This is a narrative from the Hopi perspective on the history of the
Navajo-Hopi land problems. This was prepared by the Office of Hopi Lands
and the Hopi Public Relations Office. This version has recently been edited.
This has been approved by the Office of Hopi Lands, the Hopi Tutsqua Team,
and the Hopi Public Relations Office within the Office of the Chairman.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 1882 HOPI-NAVAJO LAND PROBLEM
The Taking of Hopi Land...
The Hopi-Navajo land problem in present day Arizona is well over one hundred
years old. The land in question was occupied by the ancient Hopi people for
at least a thousand years and only more recently by the Navajo. The basis
of the problem is further defined by the political, social and religious
differences of the Hopi and Navajo.
The Hopi people are the descendants of the "Hisat Senom" (also referred to
as the Anasazi) who inhabited much of the Southwestern United States as
early as the first century A.D. Hopi aboriginal demarcations and numerous
ancestral ruins blanket the Southwest. Ruins such as Mesa Verde, Canyon De
Chelly, Chaco Canyon, and Wupatki stand as monuments of Hopi ancestral ties
to the land. Over hundreds of years of migrations, Hopi clans concentrated
in the area now in dispute. The Hopi village of Oraibi, today, is
considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns on the North
American continent.
The first intrusion on Hopi territory occurred in 1540, when the Spanish
arrived in search of the fabled seven golden cities of Cibola. It was
during the Spanish and Mexican occupation that the Navajo migrated from the
north, sometime during the late 1700s to what is known today as, New Mexico.
Shortly after their uninvited arrival in New Mexico they began moving West,
trespassing on Hopi land, and eventually began pillaging and raiding Hopi
villages.
Spanish occupation of Hopi land lasted until 1680, when the Spanish were
driven out by the Hopi, Zuni and other Pueblo Tribes. The Hopi fell under
the jurisdiction of the Mexican government in 1823. Throughout Spanish and
Mexican rule, the Hopi were plagued by Navajo depredations. The Hopi
bitterly complained to the Mexican government against the Navajo raids.
However, very little was done to protect the Hopi.
In 1848, the Hopi came under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Government through
the cession of Mexican territory in the Treaty of Guadalupe de Hidalgo. The
American Government, through this treaty, promised to protect the Hopi
people and their lands. But, Navajo depredations continued and the federal
government ignored Hopi pleas for assistance.
Due to the inaction of the federal government, the Navajo soon became the
virtual "lords of the land," expanding their depredations to include the
non-Indian settlers. By 1863, American settlers became tired of the Navajo
depredations and the U.S. government began to step up efforts to protect the
non-Indian people of the territories.
In 1864, the Navajos, as punishment for their depredations, were rounded up
by military action and taken to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico for imprisonment.
However, the cost of keeping the Navajo at Bosque Redondo became so
exorbitant that the federal government relented and placed the Navajos on a
3.5 million acre reservation under an 1868 treaty agreement. The Navajo
agreed to stay within the treaty reservation boundary, which was located in
Northwest New Mexico and a small portion in Northeastern Arizona. The
Navajo soon broke their promise and resumed their depredations against the Hopi.
Unchecked Navajo raids continued, resulting in less frequent visits and use
by Hopi of many areas of their aboriginal lands. The Hopi attempts to
re-inhabit outlying areas were unsuccessful because of the continued violent
Navajo incursions on the Hopi and the increased pressure of unbridled Navajo
population growth. Historical accounts of the Navajo movements into these
areas document the blatant expansionist behavior of the Navajo society.
To protect the Hopis from the Navajo, President Chester A. Arthur, in 1882,
through Executive order, set aside 2.5 million acres for the Hopi Tribe, but
at the same time disregarded Hopi rights to a much larger aboriginal land base.
Because of the growing number of Navajo occupying the lands surrounding the
1868 Navajo reservation, the U.S. government issued an Executive Order
expanding the original 1868 Navajo Reservation. Thus, the Federal
Government began a mistaken and ill-founded system of "rewarding" Navajo
trespass through of executive order increases to their reservation. From
1868 to 1934 the Navajo Reservation was increased 14 times through executive
orders and acts of Congress. The Navajo Reservation now reaches into four
(4) States and encompasses over 17 million acres of land by the 1960s, the
action or inaction of the Federal Government, in concert with the
trespassing of the Navajo, resulted in the Hopis becoming land locked and
pushed onto 650,000 acres of land, which became known as District 6, within
the 1882 Reservation.
