Keam & myself discussed & unanimously adopted the following propositions. "That the limits of land reserved for the use of the Moquis from which the Navijoes shall not be allowed to enter with their herds, shall embrace a radius of (16) sixteen miles from the village of Mishongnivi (on Second Mesa). "That we will go around this reserve & at different points construct mounds or monuments, that there can be no excuse for not knowing the lines. That the Navijoes be notified to remove their herds if they have any within these limits; & if they are found within these boundries after January 12th 1891, there shall be taken from them one twentieth of their herd of sheep or goats or one tenth of their cattle or horses or other stock. That the Supt. of the Moquis School shall take possession of stock so confiscated & after advertising the same for fifteen days, shall sell the same to the highest bidder, & the proceeds go to the benefit of the Moquis School. "We then conferred with the Moquis who had quite a full representation from the different villages & enquired what they had done or was doing toward complying with the instructions of the Commissioner in moving down from the Mesas. Those representing first & second Mesas said they had already called councils & decided to move down & some were now getting out rock for building, & as I before reported some have their posts set waiting for wire. Lolemy said since the Government had recognized his authority his people were disposed to obey him, & the wishes of the Great Father, & would now commence moving down into the valleys, ... He said he & his people now wanted to live like the white man & have farms of their own. They all seem well satisfied with the boundries we established & pleased with the steps taken to relieve them from the annoyance of the Navijo herds. At the request of the Navijoes we set Saturday afternoon for a conference with them. I am informed from outside sources that when they learned of our action, & understood that it was the orders of the Government, they expressed a willingness to comply with the same, & said there would not be the least cause for any trouble on their part. We will arrest & place in confinement one or two of their old notorious renegades. The school is flourishing. No. pupils 104 & Supt. Collins is sending back home some every day who are voluntarily coming in to attend. I think when we are through we will so leave matters that they will be permanent in the future." (Healing vs. Jones, Plaintiff's Exhibit 260) ... ... In describing the Navajo conference, Lieutenant Grierson of the Army wrote, "I have the honor to report that Special Agent Parker and Navajo Agent Shipley held a council with about fifty of the principal Navajos living in this vicinity Saturday last. At this meeting the Navajos were told of the limits within which they should not drive their herds and given until Monday, the 19th instant, to remove any herds that might be within the circle of sixteen miles, with Mishonginivi as a center. Some demurred slightly, that the time was not sufficient, but all agreed to do the best they could to carry out the wishes of the authorities in Washington. I was present at the conference and an of opinion that the majority of those present understood the gist of the matter and will abide by the wishes of the Agents. ... It will be impressed upon the minds of the people of both tribes that there is no intention to prohibit trading with each other and that the friendly relations already existing should continue." (Healing vs. Jones, Plaintiff's Exhibit 262) These letters make it clear the Parker-Kean line was a government creation, which merely received token approval from the Navajos and Hopis involved. It also shows that removal of the Navajos was part of the two-fold government strategy of destroying Hopi culture by getting them to move away from their traditionaí villages and stealing their children and "educating" them. Parker's belief that this action marked a final solution to the "dispute" is amusing in the light of subsequent events. The line was marked with rock monuments and by placing markers in trees. The first relocation of Navajos in the 1882 Reservation also resulted from this action. About 150 hogans were abandoned by Navajos who had been living inside the line. A year later 80 acre allotments were surveyed for Hopis within the boundary. Dine Evictees of District 6,p 13 1900/09/01 CENSUS OF NAVAJO AND HOPI POPULATION IN 1882 RESERVATION According to the census there were 1826 Navajos and 1832 Hopis in the 1882 Reservation at this time. Healing v Jones Chr,p 118 1907 CONGRESS APPROPRIATES FUNDS FOR NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA INDIANS A second allotment program for the Hopis was funded by this act. The government's first allotment program was begun in 1892 but was abandoned in 1894 after it had met with almost total Hopi resistance. The second program assigned a special allotment agent to administer first to the Hopis and then to Navajos living in the 1882 Reservation. 168,000 acres were surveyed and allotted to 437 Navajos in the southern half of the 1882 Reservation with the Secretary of Interior's approval. Dine Evictees of District 6, p 13 1911 USGS PUBLISHES PAPER DETAILING BLACK MESA COAL RESERVES The paper (U.S.G.S. Bulletin 431-B) by M. R. Campbell and H.E. Gregory, estimated that there were at least 16 billion tons of coal in the Black Mesa field, with at least 8 billion tons of economically recoverable coal. 1911/02/14 NAVAJO-HOPI SUPERINTENDENT ADVOCATES PARTITION OF 1882 RESERVATION The Superintendent, Abraham L. Lawshe, advocated terminating the allotment program and dividing the 1882 Reservation. In a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, he wrote, "In my opinion a far better plan to solve the problem would be to divide the Reservation itself, setting apart a definite portion of the land for the Hopis alone, assigning the rest to the Navajos." In his Annual Report for 1911, he