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Land buyback a success thanks to ‘government to government cooperation’

Land buyback a success thanks to ‘government to government cooperation’

Navajo Times | Adron Gardner
Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie opens a ceremony for the Navajo Land Buy-Back Program at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock on Jan. 5.

WINDOW ROCK

It started with a settlement and with that, $108 million was paid to Navajo allottees who voluntarily sold their fractionated land, which is now being held in trust for the tribe.

On Thursday, key individuals who had either initiated the Land Buyback Program or worked alongside it came together at the Navajo Nation Museum to celebrate the end of the land buy-back program. The program wouldn’t have happened had not it been for the Cobell Settlement, which provided $1.9 billion nationally for tribes to consolidate fractional land interests — allotments that have been divided over generations between so many owners that they are virtually useless to the landholders. Of this, $1.5 billion was set aside to purchase fractional land interests, $285 million for implementation and administrative costs, and $60 million for scholarships.

“The thing I love about the Navajo Nation is we always have robust, meaningful conversations,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor. “We work things out and sometimes they result in great successes, such as what we are here for today to celebrate.”

Starting with the Pine Ridge Reservation in 2013, the “nation to nation cooperation” between the federal government and tribes has manifested into the restoring of 1.9 million acres to tribal government through the program.

“The results here on Navajo are significant,” said Connor, who said that 25,000 landowners received offers, 28,000 tracts were acquired and 155,000 acres was restored to Navajo tribal ownership. “In total, $108 million was paid to land owners, immediately putting that revenue to individuals who best decide how they want to further their own family and individual interest.”


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About The Author

Arlyssa Becenti

Arlyssa Becenti reported on Navajo Nation Council and Office of the President and Vice President. Her clans are Nát'oh dine'é Táchii'nii, Bit'ahnii, Kin łichii'nii, Kiyaa'áanii. She’s originally from Fort Defiance and has a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University. Before working for the Navajo Times she was a reporter for the Gallup Independent.

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