For over a century the Hopi appealed to the U.S. Government against the
continued encroachment on Hopi land by the Navajo. In 1958, the Hopi went
to Congress with their plea to stop the encroachment. In order to determine
who owned the part of the Hopi Reservation occupied by Navajos, Congress
authorized a lawsuit between the tribes.
In 1962, in Healing vs. Jones, a lawsuit brought by the Hopi, the Federal
Court ruled the Navajo had squatted on Hopi lands and, because the Secretary
of Interior had never taken any action to remove them, they had acquired
"squatters rights" to a one half interest in the 1882 Hopi Reservation.
This amounted to 911,000 acres of Hopi land that both tribes should "share
and share alike." This became know as the "Joint Use" Reservation.
However, due to the continued Navajo marauding, intimidation, cattle
mutilation and killing, as well as other criminal behavior, the Hopi were
effectively barred from the use of their half of the 1882 Joint Use
Reservation. In 1974, Congress determined that the only way to resolve the
issue was to partition the land and to relocate the tribal members of each
tribe who found themselves on the reservation of the other Tribe following
the partition. In addition, the Navajo Nation received 250,000, acres of
land for the purpose of relocating Navajos. This was known as the 1974
Settlement Act.
In 1980, this Act was amended, whereby the Congress once again provided the
Navajo Nation with an additional 150,000 acres of land for relocation of
their members. The Hopi Tribe gained nothing, but lost half of its 1882
reservation. Yet, we abided by the law and relocated 26 Hopi families.
Today, this process has cost the American taxpayers over $350 million and
the same number of people identified to relocate in the 1980s is the same
number we deal with today.
Another Chapter...
In 1988, a lawsuit was filed by Navajo individuals living on Hopi lands
known as the Manybeads Case. The case was brought against the United States
challenging the constitutionality of the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act.
The Navajo argued that "religious freedom" gave them the right to remain on
Hopi land indefinitely in total disregard of any and all Hopi rights of
ownership.
The Manybeads Case was dismissed in 1989 by Judge Carroll of the U.S.
District Court in Arizona. The Hopi Tribe was not a party to this case but
appeared only as a "friend of the court." Judge Carroll ruled that the
Navajo have no right to remain on Hopi land. The Navajo families then
appealed to the 9th Circuit Court.
In May 1991, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Navajo and Hopi
Tribes, the United States, and the individual Navajos who live on Hopi land,
to mediate and negotiate a solution under the direction of the Federal Judge
Harry R. McCue.
Judge McCue, in an effort to overcome mistrust between the two tribes,
challenged the parties to demonstrate their good faith by facing these
problems and solving them. The Hopi Tribe responded by establishing a list
of pre-conditions that had to be satisfied by the Navajo Nation and the
Navajo residents on the Hopi Partitioned Lands prior to initiation of the
Mediation process. Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah resolved to satisfy
the Hopi's pre-conditions.
The Mediator concluded that the good faith efforts of the Navajo Nation to
the Hopi Tribe was sufficiently demonstrated to justify the preparation of
an offer by the Navajo Nation to the Hopi Tribe. A proposal was made to the
Hopi Tribe that called for an exchange of land and the payment of money.
This proposal was rejected by the Hopi Tribe, which took the position that a
land exchange, i.e., the loss of more Hopi land, was an unacceptable
proposal. The Hopi refused to give up any more Hopi land.
The rejection was accompanied by a Hopi counter proposal to lease a certain
amount of Hopi Partitioned Land to Navajo residents, under certain terms and
conditions. Judge McCue referred to this as "a manifestation of the Hopi
Tribe's good faith," allowing negotiations to continue.
After eighteen months of arduous negotiations and two more attempts by the
Navajo Nation to offer a land exchange, the parties reached an "Agreement in
Principle" designed to bring an end to the long-standing dispute.
The Agreement in Principle was ratified by the Hopi and Navajo Tribes and
the Federal Government on October 30, 1992. The Agreement in Principle set
forth the framework upon which was built the current Land Settlement
Agreement including the Accommodation Agreement with the Navajo families.
On August 5, 1993, the Navajo families residing on Hopi Partitioned Lands
rejected the Agreement in Principle and accommodation lease proposal,
"prematurely ending the mediation process," as stated by Hopi Tribal
Chairman Vernon Masayesva, who expressed his disappointment and stated,
"Apparently, the Navajos were not willing to go the extra mile."
On August 12, 1993, the Hopi Tribe received another proposal from the Navajo
Nation which once again sought a land exchange. The Hopi Tribe also learned
that the ballot used by the Navajo families to vote on the ratification of
the agreement, on August 5, was not the ballot agreed upon by all parties,
but was, instead, a last minute substitute prepared by the Navajo Nation as
an obvious means of scuttling the mediation process.
