Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act
The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act, enacted by Congress on December 22, 1974, aimed to address longstanding disputes between the Navajo and Hopi tribes over land rights within the boundaries established by a 1882 executive order. This order had set aside a significant area for both tribes, yet as the Navajo population grew, tensions escalated regarding land use and resource control, particularly in a joint use area designated for both tribes. The act sought to clarify these rights by mandating a mediation process to partition land and manage resources effectively.
In the aftermath, each tribe was allocated half of the joint use area, with financial provisions for livestock reduction and boundary fencing. However, the act also required the relocation of tribal members living on lands transferred to the other tribe, a process that primarily affected the Navajo people and was met with considerable challenges due to administrative inefficiencies and insufficient funding.
Subsequent amendments in the 1980s aimed to enhance the support for relocation efforts and resolve further disputes over land rights. The act ultimately highlighted the complexities of tribal land governance and the socio-economic impacts on the communities involved, as it allowed for ongoing legal claims related to land use within the broader Navajo Reservation.
Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act
The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act was enacted by Congress on December 22, 1974, primarily to clarify rights of the Navajo and Hopi tribes in the 1882 “Executive Order Reservation” established by President Chester A. Arthur. This executive order set aside 2,472,095 acres “for the use and occupancy of the Moqui [Hopi] and such other Indians as the Secretary of the Interior may see fit to settle thereon.” At the time, both Hopis and Navajos were living in the set-aside area. Disputes increased as the Navajo population in the area expanded.
In 1934 Congress consolidated the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation without altering the 1882 Executive Order Reservation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) then established grazing districts on both reservations. District 6, exclusively for Hopi use, consisted of about 25 percent of the 1882 reservation. The remainder was occupied largely by Navajo stock raisers. Disputes between members of the two tribes continued.
In 1958 Congress authorized a lawsuit to settle conflicting claims to the 1882 reservation. In 1962 a federal court, in Healing v. Jones, held that for the area outside District 6, the Hopi and Navajo had “joint, undivided and equal interests.” Because the Navajos occupied most of the area, however, they controlled the most surface resources in the Joint Use Area (JUA).
Negotiations between the two tribes concerning management of the JUA were unsuccessful. In the early 1970s the Hopis sought and obtained a court order for livestock reduction in the area. The continuing controversy stimulated congressional interest, and the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act was enacted in 1974.
The act was comprehensive. It directed that a mediator make recommendations to the district court, which would then partition the surface rights of the JUA. In 1977, each tribe received half of the JUA. Money was appropriated for livestock reduction and boundary fencing. The act, and a 1980 amendment, allowed for the transfer of some federal lands to the Navajos to help offset lost JUA land. In 1983 about 370,000 acres of “new lands” along the southern edge of the Navajo Reservation were selected.
The act required the removal of members of one tribe living on lands transferred to the other tribe. This involved a relatively small number of Hopis but thousands of Navajos. An independent commission was created to administer the relocation program, but it was inept, contributing to the hardships of relocatees. The $52,000,000 initial appropriation was inadequate. Congress belatedly responded in the 1980s, amending the act to restructure the commission and authorizing hundreds of millions of additional dollars for relocation.
As a final touch of irony, one section of this legislation, designed to resolve controversy over the 1882 reservation, allowed the tribes the right to sue to settle rights in lands within the 1934 Navajo Reservation. In 1992, a federal district court decided that the Hopis and San Juan Southern Paiutes (who had intervened in the lawsuit) had rights in portions of the Navajo Reservation long used by tribal members.
Bibliography
Bailey, Garrick Alan, and Roberta Glenn Bailey. A History of the Navajos: The Reservation Years. Santa Fe: School of American Research, 1999. Print.
Benedek, Emily. The Wind Won't Know Me: A History of the Navajo-Hope Land Dispute. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 1999. Print.
Johansen, Bruce E., and Barry M. Pritzker. Encyclopedia of American Indian History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print.
Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission. The Impact of the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974. NNHRC, 2012. NNHRC. Web. 14 May. 2015.
Schill, Karin. "Navajo-Hopi Land Compromise is Near." High Country News. High Country News, 27 June 1994. Web. 14 May. 2015.