Native American activists for and against drilling outside Chaco Canyon clash, derailing official visit – By Ryan Boetel (Albuquerque Journal) and Susan Montoya Bryan (Associated Press) / June 11, 2023
Native American activists verbally clashed outside Chaco Culture National Historical Park on Sunday, derailing a visit by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who was there to celebrate a 20-year buffer around a World Heritage Site in northwest New Mexico.
Haaland’s trip to Chaco on Sunday was canceled when a group of Navajo land allotment owners blocked the road, upset with the Biden administration’s recent decision to enshrine for the next 20 years what previously had been an informal 10-mile buffer around the World Heritage site. The buffer protects the area from future federal mineral development, including oil and gas drilling.
Protesters yelled “Go home!” and some held signs that read “No trespassing on allottee land.” Other Native American activists who support a buffer zone around the historic and culturally significant place gathered to celebrate the protections. The two sides argued with each other on a county road leading to the remote park.
