Indianz.Com Listening Lounge, Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Navajo-Hopi land settlement. July 21, 2005 Note: All files in MP3 format. Introduction - 7:22 - 1.26MB Panel I - 17:45 - 3.04MB Panel II - 31:07 - 5.34MB | Q&A - 16:15 - 2.79MB

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing this morning on S.1003, the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005.

The hearing started at 9:30am and was broadcast on the Internet. The following witnesses [Link] testified:

Panel I
MR. CHRISTOPHER J. BAVASI, Executive Director, The Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation, Flagstaff, Arizona
MR. WILLIAM P. RAGSDALE, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Panel II
THE HONORABLE WAYNE TAYLOR, JR., Tribal Chairman, The Hopi Tribe, Kykotsmovi, Arizona
THE HONORABLE JOE SHIRLEY, JR., President, The Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona
MR. ROMAN BITSUIE, Executive Director, The Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office, Window Rock, Arizona

Introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the chairman of the committee, the bill would end the federal program that funds the relocation of Navajo and Hopi families from lands in northeastern Arizona that were the subject of an ownership dispute between the two tribes. The U.S. has spent more than $440 million to relocate the families, McCain said.

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Hopi Tribe - http://www.hopi.nsn.us

Related Stories:
Navajos oppose McCain bill on Navajo-Hopi settlement (7/15)