Nicole Horseherder
Nicole Horseherder | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Navajo |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Environmental activist |
| Awards | Heinz Award (2023) |
Nicole Horseherder is a Native American environmental activist. A member of the Navajo Nation, Horseherder is an advocate for water conservation and land reclamation. She co-founded the nonprofit nonprofit Tó Nizhóní Ání in response to the Black Mesa Peabody Coal controversy and is currently the executive director.
Early life and education
[edit]Horseherder grew up on the Black Mesa plateau.[1] She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Family and Consumer Resources. In 1998, she earned her Master of Arts in linguistics from the University of British Columbia.[2]
Career
[edit]After returning home from graduate school, Horseherder learned that the springs which supplied water to her family's farm had run dry.[3] The region's aquifer had been depleted by mining performed by the Peabody Western Coal Company,[4] also exposing local residents to coal dust.[5] Encouraged by community elders, Horseherder turned to environmental activism to fight the issue.[6] In 2000, she co-founded the nonprofit Tó Nizhóní Ání, which translates to Sacred Water Speaks.[7]
From 2000 to 2005, Horseherder ran a campaign to get support to shutdown the Black Mesa Mine. Efforts focused on securing supportive resolutions from local chapter houses.[8] In 2003, the Navajo Tribal Council approved her resolution to cease pulling water from the Navajo aquifer in support of coal mining.[8] Peabody's mining operations were shutdown in 2005.[4] Horseherder also campaigned to close the Navajo Generating Station, a coal powered plant that was closed in 2019 and demolished in 2021.[3]
Horseherder has been critical of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement for failing to enforce reclamation activities of the Black Mesa Mine against Peabody.[9]
Awards and honors
[edit]In 2023, Horseherder received a Heinz Award in recognition of her efforts to "protect the water, air and landscapes of the Navajo Nation".[10]
References
[edit]- ^ Shapiro, Eben (August 30, 2021). "Water Rights Activist Nicole Horseherder On Sustainability". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ "Native People with Graduate Degrees in Linguistics". Yinka Dene Language Institute. 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Hyman, Randall (December 10, 2021). "From activism to electoral politics: Five Navajo women on the rise". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ a b Eaton, Kristi (September 20, 2023). "Navajo Climate Justice Advocate Awarded Prestigious Heinz Award". Daily Yonder. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ "Nicole Horseherder". Heinz Awards. 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
- ^ Becenti, Arlyssa D. (September 21, 2023). "Diné activist receives prestigious Heinz Award for her work on water, mine reclamation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
- ^ Wittenberg, Alexandra (April 29, 2025). "Tó Nizhóní Ání: 25 years of defending Black Mesa". Navajo-Hopi Observer. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Kutz, Jessica (February 1, 2021). "The fight for an equitable energy economy for the Navajo Nation". High Country News. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ Allen, Krista (August 9, 2021). "'It is Peabody's duty': Activists say Peabody is not cleaning up mines on Black Mesa". Navajo Times. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ Trahant, Mark (September 21, 2023). "Nicole Horseherder wins honor protecting Black Mesa water". Indian Country Today. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- Living people
- 21st-century American people
- 21st-century American women
- 21st-century Native American people
- 21st-century Native American women
- Activists from Arizona
- American environmentalists
- American women environmentalists
- Anti-mining activists
- Native American environmentalists
- Native American people from Arizona
- Navajo Nation people
- Navajo women
- Organization founders
- University of Arizona alumni
- University of British Columbia alumni