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Box 2574 :: :: Olympia, Wa Fido Net 1:352/333 :: :: 98507-2574 206-786-9629 :: :: USA The Quarto Mundista BBS :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE NAVAJO NATION: NAVAJO-HOPI LAND COMMISSION OFFICE REPORT TO THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS REGARDING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SO-CALLED NAVAJO-HOPI "LAND DISPUTE" JULY 23, 1993 Those who are familiar with the so-called Navajo-Hopi "land dispute" know that rightly or wrongly the United States Government took lands on which Dine' - Navajo - had been living for many generations and awarded these lands to the Hopi Tribe. Following this has been a twenty-year effort to coerce the thousands of Dine' families whose lands were taken from them to relocate "voluntarily". At this time there are about 250 families still living full time in the "disputed lands" and another 350-400 families who maintain their real homes there but live or work elsewhere. A group of resister families sued the federal government because their religion requires them to live and pray where they belong; thus relocation violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantees of freedom of religion. This suit, MANYBEADS v. UNITED STATES, was lost, then appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In June of 1991 this Court ordered the MANYBEADS plaintiffs, the United States, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation into mediation to find an accommodation for those Dine' who could not live elsewhere than where they belong. U.S. Magistrate Harry McCue of San Diego was selected as Mediator. This was seen as a great opportunity by all the communities in the Hopi-partitioned Lands (HPL). Early mediation sessions were held in the Judge's Chambers in San Diego, attended by scores of traditional Dine' - elders, children and all. The Judge Ordered the Navajo Nation and the Dine' families on the one hand, and the Hopi Tribe and U.S. Government of the other, to present proposals for a settlement. "Give me your bottom line" is what he said. The Navajo Nation and Dine' families produced a bare-bones land exchange proposal which would give the Hopi Tribe 500,000 acres of prime ranchland in exchange for about 289,000 acres occupied by the Dine' resisters. The Hopi Tribe came back, not with a proposal as ordered, but with a list of 10 demands which the Dine' families and the Navajo Nation must meet to show "good faith." It took many months of effort and sacrifice to meet these demands. The Dine' families went along because they had hope of a settlement. The Judge was able to convince them by promising that if they made concessions on the 10 demands they would "get their land back." After this time the Judge closed the mediation to the Dine' families, talking only to Navajo and Hopi tribal officials and the attorney for the MANYBEADS plaintiff. The Dine' families feel rightly that they did not participate in the mediation after this time. The crucial turn came in the fall and winter of 1991-92 when, to keep the U.S. at the table, the Navajo Nation's land offer was turned around in mediation to be an offer of settlement for a bunch of lawsuits ("the money cases") the Hopi Tribe brought against the U.S. and the Navajo Nation. At this point the Hopis were able to say "you are not giving us land for land, now you are giving us land for money," and "we have to talk about the land separately. H The Hopi Tribe refused to "give up" any of "their" land, and threatened to walk out of the mediation if any further discussion of land exchanges took place. The Hopis were strongly backed by the U.S. negotiators, mid-level bureaucrat/attorneys who were essentially unsupervised during the 1992 election year. As 1992 wore on the terms offered the Dine' resisters and the Navajo Nation became worse and worse. The Judge learned that the Nation and the Attorney for the Dine' families would make concessions because mediation was their best option, and because any refusal of terms offered could be presented as evidence of "Navajo bad faith. n The Judge for his part felt he had gotten sufficient concessions from the Hopi Tribe: they would let the Dine' families stay on the land if they could dictate terms, and they would take lands outside of the original 1882 "land dispute" area as compensation. On October 30, 1992, an Agreement in Principle (AIP) was signed by the Hopi Tribal Chairman, president of the Navajo Nation, the MANYBEADS Attorney, and the U.S. Government's lawyers. Under this agreement, the Hopi Tribe would receive about a half-million acres of land in trust, plus certain other lands inside the Navajo reservation. The Dine' families were split into an "A list" and a "B list". Those on the "A list" would be allowed to lease 112 3-acre home sites and another 112 10-acre cornfields. They would also be allowed to graze 2800 sheep in addition to those already permitted to them. The leases would be for a 75-year period with no provision for renewal. Rent would be paid by the Navajo Nation. The Dine' families must submit to Hopi jurisdiction. Under this AIP any Dine' families who did not sign a lease would be evicted. Those living on the land who were not deemed eligible for a lease would also face eviction. The Hopi Tribe was directed to produce a lease document, which it did in February 1993. This lease and the AIP were then taken to the Dine' families and communities for discussion. The Judge directed the Navajo Nation to work to convince the people that they should sign the lease. The Hopi lease has a number of humiliating provisions. It provides among other things that Dine' families can no longer claim that their hogans and prayer sites are sacred. It provides a number of reasons for eviction, including "creating a nuisance", failure to maintain an attractive premises, or having junk or wrecked cars. There have been several rounds of meetings in the various HPL communities between the Dine' families and the Hopi Tribal leadership. In these meetings the Hopi leadership mostly tries to explain the fine points of the law and the harsh terms it wants to impose on the Dine', while the Dine' families try to explain their religion and their origin, and why they want to coexist with the Hopi people. The meetings were a little tense at first but have become very friendly as Dine' and Hopi get to know each other again. The Dine' families almost entirely oppose the Hopi lease, but have all expressed a desire for continued negotiations - "Indian to Indian" - with the Hopi Tribe and Hopi people. Some Dine' families may agree to sign a modified lease, while others want to continue talking until they find a formula that works. On July 19, 1992, the federal Mediator issued an ultimatum to the Navajo Nation and the Dine' families: ratify the Agreement in Principle, including full Hopi jurisdiction and the 75-year lease, or the mediation will end. The Judge has set August S as the deadline for this. It is almost certain that no families will sign the paper offered by the Mediator. The Hopi Chairman has told the families that if they do not sign this paper they have 12 months to relocate or they will be evicted. The families say they will not relocate and they will not sign. They are willing to sign an alternative agreement which will allow negotiations to continue. We ask the Assembly of First nations to consider this report, and the situation faced by the Dine' families of the "disputed lands", and by the Navajo Nation which has tried to stand up for their interests in the face of all the pressure the U.S. Government has brought to bear. We invite you to visit this country and verify for yourselves that what we have said is true. We ask you to pray for us, especially in the four days leading up to August 5, 1993. Thank you. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To have a current Center For World Indigenous Studies Publication Catalogue sent to you via e-mail, send a request to jburrows@halcyon.com FTP ftp.halcyon.com /pub/FWDP/CWIS Center For World Indigenous Studies P.O. Box 2574 Olympia, WA U.S.A. 98507-2574 BBS: 206-786-9629 OCR Provided by Caere Corporation's PageKeeper