LAFAYETTE, La. — Electricity is a basic necessity many of us take for granted. Still, for thousands of people in the Navajo Nation who have lived without power for years, even decades, there's hope.
The Lafayette City Council is set to finalize an ordinance authorizing Mayor-President Monique Blanco-Boulet to donate 130 Lafayette Consolidated Government utility poles to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA).
The NTUA was established in 1959 by Navajo leaders to help meet the utility needs of the Navajo people.
According to the ordinance, the poles, which are currently in Lafayette Consolidated Government's inventory, will help support infrastructure projects across the Navajo Nation.
“I prayed for this day, I think I prayed for it a million times,” said Jimson Lee, who waited 10 years for electricity.
The utility poles will be installed as part of the "Light Up Navajo" initiative, a collaborative project by NTUA that aims to bring electricity to underserved areas within the Navajo Nation, also known as the "Four Corners", which consists of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
KATC spoke with Deenise Becenti, spokesperson for the NTUA, about the need to help put power on their ancestral lands.
“Our people live in scattered homesteads throughout the Navajo Nation, so we really don’t live in communities or one certain area, our families homesteaded on land that is passed down throughout the generations,” Becenti says.
The installation of the poles can help future generations who decide to stay and live on the land live more comfortably while having profound benefits to their daily lives.
“Once the families are connected to the electric grid, no longer would they worry about having to store their fresh food in ice chests, and no longer would they have to worry about having to purchase gasoline for their generators,” said Becenti. “Light Up Navajo erases that burden of worrying daily.”
For many, the arrival of the poles from other states leaves a profound effect.
“Standing at the front door and seeing the electric coming, it was emotional because I was used to life without it, and it comes with its benefits and advantages,” says Joni Lynn Scott a Navajo Nation resident.
From the swamps of Louisiana to the lands of the Navajo Nation, they aren’t just poles but more so a pillar of connectivity, bringing power to those who’ve gone so long without.
“Thank you. I’ve been waiting a long time. It makes me cry,” Martin Crosby, another Navajo Nation resident, expressed.
So far, the "Light Up Navajo" initiative has helped bring electricity to 8,000 homes. The addition of LCG's 130 utility poles, is expected to enhance the lives of many Navajo families for generations to come.
