Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation

By Andrew Curley
University of Arizona Press (2023)
217 pages

Review by Kevin D. Webster

Nothing is simple in relationships, and this is perhaps even truer when examining the relationships between the Native people of North America and the United States government. Although frequently distilled to a variety of simplistic notions, the reality is more complicated. In Carbon Sovereignty: Coal, Development, and Energy Transition in the Navajo Nation, Dr. Andrew Curley adds nuance to the often-simplistic narratives surrounding tribes and their relationships to energy. The book documents the history and the accompanying array of opinions on carbon, energy, independence, and self-determination in the Navajo Nation.

The book shines light on the opinions of coal workers, government officials, and environmental activists in an effort to understand the interaction between the Navajo Nation and energy. The term “sovereignty” is often applied in tribal politics; its usage is varied, but the term seeks to capture the idea that tribal people have a right to self-determination. Dr. Curley applies the term “sovereignty” to carbon—and specifically coal—to discuss how the Navajo Nation has acted to procure a future for tribal members.

Curley shows how coal mining on the reservation was used by Navajo government officials to further Navajo interests in water rights and nation building. Meanwhile, Diné environmentalists pushed a vision of alternative energy and alternative or traditional lifestyles that would pursue a different form of sovereignty. Navajo coal workers on the other hand prioritized a concept of individual responsibility to ensure personal prosperity embodied in the phrase—“t’aa hwo aji’ t’eego”—roughly translated as “it’s up to you.” The attention paid to these varied viewpoints helps show the diversity of thought in the Navajo Nation.

The book successfully links the forced relocation of the Diné to Fort Sumner—Hwéeldi—to the culling of sheep and to modern coal leases, all of which served to change the livelihoods of the Diné. At times, the book tilts more toward the academic than the popular. However, when it does so, it shows the incompleteness of many of the social theories that seek to explain worker and state relationships.

Overall, the book provides a multi-dimensional view of tribal decision-making. As such, Carbon Sovereignty is valuable to anyone seeking to learn more about the issues facing the Navajo Nation, but also tribes in general. The existence of multiple vantage points, and the multiple reasons for making decisions, are often left out of the discussion on tribal dealings, but Dr. Curley centers these topics to approach the varying forces at play on tribal lands. We are left knowing that tribes are not monolithic, and with a view of the unfolding relationships between tribal nations and the U.S. government.

Kevin D. Webster, PhD, teaches earth and environmental science at Diné College.