Address to Senator Barry Goldwater 197?

My name is Roberta Blackgoat.

I have a special concern about the JUA area around Big Mountain. According to this and all the struggles we have had since 1977, this has been going on the longest. This is what I work for, which is to free my country and to free my reservation. I have been trying to please whatever my kids are going to learn to make a living on this Big Mountain area.

Besides, I live quite a distance west of Big Mountain. According to the map, I am a little off to the center of the JUA area. I am not that near Big Mountain, but please, I wanted to help with this situation where I want to live independently. I wanted to have my livestock and wanted to do my work. Now I am short with wool that I used to do to make a living. I am short with my livestock and my weaving. I live way out here (indicating). So I wanted to have a little help on this. I was born here.

My Great-great-grandmother on my other side has her spirit right here. Also my mother and my uncles and all my family is buried there. This includes my own sisters and brothers. Also there will be my children. They were born right there on the sheepskin. So, I have deep, deep roots right here where I am living. So I do not want to be transplanted according to wherever, if I had to be relocated. I do not want to be relocated and also my kids.

This is what I have been saying. I want to stand for my sacred mountain. Mount Blanca, Mount Taylor, San Francisco Peaks and Mpunt Hesperus. This is where our song and prayers say. Right inside is the hogan So this Executive Order is the place where we have our medicine man doing the medicine. This is one point. This is the whole thing here. Here it should be a medicine set and on the south side there is a medicine man. He should be there. On the north side there is a sick person. Wherever he or she is they need help. Now I have seen a lot of ashes set up here.

This is the main part that I had concern about. In the southern part it is a whole other area. Inside of the four sacred mountains is really holy to us. No matter what all kinds of tongues say, it has -- and I have been speaking for all the nations that lived inside--inside these four mountains.

I thank you very much