The Diné Bikeyah Chapter of the American Indian Movement plans to hold a march and prayer service beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday in Farmington in remembrance of the 1974 Chokecherry Massacre.
The march begins at 9 a.m. at Chef Bernie's parking lot, 910 W. Main St., and proceeds to Berg Park, 400 Scott Ave.
Activists and relatives of the victims are organizing the event.
In April 1974, three Navajo men were killed by three Farmington teenagers in Chokecherry Canyon, at the northeastern edge of the city, spurring protests and racially charged conflicts. Last year, the 50-year commemorative march drew hundreds of participants.
John Earl Harvey, 39, of Fruitland, Herman Benally, 34, of Kirtland and David Ignacio of Blanco Trading Post, were beaten to death. Sixteen-year-olds Jesse Howard Bender and Del Ballinger and 15-year-old Matthew Clark admitted to the crimes. All three were Farmington High School students.
Esther Keeswood, who is related to John Earl Harvey and Herman Benally, said Wednesday that “the sadness is still there. I don’t think it will ever go away, you know, just because the way they were killed.”
Regarding the situation in border towns (those closest to reservations) for Native Americans, Keeswood said, “I think it has improved somewhat the but now to me, it just seems like, with all the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People … it’s picking back up again.”
Keeswood, who works for DNA-People's Legal Services, 709 N. Butler Ave., in Farmington, said “more community outreach” was needed to help those in need. She said everyone should realize they are neighbors and get along.
AIM leader and march organizer John Franklin said Wednesday that discrimination was an ongoing problem.
“They're still picking on these Natives in Farmington. They roll them or whatever, they pick on them … it’s still happening,” he said.
