Grand Canyon!!

The Hopis adopted a constitution and created a tribal council in 1936. The federal government disbanded the council in 1943 because it was not enforcing a mandate for livestock reduction to deal with the problem of overgrazing. However, the council was reformed in 1951, mainly in order to create an official governing body to deal with mineral and water rights.  Although most of Black Mesa with its large coal deposits was on the Navajo Nation, both tribes shared mineral and water rights there. By 1963 the Hopis had approved oil and gas exploration leases for non-Indian corporations worth several million dollars. In 1966, the Hopi and Navajo tribes signed leases with Peabody Western Coal Company for mineral rights on 64,858 acres of Black Mesa. Peabody also gained rights to pump water from the underlying aquifer. The company had 35-year contracts to supply coal to the 1,580-megawatt Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada, and the Navajo Generating Station soon to open near Page, Arizona. In 1970 the Peabody Coal Company began strip mining on Black Mesa. This electricity helps power cities and industry in southern California, Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas. While revenue from these operations brings in much needed money and jobs, the tribes also suffer from air pollution, environmental degradation, and the decline of their precious aquifer and springs caused by the mines and powerplants.