Native Americans Chase McCain Off Navajo Land

By R. Siva Kumar - 18 Aug '15 12:07PM

Arizona Senator John McCain was held up many times by native activists and elders , even as he dropped into the Navajo Nation. Along with Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, he was meeting the residents at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, to celebrate an event that could honour the Navajo Code Talkers of World War 2, according to theantimedia.

Water was an important issue. "We're going to talk about it," he told the media. "The message we want to convey to Arizona is a discussion. We want to begin dialogue on securing our claim."

McCain was slammed recently as he passed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange bill, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. The law permits the sale of the Oak Flat campground to a global mining company, Rio Tinto.

MintPress News recently wrote:

"The Apache Stronghold formed in December in response to a last-minute legislative provision included in the the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. The provision at issue in the annual Defense Department funding bill grants Resolution Copper Mining, a subsidiary of Australian-English mining giant Rio Tinto, a 2,400-acre land parcel which includes parts of the Tonto National Forest, protected national forest in Arizona where it will create the continent's largest copper mine.

Some of those lands are considered sacred by multiple Native American communities, including the Oak Flat campground. The area is not recognized as part of the San Carlos Apache Reservation, but it has historically been used by the Apache for trading purposes and spiritual ceremonies."

However, there were activists screaming outside the museum, with signs that shouted: "McCain = Indian Killer" and "McCain's Not Welcome Here." Finally, they just entered and formed a human chain, chanting: "Water is life!"

Inside the museum, John McCain took pictures with the Navajo leaders . Adriano Tsinigine, a high school senior with a "Protect Oak Flat" card, came to him to snap a picture, and recalled later:

"'I pulled out my [Protect] Oak Flat card,' he says. When McCain noticed it, 'He took it, looked at it, and threw it back at me. How disrespectful to me and to the Apache people. I fully respect McCain as a veteran . . . and as a POW and for sacrificing [what could have been] his life, but I do not respect him as a U.S. senator. As an elected official, he should listen to all of the voices of people, [even] the people who are protesting against him.'"

When Senator McCain was questioned about the Oak Flat, he affirmed: "Historians have attested to the facts that Oak Flat is not anything to do with sacred grounds," he told 12 News "Several historians have attested to that. I respect people's right to disagree."

However, even as McCain tried to escape from, behind, the activists began to pursue him. The law enforcement tried to stop him, but finally, they chased him out.

News of John McCain's chase made the senator's office release a reply to the Phoenix New Times

"Senator McCain was honored to be invited by the Navajo Nation to meet with tribal and community leaders and to speak at the celebration of the Navajo Code Talkers on Friday. It was a great visit and he received a very warm reception from the Navajo community in Window Rock. He certainly wasn't 'chased off' the reservation - this small group of young protesters had no practical impact on his productive meetings with top tribal leaders on a range of key issues, including the EPA's recent Gold King Mine spill, which threatens to contaminate the Navajo Nation's water supply."

However, even though the office denies it, one thing is clear. The native people activist group is on the rise.