On August 12, 1993, the Hopi Tribal Council by resolution directed the Hopi
Lands Team to discontinue mediation discussions with the Navajo Nation
because of their unfounded insistence on a land exchange, and because they
had negotiated in bad faith, and had purposefully misinformed the Navajo
families concerning the terms of the Agreement in Principle.
In February, 1994, Judge McCue came to the Hopi Tribal Council and requested
that the Hopi Tribe reconsider it's position and once again offer to the
Navajo Families the Accommodation Agreement. The Hopi Tribal Council after
much debate, agreed and offered the Accommodation Agreement as the Tribe's
final offer and declared that there would be no further mediations. The
Hopi Tribe submitted the final agreement to Judge McCue on March 29, 1994.
During the spring of 1994, the Hopi lands Team began meeting with the Navajo
families to once again educate them concerning the terms of this agreement.
On May 23, 1994 another vote was taken at which time the families
overwhelmingly ratified the Accommodation Agreement.
On July 15, 1994, Judge McCue directed all parties to begin implementation
of the Agreement in Principle and declared the mediation process over.
The Navajo Nation Tribal Council then passed a resolution on December 14,
1994, informing the parties that the Agreement in Principle had expired on
its own terms and was null and void, therefore removing themselves from
further participation in the Settlement process.
In subsequent meetings between the Navajo families, the Hopi Tribe, the
Federal government, and Judge McCue, it was agreed that implementation of
the settlement could and would continue without the Navajo Nation. The
Settlement provisions of the agreement between the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo
Nation would be removed. However, the Navajo Nation, who concurred, would
still be responsible for paying rent for the Navajo families who decided to
continue living on Hopi land under the Accommodation Agreement.
Numerous meetings were then held to continue educating the Navajo Families
on the terms of the Accommodation Agreement and the Hopi Ordinances they
would need to abide by while living under Hopi jurisdiction. The Hopi Tribe
also began addressing the religious concerns of the Navajo families.
Discussions continued with the Navajo families settlement team, who were
representatives identified by the Navajo families from the different areas
occupied by the Navajo within Hopi land. On October 2, 1995, the Navajo
families voted to accept the Hopi Tribe's Accommodation Agreement with
certain clarifications.
This set the stage for final action needed for the Land Settlement
Agreement. The Hopi Tribal council approved the Settlement Agreement with
instructions for immediate implementation on November 27, 1995.
The Final Chapter...
The Land Settlement Agreement was signed by the Hopi Tribe and the Federal
Government on December 12, 1995. The Settlement would resolve four
outstanding Hopi lawsuits against the Federal government in exchange for
providing an accommodation agreement to the Navajo families, who would have
the opportunity to reside on Hopi land under a lease agreement rather than
face relocation as mandated in PL-531 - the relocation law. Further, the
Hopi Tribe needed Congressional action to allow the Hopi Tribe 75 year
leasing authority.
After months of persistence by the Hopi Tribe to the Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs for legislative authority to enter into the 75 year leases
with the Navajo families, Senator John McCain introduced Senate Bill 1973 -
the Navajo/Hopi Land Dispute Act of 1996, on July 18, 1996. The legislation
not only provided for the 75 year leasing authority, but it legislated the
entire Settlement Agreement. The Senate approved the bill on September 26,
1996 and the House approved the bill on September 28, 1996. The final step
in allowing this agreement to become law was President Clinton's signature,
which came on October 11, 1996.
Meetings with Navajo families on the Accommodation Agreement continued
during this year long legislative process. The Hopi Tribe continued
implementation of the Settlement Agreement by conducting site visits to the
Navajo families to map out their homesites. In an effort of good faith the
Hopi Tribe extended the deadline twice for the Navajo families to sign the
lease agreement. The first deadline was on October 2, 1996, which was
extended to December 31,1996. This was then extended by the Hopi Tribal
Council once again to March 31, 1997. Thus allowing the Navajo families an
additional five months, aside from the 10 months that it took the Congress
to legislate the Settlement Agreement, to sign a lease with the Hopi Tribe.
A majority of the Navajo families have signed leases with the Hopi Tribe.
The March 31st deadline will allow the Hopi Tribe to know how many Navajo
families are sincere about working with the Hopi Tribe. The Hopi Tribe has
stated numerous times that the Accommodation Agreement is the best
opportunity for the Navajo families to remain on Hopi land.