BODAWAY/GAP, Ariz. – Tucked between the towering red rocks of Bodaway/Gap, Guy and Mary Benally sat quietly under the shade of their new home, a Clayton modular home that now stands as a symbol of perseverance, love, and dignity.
For decades, the Benally’s endured harsh conditions due to a 43-year development ban by the federal government known as the Bennett Freeze, which began in 1966 and left more than 10,000 Navajo people without the right to repair, rebuild, or improve their homes. The ban was lifted in 2009, but the effects linger to this day.
For the Benally’s, that meant living in a hogan with dirt floors, cracked walls patched with cardboard, and a leaking roof held together with tires, among other infrastructural challenges.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren visited the Benally’s to celebrate the delivery of their new home, built in Albuquerque and brought to the community as part of a broader effort to get homes to the neediest and most vulnerable Navajos.
President Nygren was joined by Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office Director Sarah Slim, Bodaway/Gap Chapter President LeShawn Larry Hanks, former Chapter President Dorothy Lee, and Chapter Manager Andrea Daws.
“When they (NHLCO) told me that they were awarding Guy the trailer … Oh my gosh, I was so happy,” said Daws. “It was a good day being able to just come here when the trailer was parked-for him. It’s been something he’s been working toward since the 70s.”
The Benally’s were one of the highest-priority families identified for housing relief. Their decades of quiet endurance and unwavering advocacy now stand tall in the form of a home they can finally call their own.
NHLCO has helped 34 other families who were impacted by the Bennette Freeze. The goal is to drop 84 homes in total and as of July 29. Director Slim said they are at 41 percent completion with the total of 35 families now having a new modular home.
“This isn’t just a house, it’s justice long overdue,” said President Nygren. “Mr. and Mrs. Benally waited far too long for something so basic, a safe, warm place to call home.”