Notes on Wupatki Evictions

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Transcript of interviews conducted in 2011 about Wupatki evictions by Dr. Lee Greer, Associate
Project Scientist, University of California, Irvine, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology and Board of Director of Forgotten People with Katherine Peshlakai, Willie and Elise
Tohannie.

Katherine Pehslakai: I recall Superintendent Russ Mayham and his assistant Frank parked
beside their residence. They came to me in Wupatki and it seemed like they would let me remain
there until I could packed and be out of there. I had a relative Chee Paddock had a truck, flat
bed. He went there and everyone tore down the house and loaded up the lumber and other
helpers. There was a small house and they loaded that flatbed down, cutting down supports,
corners to fit it on to the truck. The superintendent insisted that no trash be left behind. We
loaded up 3 vehicles and took down the sheetrock used in our house, even the broken chips from
tearing down the building. We loaded up everything. The river was high and where we were the
water was knee high. Four 4 homesteads moved. This was in the early 1960s 1962-63, in May.
I remember it was before shearing the sheep. Our uncle had a Hogan over here and they allowed
us to use the Hogan because we had nowhere to live and had an immediate need.

I had 9 children, Eleanor, Charlie, James, Roy, Richard, Polly, Ernest, Katy and Judy, 5 boys and
4 girls. Wupatki chased us out. We were the last ones chased out. Faye, Elsie and Hale Smith
were already forced out. Jerry Tony Susie Tony, never saw Hale Smith afterwards. Teddy
Bedonies wife her parents are from that line of people. Emmett Lee and his brothers, Hale
Smith, they were chased out before us.

We had to cross while the river was high from the snow melt. And our in-law, Chee Paddock had
a little truck. He helped us. Him and his wife Margaret. That is what happened. Wupatki
Rangers were outlaws. We had a lot of sheep. They went across by themselves. I had to drive
the truck across by myself. I lost my mother when my brother was 1 years old so we
scratched around by ourselves. Chee helped us. Who would do that to kids? There were 4
vehicles.

The Wupatki Rangers told us to they would be parked making sure we disassemble our homes
and they will not leave until we are out of there. They watched us cross the river. We used to get
our water supply at Heiser spring. They told us we cannot use Heiser spring any more, no
access.

Stella still lives there in Wupatki in a canyon, since the park stressed the fact they dont want her
grazing her sheep in view of tourists. When they shut off Heiser spring that is when they brought
her some water.

I remember, some of the people share the story of what happened to them in Wupatki. They said
back in the early 1900s, they were awarded allotted land in Wupatki. Billy Butler is my cousin,
he knows if it is allotted land. He lives in stone house. Billy Butler has land assigned in his
name. When he knew they were being evicted, he knew it was coming and he advised us he had
some land. Billy Butler was the grandson of the Codys and Mexicans.

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Long ago, my family had land on the west side of Wupatki. They were forced off land Babbitt

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claimed. We used to migrate there. We thought we were safe at Wupatki. From my

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understanding Dine people residing in Wupatki, toward Babbitt land, people were under
understanding that land we were living on allotted land that was surveyed or identified as ours.

You can still see where my children and I set up a temporary shelter and where our Wupatki
home was unloaded. Chunks of sheetrock and remnants are still piled over the hill where they
first unloaded it. From that spot where we landed, over here north of here a little ways we built a
small house, some of my sons helped. That first house burnt down, then we built another house
and that burnt down. This is the next house after those 2 houses. At that time I was working in
Silver Saddle and I saved money bought lumber and materials, even this hay barn was
purchased. Ronald constructed this building. I earned and paid for everything here. I worked as
a maid in a motel on 4th street the Highway House.

I drank water from Box Spring. Box Springs and all the wells in the area are contaminated. We
were never told. I have been drinking out of these water sources since we were forced across the
Little CO River. Dry Springs, Box Springs, Badger Spring, Dry Springs are all contaminated.

Elsie, Faye and I had summer camps here in Black Falls and we went back to Wupatki in the
winters. The reason we had winter there is because of the firewood there. There are more
juniper trees and the wood is closer.

