settle several lawsuits and to needlessly resettle thousands of people. If you were to adopt H.R. 4281 as it stands today, that cost would be reduced to less than $60 million. Approximately $400 million of federal funds would be available to be applied to benefit Indian people. In these days of record setting Federal deficits and of Gramm-Rudman type solutions, a savings of $400 million must be considered very carefully. The question that the Congress must answer is do you spend nearly half a billion dollars to carry out a massive relocation program that will never succeed, or do you save $400 million by devising a new approach that people can be proud of because it is much more humane? I believe that if this alternative were offered in regard to a budget reconciliation bill or a budget resolution that you would see a very clear preference for the latter. Mr. Chairman, as I indicated earlier, your bill is a good piece of legislation. However, I would like to take a few minutes to touch on some areas where it can be improved. First, as previously mentioned, we feel that a payment of $300 million to the Hopis is clearly excessive. We also feel that it is unfair to impose the full burden for any payment solely on the Navajo Nation. The federal government has played a key role in creating this situation. The Hopi damage claims involve allegations of federal as well Navajo liability. The federal government should share in the burden of any payment to the Hopis. as a Second, we believe that the bill fails to take into account the fact that the new lands are considerably more valuable than the lands in the 1882 reservation. We believe that this exchange should proceed strictly on value-for-value basis. Proceeding in this fashion is both more fair and more practical in light of the fact that we must still find relocation sites for several hundred Navajo families. Third, we are concerned about the future of those Navajo families who choose to take allotments in the Hopi lands. During our consultations with the Navajo people, concerns have repeatedly been expressed about the 160 acres limitation on the size of these allotments. Based on known livestock carrying capacity, it is apparent that the allotments must be at least 640 acres in size. We strongly urge you to provide allotments which will realistically meet the needs of these Navajo families. We must also raise several questions about this provision of the bill. Will the allotees have access to adequate water sources? Will they be assured free access to their allotments? Will they be subject to federal or Hopi laws relating to such matters as livestock grazing? Fourth; we are concerned that those families who will still face relocation be treated better than has been the case so far. Will there finally be a real plan for moving these people? Will we at last see the humane program which the Congress intended in 1974? Fifth, we are concerned about those who have already relocated but who have lost their "benefits". We realize that the provision for a trust fund is intended to partially assist these families. We would also like to see commitment from the federal government for assistance. a Sixth, we are concerned that the bill fails to address the needs of both Tribes with respect to the effects of the federally imposed freezes in the 1882 reservation and the 1934 Bennett Freeze area. For too long these areas have been denied even the most basic human amenities. The needs are great and can only be met with a commitment of federal assistance. We are fully prepared to work cooperatively with the Congress to address these concerns. We do not believe that any of them present insurmountable obstacles to the adoption of this bill. This is particularly true in view of our belief that the bill contains all of the basic elements of a fair and comprehensive solution. Mr. Chairman, the term "Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute" may have been an accurate description of the problem at one time but it is no longer. The key issue in this matter is not the land. It is people. The Navajo people have been greatly harmed by a Federal program that has been in effect for 12 years and they will suffer even greater harm if this program continues. I ask that you consider the people when you discuss this legislation and that you treat them with the dignity and respect which they deserve. If the members of this Committee are truly compassionate, and I believe that all of you are, you will approve this legislation and help the Navajo people retain the only way of life they know, understand and freely choose to follow. EXHIBIT A: ACMY-68-86 RESOLUTION OF THE NAVAJO TRIBAL COUNCIL Recommending that the Navajo Tribal Council Take Appropriate WHEREAS: is 1. The Advisory Committee of the Navajo Tribal Council authorized and directed to recommend legislation to the Navajo Tribal Council; and 2. On 30 April 1986, the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission approved a resolution, attached hereto as Exhibit A, recommending that the Navajo Tribal Council take appropriate action to transfer the Bar N and Chambers Navajo Tribal Ranches to the Secretary of the Interior to be taken in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as additions to the Navajo Indian Reservation; and 3. Pursuant to Public Law 93-531, the Navajo and Hop! Settlement Act of 1974 ("the 1974 Act"), the United States Congress mandated the partition and relocation of Navajo and Hop! Tribal members from the lands formerly known as the "Joint Use Area"; and 4. The United States District Court in and for the District of Arizona has partitioned the former "Joint Use Area", requiring the relocation of thousands of Navajos from 911,000 acres of lands partitioned to the Hopi Tribe; and 5. The 1974 Act provided for replacement land to the Navajo Tribe, whereby, the Tribe was authorized to select and purchase from the Bureau of Land Management 250,000 acres of public lands within the States of Arizona or New Mexico, for addition as trust lands to the Navajo Reservation to be held by the United States for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe; and 6. Acting pursuant to the 1974 Act, the Navajo Tribe selected 250,000 acres of land in the House Rock Valley and the Paria Plateau, Coconino County, Arizona; and 7. The eventual purchase and transfer of the House Rock Valley and the Parla Plateau was prohibited and precluded by the provisions of Public Law 96-305, the Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation Amendments Act of 1980 ("the 1980 Act"), which amended the land acquisition and transfer provisions of the 1974 Act, and provided that "no public lands iving north and west of the Colorado River in the State of Arizona shall be available for transfer under this section (25 U.S.C. § 640d-10(g))"; and to 8. Nevertheless, the Congress in enacting the 1980 Act identified the acquisition of resettlement lands for Navajo Relocatees 25 vital relocation; and 9. The United States Congress, therefore, provided in the 1980 Act that the Secretary of the Interior transfer, without cost, 250,000 acres of lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management in the States of Arizona and New Mexico to the Navajo Tribe, title thereto to be taken by the United States in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as part of the Navajo Reservation; and 10. The 1980 Act also provided that the Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United States, "accept title to not exceed 150,000 acres of private lands acquired by the Navajo Tribe", to be held in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as part of the Navajo Reservation; and 11. The 1980 Act further provided that lands acquired or transferred under its authority "be administered by the [Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation] Commission until the Commission's [relocation] plan is complete and such lands shall be used solely for the benefit of Navajo familes residing on Hopi partitioned lands as of the date of this subsection [July 8, 1980], who are awaiting relocation..."; and 12. The United States, pursuant to the 1980 Act, has transferred title to 215,000 acres of public lands in Arizona for the purposes provided in the 1980 Act; and 13. In the Chambers and Bar N Tribal Ranches, the Navajo Tribe owns 151,860 acres of fee lands, which are available for transfer to the United States to be taken in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe, pursuant to the provisions of the 1980 Act; and 14. The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission, which has authority to speak and act on behalf of the Navajo Nation with respect to the land selection and exchange provisions of Public Law 96-305, has selected the Chambers and Bar N Tribal Ranches for relocation purposes, as described in Exhibit A attached hereto; and 15. Such transfer at this time by the Navajo Tribal Council would be in the best interest of the Navajo Nation. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Advisory Committee of the Navajo Tribal Council hereby recommends that the Navajo Tribal Council transfer legal title of up to 150,000 acres of the Bar N and Chambers Navajo Tribal Ranches to the Secretary of the Interior, acting on behalf of the United States, to be placed in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as part of the Navajo Reservation. CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered by the Advisory Committee of the Navajo Tribal Council at a duly called meeting at Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona), at which a quorum was present and that same was passed by a vote of 15 in favor and 0 opposed, this 1st day of May, 1986. Errand T. Began Vice Chairman Navajo Tribal Council |