wrote, "Two people so widely dissimilar in character should not be under one Agency jurisdiction. In the interest of Indians themselves there should be a separation." the Lawshe's recommendations marked the beginning of the official idea of "segregating" the two tribes by partitioning the land. It is worth noting that they came at the time when the government's second attempt to allot Hopi land was reaching a final breakdown, and thus it marks a bureaucratic turning point. The segregation policy continues to this day. Dine Evictees of District 6,p 14 1912 NAVAJO-HOPI SUPERINTENDENT CRANE ADVOCATES PARTITION Crane served as Superintendent of the Keams Canyon Agency from July 1911 to August 1919. Throughout this time he lobbied for partition of the 1882 Reservation with Arizona state officials. While advocating partition, Crane also realized that, "A careful consideration of the whole problem, with regard to water, planting, grazing, long residence of particular Indians at particular points, etc., would seem to indicate that no such separation can be made to conserve to the Hopis sufficient grazing lands and water without the ejectment of Navajos from occupancy rights that have been assumed for years and in some measure recognized by the Department." BIA, Annual Reports, Moqui, 1912 1916 INSPECT. TRAYLOR RECOMMENDS PARTITION OF 1882 RESERVATION Traylor had been appointed by the BIA examine the dispute between the Hopis and Navajos and make recommendations for a resolution. He suggested that an exclusive Hopi area 40 by 45 miles (including 1.2 million acres) be created and that the Hopis be given ten years to spread out and occupy the land. At that time unoccupied parts of this land would revert to the Navajos. "Moqui Report," National Archives, BIA, Inspectors Reports, Classified File 70468-16-150 Moqui 1918/03/12 HOPI AGENT CRANE RESERVATION RECOMMENDS PARTITION OF 1882 Crane submitted a comprehensive report of the Navajo-Hopi problem which recommended partition and seconded Traylor's recommendation that the Hopis be given a definite length of time in which to forsake their villages for scattered homes throughout the area to be set aside for their exclusive use. BIA Classified File 60400-14-308.2 Moqui 1918/05 CONGRESS ENACTS LAW ENDING FURTHER EXECUTIVE ORDER RESERVATIONS IN NEW MEXICO AND ARIZONA Henceforth, only Congress could designate reservation land in these states. This made it much harder to expand the Navajo reservation, as had been done many times in the past, since Congress was much more susceptible than the President to political pressure. (25 U.S.C. 211). In 1927 Congress prohibited executive order reservations anywhere in the U.S. After 1918, the BIA encouraged Navajos to move into the 1882 Reservation to relieve overcrowding. Report to Kikmongwi,p 21 1921/11/04 FIRST OIL LEASE APPROVED ON NAVAJO RESERVATION The lease was with the Midwest Oil Refining Company and covered 4800 acres on the Hogback structure near Farmington, New Mexico. A general council of Navajos living in the area was called to approve the lease. Midwest struck oil, but immediately capped its well and kept the discovery secret. The discovery well was completed on September 25, 1923 and flowed 1250 barrels a day. Navajo Times, Apr. 1960, p 1 1923/01/27 COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS C.H. BURKE ISSUES Burke issued a document titled "Regulations Relating to the Navajo Tribe of Indians." These regulations were revised and amended later in 1923. One of the provisions of the original regulations provided for a "Commissioner" of the Navajo Tribe, who was to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. The first such commissioner was H.J. Hagerman. While the original regulations called for six delegates to the Council, the number was increased to twelve delegates later in 1923, with two delegates from each of the six Navajo jurisdictions San Juan, Southern, Pueblo Bonito, Western, Leupp, and Moqui. Part of the preamble to the regulations stated: ... in order promote better administration of the affairs of the Navajo Tribe of Indians in conformity to law and particularly as to matters in which the Navajo Tribe at large is concerned such as oil, gas, coal and other mineral deposits, the following regulations are hereby prescribed and promulgated ... "No meeting of the Tribal Council shall be had without the presence of the Commissioner for the Navajo Tribe. The Secretary of the Interior reserves the right to remove any member of the Tribal Council, upon proper cause shown, and to require the election or appointment of some other delegate to take the place of the member so removed." Select Navajo Historical Occurrences, p 30 1923/07/07 NAVAJO TRIBAL COUNCIL HOLDS FIRST SESSION The Council was organized by Special Indian Commissioner H.J. Hagerman. At this first meeting the Council gave him power to act for them in auctioning oil leases on the Reservation. Hagerman testified at a Congressional hearing in Jan. 1931 that he had "advised the Indians to place their oil interests in the hands of the Secretary of Interior rather than himself but that 'they said they wanted me because they knew me and trusted me. Hagerman had been territorial governor of New Mexico, and was appointed Special Commissioner for all tribes in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico in 1923 by Interior Secretary Albert Fall, who resigned following the Teapot Dome scandal. Collier also alleged at the 1931 hearings that Fall had been "developing large designs against Indian oil lands," and that Hagerman had organized the Navajo Tribal Council under regulations implemented by Fall. Hagerman had been removed from his position as Territorial governor by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. At the 1931 Congressional hearing, Senator Wheeler testified, "The Roosevelt letter cited your delivery of certain deeds to the Pennsylvania Development company, as the reason why he considered it impossible to retain you in office." |