In around 1945 they started uranium mining when the war started. Eleanor was born in 1942.
Civil Core of Conservation engineers built a diversion dam but as the US got deeper into war, the
plan was abandoned and everyone went to war. Concrete diversion. We had plans to farm.

Faye Willie: I grew up in Wupatki. I used to move around with seasons, had a summer camp in
Black Falls and a winter camp over at Wupatki. At some time in my life I acquired TB. I was
sent out to the Plains, OK for 2-3 years for treatment. When I came back, evictions had already
occurred. When I came back home I was told we could not go back to Wupatki. I did not witness
it because of my health conditions. As far as I know there was no evidence or anyone who
shared a story that anyone was compensated. I remember when James Peshlakai, a son of
Katherine Peshlakai pleaded for a peaceful resolution for us to remain in Wupatki but there was
no negotiation. I asked Katherine if there was any meeting organized for people to have a
discussion about the eviction and whether there were any meetings held. James efforts to
approach the Park Service did not work. He was totally denied any help and did not have a
chance.

A little ways from my home is Dry Springs. When my family was forced out of Wupatki, we
went across the Little CO River where my family was forced into a Bennett Freeze so we could
not build or fix our homes and drank uranium and arsenic contaminated water. The spring had a
pump on it and originally there was a concrete structure with the pump. Through the years, it
would break down and require maintenance. Knowing there was water still in there we used a
bucket to bring it out. There was a tank a little ways downstream from there and a lot of people
loaded up barrels and hauled the water home. I did not get told that it going to get capped off or

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shut off. I do not know if the authorities welded it shut or poured concrete on it. We can still take

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a bucket to it and collect some water.

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I had cancer. I was in Phoenix for 3 months, was in a coma on a respirator. They were ready to
unplug me. I had ovarian cancer. The Public Health nurses were surprised I was alive. My
Cancer is in remission now. I am 81 years old and was diagnosed, 8 years ago. I was told my
trouble with my lungs in 1951 when I had TB might have made lungs more susceptible, drinking
contaminated water. Radon radon gas is prevelant here. To get safe drinking water I have to
travel to Flagstaff.

Elsie Tohannie: I was raised in Wupatki. I have diabetes, arthritis and had a kidney removed due
to Cancer. I drank contaminated water since I was a child from No water Mesa. I used to drink
water from the river. I used to dig water and get tailings from upstream. Anything along the
stream bed goes into the river bed. I was raised in Wupatki. I was born on the mesa there in
Hanging sheep skin. We were nomads from behind peaks back to Wupatki. We were chased out
of Wupatki in the winter. There is a news article about it from 1930s, some sheep died from
floating ice. They told to move out across the river and chased us out. The Park ranchers did that.
We were never given notice to move out and were told we could not move back. The National
Park said leave. This was in the 60s. The Park Rangers followed us across the river. We made a
temporary summer shelter at our sheep camp. At that time, my son Ronald was 6 and an older
sister that was 5, Larry was 5, Nina was 2. My dad passed on right about that time. I think they
preyed upon me as a widow. Ruth McCabe had already been forced across. I used to crawl
down to clean Dry Spring well because it was not maintained. I drank water from Dry Spring
all our lives. I had a rusted tank set up for 5 years and the water kept turning yellow, and orange
color, I kept drinking it. It was offered to us by Cameron Chapter and it said for livestock only.
I was never told the water I was drinking was contaminated.\

Endnotes:

1. Interview conducted by Lee F Greer, PhD, Associate Project Scientist, University of California, Irvine
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Steinhaus Hall 415, Irvine, CA
92697, Mobile: (951) 966-2042, Email: lgreer@uci.edu, lfgreer@gmail.com, http://www.leefgreer.net/service.html

Notes transcribed by Marsha Monestersky, Program Director, Forgotten People, P.O. Box 539, Tonalea, AZ
86044, Mobile: (928) 863-4113, Email: forgottenpeoplecdc@gmail.com