The rainbow is our sovereignty: Rethinking the politics of energy on the Navajo Nation

Abstract

This article offers a political-ecological reflection on Navajo (Diné) sovereignty, emphasizing lived and territorial interpretations of sovereignty, expanding our standard, juridical-legal notions of sovereignty that dominate public discourse on tribal economic and energy development. Operating from a critical analysis of settler colonialism, I suggest that alternative understandings of sovereignty -as expressed by Diné tribal members in a range of expressive practices -open new possibilities for thinking about how sovereign futures might be literally constructed through specific energy infrastructures. The article follows the controversy surrounding a proposed coal fired power plant known as Desert Rock, placing the phantom project in a longer, enduring history of struggle over energy extraction on Navajo land in order to illuminate this contested future. Broadly, these re-significations of sovereignty point toward a distinct modality of environmental action that suggests other kinds of relationships are at stake, challenging assumptions made by adversaries and allies alike that the politics of protesting (in this case) coal technologies is a practice with self-evident ethics. To intervene in these broad debates, I propose that there are multiple landscapes of power shaping Navajo territory, which must be brought into the ongoing, urgent debates over how the Navajo Nation might develop a more sustainable energy policy for the future. . Powell's research examines the cultural politics of energy development in Native Nations and supports social movements working on building sustainable infrastructure on indigenous territories and elsewhere.The rainbow is our sovereignty ResumenEste artículo ofrece una reflexión político-ecológica sobre la soberanía Navajo (Diné), enfatizando interpretaciones vividas y territoriales de la soberanía, expandiendo de tal modo nuestras nociones estándar jurídico-legales de soberanía que dominan el discurso público sobre la economía tribal y el desarrollo energético. Operando desde un análisis crítico del colonialismo del asentamiento, sugiero que entendimiento alternativos de soberanía -expresado por miembros de la tribu Diné en determinadas prácticas expresivasabren nuevas posibilidades para pensar sobre cómo futuras soberanías pueden construirse literalmente a través de infraestructuras energéticas específicas. El artículo sigue la controversia aparecida en torno a la propuesta de una central eléctrica a carbón llamada "Desert rock", situando este proyecto fantasma dentro de una larga y duradera lucha en torno a la extracción de energía en tierras del pueble Navajo con la finalidad de iluminar su controvertido futuro. En su sentido amplio, estas resignificaciones de la soberanía apuntan hacia una modalidad diferente de acción medioambiental que sugiere que hay también otras relaciones en juego, confrontando las asunciones hechas tanto por adversarios como por aliados de que la política de protesta de (en este caso) las tecnologías del carbón es una práctica con ética auto-evidente. ...

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