investigate Navajo trip to NIEA in Hawaii (11/30)
Navajo Nation defends NIEA trip to Hawaii (11/29)
DOI launches inquiry into Navajo trip to NIEA (11/27)
Navajo Head Start spent $35K on trip to Hawaii (11/23)
Lumbee officials defend trip to NIEA in Hawaii (11/20)
Sen. Domenici seeks probe of Navajo NIEA trip (11/19)
Navajos question trip to NIEA conference in Hawaii (11/12)
Editorial: Navajo Nation wasted money on NIEA (11/8)
Column: Navajo Nation children deserve better (11/7)
Navajo Nation sent more than 360 to NIEA in Hawaii (11/5)
Editorial: Outrage over trip to NIEA convention (11/1)
JOM funds paid for trips to NIEA conference in Hawaii (10/30)

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