A Navajo Nation family is seeking Congressional approval to stay on their ancestral land within the Wupatki National Monument.

Stella Peshlakai Smith, 89, is the last tribal member with a residency permit in the monument. When she dies, the permit goes away.

“This family has had a homestead there for generations and generations, years, and we want that to be made right,” Navajo Nation Council Delegate Walter Phelps told the Associated Press.

Navajo families lived on the land before it became a monument in 1924. But many were evicted, or were told to leave, by the federal government.

“Absolutely it bothers me,” Elsie Tohannie, 82, whose family was forced out, told the AP. “It’s something no one can recognize, the pain.”

The National Park Service officially opposes residency for Navajo families.

Get the Story:
Navajo woman family’s last link to monument land (AP 3/21)