Tribal officials are calling it a historic day as federal authorities work with the state of Arizona to begin implementing a settlement agreement reached with the Hopi Tribe nearly 30 years ago.

Government lawyers filed documents Friday condemning the transfer of dozens of square miles of federal land into trust for the Hopi Tribe. The tribe plans to compensate the state nearly $4 million for more than 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) of land near Winslow.

This could be the first of more land trust transfers to help eliminate the checkerboard of ownership that characterizes much of the land used by tribes for ranching in northeastern Arizona. There is sex.

It’s been a while

Friday’s filing follows the passage of the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Resolution Act of 1996, which ratified an agreement between the Hopi Tribe and the federal government that set the terms for holding land in trust to the tribe. This is what I did.

Land in northeastern Arizona is fiercely contested, and the Hopi and Navajo tribes have been at odds for generations. The federal government’s attempts to force the tribes to share the land failed, and after years of escalating conflict, Congress divided the area in 1974 and ordered tribal members to leave each other’s reservations.

The resulting border meant that the Navajo Nation, the nation’s largest reservation at 27,000 square miles, surrounded the 2,500 square mile Hopi Reservation.

Since settlement in 1996, the Hopi Tribe has sought to purchase private land and place adjacent federal land into trust in hopes of consolidating the property for the benefit of the tribe.

historic day

There have been many obstacles in the process, including when the tribe in 2018 sought help from local governments in northern Arizona to support a land relocation plan south of busy Interstate 40. It also includes when These efforts were hampered because the Flagstaff area included national forests.

In a statement Friday, Hopi Nation Chairman Tim Nubanyaoma thanked everyone who worked to make the accusations a reality and said the timing of this historic moment was appropriate.

“For Hopi, it is time for the Soyalan ritual, the beginning of a new year and the rejuvenation of life,” he said.

Governor Katie Hobbs, who visited the Hopi Reservation for the first time in 2023, said that the Hopi people have been fighting for their rights for decades and that past politicians have refused to listen to the voices of tribal communities. I admitted that.

“All Arizonans deserve the opportunity to thrive and a space to call home, and this agreement brings us one step closer to realizing our Arizona values,” she said Friday.

More transfers and economic opportunities

In November, the Navajo Nation acquired a parcel of land near Flagstaff as part of an outstanding federal obligation to assist members of the tribe who were forcibly relocated as a result of the Navajo-Hopi conflict. Signed a deed of trust.

Navajo leaders are considering building a casino on the newly acquired land, saying such a project would have significant economic benefits.

For the Hopi people, having more land in trust also means more economic opportunities. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the federal land near Winslow that is part of the conviction motion is dotted with land owned by the Hopi tribe and has been leased to the tribe for years for ranching and agricultural purposes. It is said that

Federal officials said Friday’s filing is the first in a series of condemnation lawsuits that are expected to ultimately result in more than 170 square miles (440 square kilometers) of federal land being transferred to a Hopi trust. He said that there is.