WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA — Adriano Tsinigine, who is from the Western Agency of the Navajo Nation, attended the Navajo Code Talkers Day celebration in Window Rock, Arizona on Friday in remembrance of his late great-grandfather, Wilford Buck.
“I LISTENED TO THE MANY LEADERS THAT SPOKE. AFTER MR. MCCAIN SPOKE I APPROACHED HIM AND I ASKED FOR A PHOTO. THEN WHEN I SHOOK HIS HAND, I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OUT MY ‘PROTECT OAK FLAT’ CARD. WHEN HE SAW THE CARD HE SAID, ‘GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!’” TSINIGINE TOLD NATIVE NEWS ONLINE.
As he walked away from Senator McCain (R-Arizona), Tsinigine thought about how disrespectful the senator was to him and his Apache relatives.
McCain is the U.S. senator who pushed for the land exchange of Oak Flat, a land held sacred by Apaches and other American Indians, that was tucked into last December’s $585 billion National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 that was passed by Congress.
“I respect Mr. McCain for his service in the war and the sacrifices he has made for us all, but I have no respect for him as a senator in the state of Arizona,” Tsinigine continued.
