Klee Benally, a Navajo man who advocated on behalf of Indigenous people and environmental causes, has died, his older sister said. He was 48 years old.
Benally died Dec. 30 at a Phoenix hospital, Jeneda Benally said. His cause of death was not disclosed.
Klee Benally, originally from Black Mesa, Arizona, but living in Flagstaff, Arizona, was among the most vocal opponents of snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in Flagstaff. At least 13 tribes consider the mountain on public land to be sacred.
He protested police violence and racial profiling and was among activists who gathered outside metro Phoenix’s NFL stadium in 2014 to denounce the offensive team name previously used by the franchise from Washington, D.C.
Benally advocated for the cleanup of abandoned mines, where uranium ore was extracted from the Navajo Nation over decades to support U.S. nuclear activities during the Cold War.
He also spoke out against an ordinance that, in a bid to address the problem of homelessness, had banned camping on public property in Flagstaff.
“There is no compassionate way to enforce the anti-camping ordinance,” Benally said in 2018 when officials declined to alter the 2005 ordinance. “Life is already hard enough for our unsheltered relatives on the streets.”
Benally was also a guitarist, and played with his sister and brother in the Native American punk rock band Blackfire.
In November, Benally released “No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in Defense of the Sacred.”
“Direct & effective action is essential if we desire a healthy & sustainable existence,” he wrote about the book. “Entire eco-systems are being destroyed to maintain unsustainable lifestyles. Where there is an environmental crisis there is a cultural crisis because we are people of the earth.”
“We are profoundly sad to announce the departure of Klee Benally — Indigenous land defender, agitator, warrior, artist, child of mother earth,” Jeneda Benally wrote on social media, adding that there was a family meeting Dec. 31 to discuss how the family will choose to celebrate his life.
Information from The Associate Press
Klee Benally, a Navajo man who advocated on behalf of Indigenous people and environmental causes, has died, his older sister said. He was 48 years old.
Benally died Dec. 30 at a Phoenix hospital, Jeneda Benally said. His cause of death was not disclosed.
Klee Benally, originally from Black Mesa, Arizona, but living in Flagstaff, Arizona, was among the most vocal opponents of snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl ski resort in Flagstaff. At least 13 tribes consider the mountain on public land to be sacred.
He protested police violence and racial profiling and was among activists who gathered outside metro Phoenix’s NFL stadium in 2014 to denounce the offensive team name previously used by the franchise from Washington, D.C.
Benally advocated for the cleanup of abandoned mines, where uranium ore was extracted from the Navajo Nation over decades to support U.S. nuclear activities during the Cold War.
He also spoke out against an ordinance that, in a bid to address the problem of homelessness, had banned camping on public property in Flagstaff.
“There is no compassionate way to enforce the anti-camping ordinance,” Benally said in 2018 when officials declined to alter the 2005 ordinance. “Life is already hard enough for our unsheltered relatives on the streets.”
Benally was also a guitarist, and played with his sister and brother in the Native American punk rock band Blackfire.
In November, Benally released “No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchy in Defense of the Sacred.”
“Direct & effective action is essential if we desire a healthy & sustainable existence,” he wrote about the book. “Entire eco-systems are being destroyed to maintain unsustainable lifestyles. Where there is an environmental crisis there is a cultural crisis because we are people of the earth.”
“We are profoundly sad to announce the departure of Klee Benally — Indigenous land defender, agitator, warrior, artist, child of mother earth,” Jeneda Benally wrote on social media, adding that there was a family meeting Dec. 31 to discuss how the family will choose to celebrate his life.
Information from The Associate Press