50 Years Ago

A special project begun in January of 1965 to replace Mexicans working on farms in Yuma, Arizona with Navajos has hit a few snags.

This is tax season on the Navajo Reservation and although officials for the Internal Revenue Service report that less than five percent of Navajos file a federal income tax report, those that do will now be able to deduct expenses for Navajo ceremonies.

Back in the 1960s, the battle between the Hopi Tribal Council and traditionalists on the Hopi Reservation raged hot and heavy and Navajo Nation President Raymond Nakai kept in close contact with the traditionalists to win over their support for the Navajos in the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute.

The fight between Navajo Tribal Chairman Raymond Nakai and the tribe’s general counsel, Norman Littell, continued in full force as 1965 began with the two battling it out in a federal court case held in Washington, D.C.

So what were Navajos talking about as 1965 began? Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t the fight...