Navajo-Hopi Reservation Dispute, 1973-05-10

Item — Box: 67, Folder: 9

Identifier: CAC_CC_009_2_67_9_0001

Staff Only

The Navajo-Hopi dispute is a long-standing conflict over land ownership and usage rights in Arizona. The Hopi claim that the Navajo have been encroaching on their land for centuries, while the Navajo claim that they have always had a right to the land in question. In 1934, Congress passed an act expanding the boundaries of the Navajo reservation to include some Hopi who were living in an area known as the Moencopi area. However, conflict and friction between the two tribes over the right of ownership and the right to use and occupy the lands outside District 6 increased. In 1958, at the behest of the Hopi, Congress conferred jurisdiction on a three-judge District Court to determine the relative rights of the tribes in and to the 1882 Executive Order Reservation. The decision in Healing v. Jones did little to solve the practical problems, but did vest rights in the Tribes. The decision also conferred upon the two tribes a joint, equal and undivided interest