Spiritual gathering begins Saturday

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Elouise Brown and opponents of the proposed coal-fired Desert Rock power plant, known as Dooda Desert Rock, will kick off the second annual Shundiin’s Mission Spiritual Gathering on Saturday at the resistance camp in Chaco Rio.

“The camp started Dec. 12, 2006, and it’s still going. The fire hasn’t gone out and it will never go out until we stop this proposal,” Brown said this week.

All tribes, races and faiths are encouraged to come together during the four-day spiritual gathering to bless Mother Earth and to “support our efforts to protect our Navajo homeland from environmental destruction,” she said. “We welcome all faiths.” Members of tribes as far away as Canada and South Dakota will be joining the group, and there are plenty of spaces for all campers.
Shundiin’s Mission is named for Brown’s niece — Maria Shundiin Alba — who died Sept. 11, 2006, when she was 1-day-old.

When asked about the cause of death, Brown said, “The doctors don’t know.” Of course, Brown thinks it could be environmentally related because of the family’s proximity to two coal-fired power plants in the area. “I wanted an investigation done, but my sister and my brother-in-law were taking it too hard. It was their first baby, and they just never took it any further.

“I asked my sister, ‘Is it OK if we use her name?’ I told her the whole thing and we cried and cried and that’s how we came up with this title.

“I know we’re all put on this earth for a reason, and my reason is to stop this power plant, among other things, but why would the Lord send a pretty little individual just to come down to where the proposed site is for one day — I can’t figure that out. And then it happening on Sept. 11, come on. There has got to be a logical reason. So I just called the whole thing Shundiin’s Mission.”

The event began last year after Brown began to feel the effects of battle fatigue. “I was just so tired from working on stopping the coal-burning power plant. I had a really, really heavy shoulder. It wasn’t like I couldn’t continue any more, but I just felt something really heavy. We needed spiritual help.

“This year, it’s back to the same thing. I need people to come together and help me pray. That’s why we’re doing it again.” Approximately 106 people showed up for last year’s event, in addition to Navajo Nation Rangers conducting surveillance on the group. They were invited down for coffee and food.

The reason the event is held for four days is because Brown is “very traditional,” she said, and “as Navajos, we do everything in four.” Because DDR does not charge for anything at their gatherings, Brown said they would appreciate contributions of finances, food and firewood.
“This whole issue is about stopping the power plant, saving the health of the people, and saving the environment,” she said.

President-elect Barack Obama has made it clear that investing in cleaner energy will be “priority No. 1” in his plans for economic recovery. Obama is reported to be considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Kennedy gained Washington experience by fighting anti-environmental legislation in Congress in 1995 and 1996.

Obama’s stance on carbon and greenhouse gas emissions has some industry officials worried. In an interview last January with the San Francisco Chronicle, Obama said his administration would put in place an aggressive cap and trade system.

“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted. That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches,” he told the Chronicle.

Sithe Global Power and Diné Power Authority, partners in the 1,500 megawatt Desert Rock project, have said the air permit for the proposed plant is the most strict permit ever issued and will virtually eliminate regional pollution emissions, improve efficiency to reduce carbon emissions and use advanced technologies that will reduce water use by nearly 85 percent.