Navajos poor — their land rich

The Echo Inc. Food Bank in Farmington, N.M., serves about 1,000 Navajos each month, more when checks are overdue. Some allottees qualify for food assistance even when they are getting their royalty checks.

"We do see an increase when there's a big gap between when they get their check," said Vicki Metheny, food programs supervisor. "They're certainly up front about it."

Being used

Down a rough dirt road riddled with potholes near Bloomfield, N.M., Johnson Martinez emerges from his dilapidated white trailer and checks on his barking dogs. The 68-year-old Navajo lives in such a remote area that he often doesn't see another soul for months.

On this day, his pickup truck has broken down on the side of the road. He lives in this old trailer just yards from where gas pipelines sit on his family's land. He has no running water, no electricity and sometimes, no food. He builds a fire at night so he and his dogs can keep warm from the chill of the desert air.

Martinez said he has 48 cents to his name.

His only income is the money he gets from his gas leases. Three months ago, he got a check for $80. Once, he said, the check was for just 1 cent.

"They're using us," he said of the government. "They are starving us."