skalopsky j. nettles' Journal

it's risky business herding sheep
i almost went to stay with this lady in arizona. i got sent to another home, though. i miss it very much.

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Black Mesa Elder Rena Babbitt-Lane (approx. 80 yrs old) is in the
hospital recovering from a minor heart attack and other injuries after an
incident of harrasment by BIA/Hopi Rangers earlier this week.

STATEMENT OF RENA BABBIT LANE:

“My sheep herder had left recently, so I was home alone and I took the
sheep out to a close area where they like to graze. This was Monday,
November 3rd. Three of the goats somehow ran through the partition fence
and I could not get them back across. I cut the fence and herded the sheep
through and put them all back together. Then they went to a nearby water
hole on that side of the fence and were drinking. I laid down under a tree
because I was exhausted. Three Rangers came up to me there. I think they
were all Hopi, but one of them spoke good enough Navajo that I could
understand him. They immediately began to threaten me. The ranger was
saying, ‘You broke the law! You’re gonna go to jail! You are not allowed
to herd over here.’ They grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me around.
Pretty rough. I tried to tell them that they should not be pushing around
an old lady like me, what kind of people are they? They took me back to my
house and were trying to search around. I was trying to stop them. One
picked up a stick and threatened me with it. They were heavily armed. I
told them that they were a bunch of bullies, bringing all those guns
around my house and being intimidating. They said, “We’re gonna come back
tomorrow and either impound all your sheep or else maybe we will put you
in jail and
let the coyotes eat all of your sheep while you sit in there.” There were
other things that they did to me too. I cannot remember all the details
very well. Then they wrote a ticket or something and left. I was feeling
very weak after that. I have no transportation so I walked 3 miles to the
neighbors’ house. They drove me down to my relatives closer to town. In
the course of retelling the story, I realized that I was having a pain in
my chest. They brought me to the hospital here and I have been here for
four days now. I am very sad about what’s happened here. I am not a bad
person, I am a kind person. Just herding sheep and they treat me this
way…”

www.blackmesais.org

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