NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Kcs m
THE NAVAJO
Navajos and their tribal of
ficials gathered at Aneth, Utah,
November 1. to celebrate a land
swap which they believe will
end forever friction between In
dians and Mormon stockmen
which only a few years ago
flared into bloody violence.
The swap was worked out
with the Interior Department
by Tribal Chairman Paul
Jones. It was suggested by Ned
Hatathli, chairman of the
tribe’s natural resources com
mittee. after the government
found it needed Navajo land
for a townsite at the Glen Can
yon Dam on the Colorado river
in Arizona. Under the swap the
tribe gave the government 50.-
000 acres and took over a like
amount of land known as Mc-
Cracken Mesa north of and ad
jacent to the reservation in
Utah.
The trade was described by
Norman Littell. general coun
sel for the tribe who came from
Washington for the ceremony,
as “one of the great events of
Navajo history.”
The ceremony was held here
at Aneth. a tiny village lying
along the banks of the San
Juan river in southeastern
Utah. Here in the heart of
what is proving to be one of
the major oil producing areas,
oil pump after oil pump can
be seen operating busily next
to isolated Indian hogans. The
area is northwest of Farming
tnn Now TVTpvirrv
ton, iNew iviexico.
pUBLjgH£IS gy THE COMMITTEE, NAVAJO TRIBE, WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA
Volume I, Number I November—l9s9 |
TIMES
McCracken Mesa Land Dispute Finally Settled
T . _ *1 ■"Etk, i&Z'ZB&S.
Chairman Jones Cuts Fence to Join
McCracken Mesa to Navajo Land
The ceremonies were held at
the Aneth Chapter house, one
of 10 modern meeting halls
built or under construction on
the far flung reservation.
It was Littell who described
the “brutal period” when Nav
ajos were beaten, hogans were
burned and shots were fired’
in an effort by white stockmen
to run Navajos off of land
where they had lived for many
years.
This period followed passage
of the Taylor Grazing A.ct in
1931 and continued until re
cent years. Und e r the Act,
Navajos living on public do
main in the area just oil the
reservation on the so-called Mc-
Cracken Mesa were required to
obtain grazing leases in order
to use the land. This, in effect,
made them “squatters and the
target for those ranchers want
ing to lease the land them
selves.
The land trade, celebrated
with a barbecue, brings lb fam
ilies living on the mesa into
the reservation proper. Another
four families living along the
line of the annexed property
will be given an opportunity
to move into the reservation as
will another lour families liv
ing off the annexed property
in Utah.