Author Archives: apcurley

Food systems, water rights, and COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation

On December 11, I joined my friends and comrades Janene Yazzie, Nate Etsitty and Felix Earle and Brandon Benallie to talk about food sovereignty in the Navajo Nation. Thank you Eugénie Clement for organizing this event. It was really great to hear from everyone here and connect digitally when we can’t meet in person. LinkContinue reading “Food systems, water rights, and COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation”

Contested water settlements inflamed the Navajo Nation’s health crisis

Link to full article here: https://www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-water-contested-water-settlements-inflamed-the-navajo-nations-health-crisis “The Navajo Nation is at the center of the worst global pandemic in recent memory. Although the total number of COVID-19 cases is small compared to national hotspots, the rate of infection is among the nation’s highest. Today, national media is focused on Navajo water insecurity — a clearContinue reading “Contested water settlements inflamed the Navajo Nation’s health crisis”

A Matter of Degrees Podcast

Julian Brave Noisecat interviewed Wahleah Johns and I about the history of coal extraction and energy transition in the Navajo Nation. The episode is called, “Episode 7: One Navajo’s Fight for a Just Energy Transition.” In this interview I supplement Wahleah’s interview with regional historical context. The podcast generally focuses on the the politics ofContinue reading “A Matter of Degrees Podcast”

Against colonial grounds: Geography on Indigenous lands

In this response to a provocation from Natalie Oswin, “An Other Geography,” Sara Smith and I write in “Against colonial grounds”, that we need to critically rethink institutions of higher learning. We need to examine how disciplines and universities are complicit in the reproduction of colonial histories and myths of white supremacy.  We argue thatContinue reading “Against colonial grounds: Geography on Indigenous lands”

“Our Winters’ Rights”: Challenging Colonial Water Laws

Much of the scholarship on Indigenous water rights in the United States focuses on legal and political rights awarded or denied in water settlements. This article highlights the voice of settlement opponents within Diné communities over the proposed Little Colorado River Settlement in 2012 between the Navajo Nation and Arizona. Using interviews with key actors,Continue reading ““Our Winters’ Rights”: Challenging Colonial Water Laws”

T’áá hwó ají t’éego and the Moral Economy of Navajo Coal Workers

My article on the meaning of work and livelihood for Diné coal workers. The article is Open Access through the Annals of American Association of Geographers website. Here is the link: T’áá hwó ají t’éego and the Moral Economy of Navajo Coal Workers. Abstract: The development of coal mining in the Navajo Nation, the largestContinue reading “T’áá hwó ají t’éego and the Moral Economy of Navajo Coal Workers”

New Geoforum article

This article considers the Navajo Green Jobs effort of 2009, an attempt to “transition” energy production from coal to wind and solar for the largest tribe in the United States, the Navajo Nation. Through ethnographic “revisits,” in 2008 and 2013, I argue that Navajo Green Jobs contained two problematic hybrid neoliberal assumptions about governance andContinue reading “New Geoforum article”

Closing Navajo Nation’s coal plant is not justice

Closing Navajo Nation’s coal plant is not justice 6/29/17 – My take on the proposed replacement lease for the Navajo Generating Station recently published in High Country News. My main point is that it’s not energy that is the problem, although this is a problem. It is the relationship between the tribe and the stateContinue reading “Closing Navajo Nation’s coal plant is not justice”