SINE

Aura is in pain with this. It’s only after we met that we discovered the coal powered generating station in Navajo reservation by Page that is the biggest power producer in the west is also the biggest Navajo employer.

CORONADO

Yeah. And we also found out the Salt River Project that owns the plant is going to close it because natural gas is way cheaper than coal. You’d think that would make Aura’s day, except that the gas plant is in Phoenix, which means that any Navajo or Hopi that hopes to keep working for them is going to have to live off the reservation most of the time. Aura hates pollution, but sympathizes with the Indians. The irony is that no matter how the power gets produced, it’s used to divert water from the River to Phoenix and Tucson. And she objects to disrupting the natural environment. Since she lives on a communal ranch with a well, you’d think she wouldn’t care since she’s not to blame, except, she’s Aura. - Moving the water to the cities seems unavoidable but what gets her really ticked off is the Indians giving up and letting a casino on the reservation so some of them can stay there and work there.. It’s like they gave up nature for the settlers to get water, and now they have to switch to a different intrusion to not have to move.

AURA

If they’d gotten more than pennies on the dollar for power produced on the res for decades, they might not be so hard up. They may have been as hard up before the Europeans showed up, but at least they didn’t see themselves that way before, probably because they were self sufficient at least.

CORONADO

They’ve got one heck of a lot of real estate though.

AURA

I’m talking about things money can’t buy. Like you needing to parade around like Coronado. How much would somebody have to pay you to stop. Or me needing to paint.

●Coal fired power plant closing

●Hopi casino opening