Don J. Usner

Mar 27, 2024 | searchlightnm.org | Wufei Yu |Ed Williams |Don J. Usner

Posted inChaos and Cannabis Navajo cannabis farmer claims he’s providing ‘sacrament’ for a Native church Posted inChaos and Cannabis A sensational raid three years ago put an end to his illegal marijuana empire on the Navajo Nation, manned by trafficking victims. But when Benally wanted to grow weed again, New Mexico said yes. Posted inTribal Affairs COVID is pushing thousands of Chinese immigrant workers into the marijuana business—sometimes leading to exploitation and labor trafficking...

Jul 26, 2023 | newmexicomagazine.org | Don J. Usner

AS A CHILD SPENDING SUMMERS IN CHIMAYÓ with my grandmother, I felt a great deal of excitement about the lowriders that rolled by on the dirt roads on weekends and during the annual Good Friday cruise, their V-8s rumbling as they passed. Grandma warned me to steer clear of them, but I was transfixed by the anachronistic, slow-motion passage of ornate, gleaming chrome—not to mention the slicked-back hair and streetwise panache of the drivers.

Feb 22, 2023 | searchlightnm.org | Don J. Usner

Skip to content “Well, she lived a long life — nearly 100 years!” they said, one after another, as they filed through the bereavement line at my mother’s memorial last July. I barely registered the words, my mind reeling at the loss of this remarkable woman.