Sep 17, 2013 - Nohaaká Dine Demand a Stop to Horse Round ups & Slaughters

Recently, the Nohaaká Dine, passed a resolution to oppose the further round up of feral horses on the Navajo reservation.

Currently, the Navajo Nation under President Ben Shelly, are rounding up feral horses, of which there are an estimated 75,000 feral horses on the Navajo reservation, and sending them off for auction, or to Mexico to be slaughtered. Since late July, over 800 horses have been rounded up.

The Nohaaká Dine (Earth Surface Holy People), from the Black Mesa region, are unanimously opposed to further round ups and have referred the round ups as “mass executions of horses that have been illegally rounded up.”

Their resolution goes on further to state, “These governmental entities have not attained our free, prior and informed consent in violation of our rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples….In addition, these illegal actions violate our Diné Way of Life and our responsibilities as human beings.”

The horse is considered sacred by traditional Navajo and the horse even plays a role in their creation story.

They further oppose President Shelly’s support of a proposed horse slaughterhouse to be built in Roswell, NM. The proposed Roswell facility, which is also supported by the Yakama Nation, is currently on hold after a US District Judge stopped the Valley Meat Company from moving forward with constructing the slaughterhouse.

Meanwhile, the roundups of horses on the Navajo reservation are scheduled to continue throughout September.