50 Years Ago

Navajo Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald, who just a month previous had pledged to work with Gallup to benefit local Native Americans, announced 50 years ago this week that the Navajo Tribe will not be supporting the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial in its efforts to secure federal grants to help the organization find a new site.

Chet MacRorie officially took over the running of the Navajo Times on March 27, 1971, at the request of Chairman Peter MacDonald.

A couple of days after the Navajo Tribal Council approved hiring Brown, Vlassis and Bain to be great new general counsel with the help of a Washington law firm to handle congressional matters, a backlash arose within the Council because of concerns that the tribe was spending too much on legal services.

The Navajo Tribal Council spent three days discussing who should be hired to oversee the tribe’s legal affairs and in the end it appears that three attorneys and law firms will be representing the tribe, at least temporarily.