This report is part of a series of reports to help decision makers plan for the future of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR). ONHIR was established by the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-531) as an independent Federal agency responsible for assisting with the relocation of Navajo people and Hopi people living within each other’s boundaries.
When the Settlement Act was passed, each tribe claimed exclusive rights to some or all of the lands they both lived on. The Settlement Act authorized the partition of the disputed land between the two tribes and directed the Secretary of the Interior to take up to 400,000 acres into trust to become part of the Navajo reservation.
As of March 2020, 387,448 acres (96.9 percent) of the 400,000 acres had been selected. ONHIR currently has land selection authority for the 12,552 acres (3.1 percent) remaining to be selected.
If ONHIR closes, legislation may be needed to resolve questions about who has land selection authority and for how many acres, as well as whether future land selections should be taken into trust as a mandatory trust acquisition or in restricted fee status (with title held by a tribe or individual Indian).