Coal powered the Industrial Revolution, and was the dominant fuel source in the U.S. up until the 1950s. Since then, it’s been giving way to cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives. But President Trump is strategizing a comeback story for the American coal industry. His agenda includes Indian Country.
In this three-part series, KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio examines the past and future of coal across the Navajo Nation, including a plan to extend the life of a tribally owned mine by more than a century.
Read the series
-
![The Long family [clockwise from top left] Joni Lapahie, Dáilan Long, Jona Lapahie, Emma Long and Emery Long.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ac75967/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8c%2F3e%2Fcb7758794c59b588da1f9a3323b8%2Flong-family-household-burnham-nm-gp-202602.jpg)
Coal has long been the economic bedrock of the Navajo Nation, which owns deposits in Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico. Now, the tribe is asking the Trump administration to dramatically expand the life — and size — of an operational coal mine that could uproot the lives of some Navajo families. And their longtime homes — literally. -
So instead of Santa hand-delivering stockings of coal along with his team of reindeer, it’s NTEC — or the Navajo Transitional Energy Company — with its diesel-powered trucks trekking across the sprawling 27,000-square-mile reservation. -
Coal is perhaps most closely associated with Appalachian states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky — or Wyoming, the nation’s leading producer of the fossil fuel. But the coal-mining business was once thriving in northern Arizona as well, atop the Colorado Plateau.
![The Long family [clockwise from top left] Joni Lapahie, Dáilan Long, Jona Lapahie, Emma Long and Emery Long.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8f96e94/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2246+0+389/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F8c%2F3e%2Fcb7758794c59b588da1f9a3323b8%2Flong-family-household-burnham-nm-gp-202602.jpg)
Emily Mai
/
KJZZ
A panel of experts discussed the future of Navajo Coal Country on Aug. 3, 2026.
More tribal natural resources stories
-
![Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren [left] Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hopi Chairman Lamar Keevama sign a memorandum of understanding for coal-impacted communities at the Desert Botanical Garden on Aug. 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7ad88d7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4158x2317+0+505/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa5%2F46%2F67ddb3664347bcd872157bbfffaf%2Fnavajo-hopi-az-agreement-cg-20260811.JPG)
The six-page MOU is being touted as a blueprint for cooperation between the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and the state of Arizona — all of which are “vulnerable to future coal mine and generating station closures.” -
Leadership clarified that non-members — including employees or residents, guests of tribal members, travelers on public roadways and vendors tied to the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise — may still travel freely “without any restrictions.” -
CRIT leaders say a new plan to share the Colorado River is being rushed by the Bureau of Reclamation. -
Bertram Tsavadawa is a member of the Hopi Tribe and offers tours of the reservation through his company, Ancient Pathways Tours; he’s been doing that for nearly 25 years. -
This new 140-page, draft environment assessment is published just three months after the Bureau of Land Management gathered roughly 70,000 comments during a week-long “scoping” window in April.
![Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren [left] Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hopi Chairman Lamar Keevama sign a memorandum of understanding for coal-impacted communities at the Desert Botanical Garden on Aug. 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bcf9baa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4158x2317+0+505/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa5%2F46%2F67ddb3664347bcd872157bbfffaf%2Fnavajo-hopi-az-agreement-cg-20260811.JPG)
