The following is a statement released by Mr. Lee B. Phillips, esq.
regarding the Navajo-Hopi land dispute in northern Arizona. Mr. Phillips
is the attorney for Navajo families who filed a class action lawsuit
against the United States in 1988. This lawsuit, referred to as
Manybeads vs. U.S., asserts that relocation of Navajos is
unconstitutional because it violates their First Amendment.
Since 1991, Navajo families have been engaged in talks with the Hopi
Tribe as a result of court ordered mediations by the 9th Circuit Court
of Appeals.
The following is his statement which we, the Navajo Nation Office of
Navajo-Hopi Land Commission here in Window Rock, Arizona are releasing
for him to address some misinformation being circulated out there.
Mr. Phillips' office is in Flagstaff, Arizona.
___________________________________________________________________________
March 18, 1997
STATEMENT OF LEE PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY
FOR NAVAJO FAMILIES IN MANYBEADS LAWSUIT,
CONCERNING THE RECENT COURT DECISION AND
THE MARCH 31, 1997 DEADLINE TO
SIGN ACCOMMODATION AGREEMENT WITH THE HOPI TRIBE
The Hopi Tribal Council recently rejected requests from the federal
district court, Attorney General Janet Reno, Navajo Nation President
Albert Hale and attorney, Lee Phillips, who represents the Navajo
individuals living on land partitioned to the Hopi Tribe by Congress in
1974, to extend the March 31, 1997 deadline for Navajo families to sign
75 year lease agreements known as Accommodation Agreements.
This decision leaves the Navajos with less than 2 weeks to sign the
Agreements or face eviction from their ancestral homes by the federal
government by the year 2000.
The Navajo families have been awaiting a decision from federal judge
Earl H. Carroll regarding the fairness of the Agreement and proposed
settlement of the Manybeads v. United States lawsuit. On March 17, 1997
Judge Carroll issued an order stating that he would defer his ruling on
these issues "until the expiration of the deadline by which eligible
Navajos must enter into an Accommodation Agreement." The Court also
made clear that the Navajo families have nothing to lose by signing the
Agreement because they can do so and still pursue their separate appeal
against the federal government in the Manybeads case.
I strongly urge the Navajo families who reside on Hopi Partitioned
Lands, to sign the "Accommodation Agreement" with the Hopi Tribe prior
to the March 31, 1997 signing deadline. I recommend this because
families lose nothing by signing and by signing can continue our appeal
of the Manybeads lawsuit while remaining legally on the disputed land,
free from a twenty (20) year old Court ordered freeze on home
construction and repair, with new increased grazing rights and a
commitment from the federal government and Hopi Tribe to treat the
Navajos fairly and to recognize and respect Navajo culture and religion.
The only legal alternative is to not sign and to then agree to
voluntary relocation or involuntary eviction by the year 2000. People
gain nothing by choosing this option.
If a family signs the Agreement with the Hopi Tribe they receive the
legal right to remain on HPL, to live their traditional lifestyle and to
exercise their religious rights, which have finally been recognized by
the Agreement. The 20 year old ban on Navajo home construction/repair
on the HPL will end and the family will receive new increased grazing
privileges. In addition, family members who have been away from the HPL
for work, school or military service can sign the Agreement and return
to the homesite to live with their family. Finally, further
negotiations on unresolved issues will continue, but only, with the
Navajo families who have signed the Agreement.
The families who refuse to sign by the March 31, 1997 deadline will be
left out of this future process. Instead, the families who do not sign
will be contacted by the federal Office of Navajo Hopi Indian Relocation
beginning in April, 1997. The families will be given 90 days to decide
if they wish to voluntarily relocate from the HPL. The families who
refuse to voluntarily relocate will be referred to the Department of
Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for possible eviction.
It is very important for everyone to realize that there will be no
large scale eviction effort any time in the immediate future. Rumors
that evictions will begin April 1, 1997 are false. Under the current
federal law, after the deadline, the federal government must:
1) contact the families that do not sign and inform them of their right
to voluntarily relocate, if they are eligible for relocation benefits;
2) give the family 90 days to decide if they wish to voluntarily
relocate;
3) notify the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Interior of
the names of the families/individuals who have not signed the
Accommodation Agreement and who have not agreed to voluntarily relocate;
4) construct relocation housing for both the people who are voluntarily
relocating and for the people who refuse to relocate; and
5) Relocate or evict the people by February 1, 2000.
END OF STATEMENT
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Comments from NativeNet listowner, Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us):
The only comment I have on this bulletin relates to its use of the word
"ancestral," which I believe the Hopi people would dispute is appropriate,
since they claim that the Navajo habitation of the area in question is
relatively recent, going back no more than several hundred years. I still
hope that it will be possible to obtain commentary on this issue from a
Hopi perspective, of which we have not heard much during the course of this
dispute.