Bush Legacy Tour

WINDOW ROCK, NAVAJO NATION- This morning’s stop constitutes the only stop the bus will technically make outside the US. Window Rock is physically located on land surrounded by the state of Arizona but is the capital of the Navajo Nation. We made a stop in the Navajo Nation to talk about the ways that Bush, McCain and their conservative allies have short-changed Native Americans along with rest of the country. Bush’s budget each year he has been in office has cut or eliminated funding for many critical programs designed to help the Native American people. Programs like the Bureau For Indian Affairs Education Construction Fund, the Indian Health Services Urban Indian Health Program, The Indian Heath Facilities Fund and many Native American educational programs have all felt the squeeze and have had to deal with significant cuts. I was not surprised that the people who came through the bus did not have a lot of good things to say about this administration. One man driving by was not able to take the time to come in and see the bus but rolled down his window and said, “Bush has done nothing for American Indians.” This sentiment was echoed throughout the stop.

The event in Window Rock was also focusing on the environmental neglect of Bush and his allies like Senator McCain. Bush and the conservative-led Congress refused to cap greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions and have insisted that offshore drilling- rather than less energy consumption-is the answer to the energy crisis. The conservative environmental policy has traded clean air and water and sensible energy solutions for the interests of big business and deregulation. The Navajo people have weathered the storms of many American Presidential Administrations. I did not get a take on where the Navajo Nation feels the current one ranks comparatively. What I experienced in Window Rock is that the conservative policies of favoring the rich, rampant deregulation and privatization have impacted the Navajo community in many of the same ways it has impacted the dozens of other communities we have visited.