50 Years Ago

The Navajo Tribe made national news 50 years ago when tribal attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the federal government for $50 million, claiming the Bureau of Indian Affairs mishandled the tribe’s oil and gas revenue.

As the Navajo Nation prepared for the Memorial Day holiday in 1969, the Navajo Times presented its readers with the names of 45 members of the tribe who had died so far serving in the Vietnam War.

Of course, no one at the Times knew back in May 1969 that the article they published on the front page that week had a major mistake. That would not become evident until four years later. The article was headlined: “Navajo leader declines top Indian position.”

For the first time in its history, the Council was looking at a budget that would exceed $15 million.

J. Tonney Bowman was one of those persons who could be counted on to appear in the Navajo Times on a regular basis.