Window Rock, Arizona, serves as the capital of the Navajo Nation. Photo by Ben FrantzDale
Getting members of the Navajo Nation to participate in the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations hasn't been entirely easy. More than 26,000 landowners on the reservation have been have been offered nearly $260 million for their fractional interests. Any interests that are acquired will be transferred to the tribe, a process that has sparked rumors about the tribe needing the land to house refugees from the Middle East, The Navajo-Hopi Observer reported. "The opponents always throw out conspiracy," Nelson Cody, a spokesperson for the tribe's buy-back program, told the paper. The $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit included $1.9 billion for the buy-back program. As of July 1, more than 34,000 landowners have accepted more than $753.5 million for their interests and the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million acres has been returned to tribes. H.R.4783, the law the implemented the settlement, requires the land consolidation fund to be spent in 10 years. The money will run out before the deadline if the rate of sales continues at the current pace. Secretary Sally Jewell has asked for options to extend land consolidation efforts beyond that deadline. Get the Story:
What is Navajo Land Buy-Back Program? (The Navajo-Hopi Observer 7/19)
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