Post by Dine'Luvlee on Jul 24, 2005 13:11:03 GMT -5
Tribes lobby to end land dispute
By Ryan Hall/The Daily Times
Jul 15, 2005, 10:10 pm
FARMINGTON — The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission spent this week in Washington, D.C. lobbying against a proposal by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to end a more than 120-year-old dispute.
The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005 would end the federally funded relocation of Navajos living in a disputed area of Arizona in Sept. 2008 and effectively settle the contested territory.
The disputed land involves approximately 1.8 million acres in Arizona that were given to the Hopi Indians and other Native American tribes who occupied it in 1882. The Hopi tribe sued the Navajo tribe in 1958, after Congress approved the legal action among the sovereign nations, in order to determine who owned what portions of the land.
In 1962, a federal court held that the tribes had joint ownership of the land. The Hopi continued to push for a partitioning of the land, which was granted in 1974, according to a history of the dispute provided by the Navajo Nation Washington office.
That partitioning called for 100 Hopi and more than 10,000 Navajo to be relocated off the other tribe’s land, at a cost incurred by the federal government.
That relocation process continues today.
McCain’s new bill cites the cost of the program as a concern and calls for the end of all of the federally funded relocation of Native Americans from either tribe by Sept. 2008.
It is estimated the federal government has spent upwards of $400 million in relocating 12,000 Navajos and hundreds of Hopis from the partitioned land, according to a release by the commission and the Washington office of the Navajo Nation.
Members of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission oppose the bill on several grounds, including the end of federally funded relocation and the cessation of reparations for relocated families.
Evelyn Acothley, commission member, said the federal government promised $60 million in reparation loans for relocated Navajos at the time the relocations began, but only delivered $16 million. The Commission is asking for the balance of the pledge to be paid as a grant and not a loan in exchange for the hardships the relocated Navajos have dealt with.
“It has caused a lot of hardship and suffering,” Acothley said of the relocation.
The commission is in Washington, D.C. to inform Congress of their objections to McCain’s plan and to introduce a list of amendments, that if added, would be enough to get the commission’s support of the bill.
Those amendments include: a rehabilitation program for the Tuba City, Ariz. area, which was under a federal development freeze for 40 years, the end of forced relocation of Navajo families, an economic, mental and social impact study of the relocations, rehabilitation efforts on the Navajo Partitioned Land (NPL) significant with the results of the study and an increase in funding for the Navajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund (NRTF).
Additionally, the amendments call for the authorization for the Office of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR) commissioner to make grants to assist the commissioner or the Navajo or Hopi tribes in meeting the burdens of the law, Navajo land selections in New Mexico not be prejudiced and more time for individuals to be certified for benefits.
Finally, the amendments also call for additional studies and supports for those who were forcefully relocated off the partition lands, a field hearing for members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, litigation and other legal matters be addressed by the Navajo nation Attorney General and for the downsizing of ONHIR and a transferring of some of its responsibilities to the interior.
The appearance in D.C. by the committee is the first stage of a Navajo lobbying effort aimed at amending McCain’s proposal. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is slated to address the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs next week regarding the issue.
Lorenzo Bedonie, chair of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission, said he is hopeful that once the tribe’s concerns with the bill are expressed, the Indian affairs committee will be receptive.
He added he was shocked McCain, who has long been regarded as a champion for Navajos and all Native Americans, would introduce a bill that the commission feels slights the Navajo people.
“We were surprised. We thought he had a full understanding,” Bedonie said.
No date has been set for the bill to be introduced onto the Senate floor.
Ryan Hall: rhall@daily-times.com
By Ryan Hall/The Daily Times
Jul 15, 2005, 10:10 pm
FARMINGTON — The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission spent this week in Washington, D.C. lobbying against a proposal by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to end a more than 120-year-old dispute.
The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005 would end the federally funded relocation of Navajos living in a disputed area of Arizona in Sept. 2008 and effectively settle the contested territory.
The disputed land involves approximately 1.8 million acres in Arizona that were given to the Hopi Indians and other Native American tribes who occupied it in 1882. The Hopi tribe sued the Navajo tribe in 1958, after Congress approved the legal action among the sovereign nations, in order to determine who owned what portions of the land.
In 1962, a federal court held that the tribes had joint ownership of the land. The Hopi continued to push for a partitioning of the land, which was granted in 1974, according to a history of the dispute provided by the Navajo Nation Washington office.
That partitioning called for 100 Hopi and more than 10,000 Navajo to be relocated off the other tribe’s land, at a cost incurred by the federal government.
That relocation process continues today.
McCain’s new bill cites the cost of the program as a concern and calls for the end of all of the federally funded relocation of Native Americans from either tribe by Sept. 2008.
It is estimated the federal government has spent upwards of $400 million in relocating 12,000 Navajos and hundreds of Hopis from the partitioned land, according to a release by the commission and the Washington office of the Navajo Nation.
Members of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission oppose the bill on several grounds, including the end of federally funded relocation and the cessation of reparations for relocated families.
Evelyn Acothley, commission member, said the federal government promised $60 million in reparation loans for relocated Navajos at the time the relocations began, but only delivered $16 million. The Commission is asking for the balance of the pledge to be paid as a grant and not a loan in exchange for the hardships the relocated Navajos have dealt with.
“It has caused a lot of hardship and suffering,” Acothley said of the relocation.
The commission is in Washington, D.C. to inform Congress of their objections to McCain’s plan and to introduce a list of amendments, that if added, would be enough to get the commission’s support of the bill.
Those amendments include: a rehabilitation program for the Tuba City, Ariz. area, which was under a federal development freeze for 40 years, the end of forced relocation of Navajo families, an economic, mental and social impact study of the relocations, rehabilitation efforts on the Navajo Partitioned Land (NPL) significant with the results of the study and an increase in funding for the Navajo Rehabilitation Trust Fund (NRTF).
Additionally, the amendments call for the authorization for the Office of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR) commissioner to make grants to assist the commissioner or the Navajo or Hopi tribes in meeting the burdens of the law, Navajo land selections in New Mexico not be prejudiced and more time for individuals to be certified for benefits.
Finally, the amendments also call for additional studies and supports for those who were forcefully relocated off the partition lands, a field hearing for members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, litigation and other legal matters be addressed by the Navajo nation Attorney General and for the downsizing of ONHIR and a transferring of some of its responsibilities to the interior.
The appearance in D.C. by the committee is the first stage of a Navajo lobbying effort aimed at amending McCain’s proposal. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is slated to address the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs next week regarding the issue.
Lorenzo Bedonie, chair of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission, said he is hopeful that once the tribe’s concerns with the bill are expressed, the Indian affairs committee will be receptive.
He added he was shocked McCain, who has long been regarded as a champion for Navajos and all Native Americans, would introduce a bill that the commission feels slights the Navajo people.
“We were surprised. We thought he had a full understanding,” Bedonie said.
No date has been set for the bill to be introduced onto the Senate floor.
Ryan Hall: rhall@daily-times.com