The Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe will sign an agreement today aimed at ending a long-running land dispute in northeastern Arizona.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Rep. Rick Renzi (R), who is running for re-election, will appear at the signing. The event takes place at 4pm at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

The agreement seeks to ensure Navajo and Hopi tribal members can exercise their religious and traditional rights on land belonging to either tribe. It lifts the 40-year-old "Bennett Freeze" that prohibited construction on disputed land.

The Navajo Nation Council and the Hopi council have approved the deal. It needs clearance from a federal judge.

Get the Story:
Accord to end 40-year Navajo, Hopi feud (The Arizona Republic 11/3)

Senate Bill:
Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005 (S.1003)

Relevant Documents:
Hearing Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on S. 1003, Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005 (July 20, 2005)

Relevant Links:
Hopi Tribe - http://www.hopi.nsn.us
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Black Mesa Indigenous Support, Navajo family support site - http://www.blackmesais.org

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