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62-738: Although part of the Navajo Nation , the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation has had an independent history from that of the other Navajo lands. The Ramah Navajo have been recorded in this area of New Mexico since 1540, when they came to the aid of the Zuni in their defense against the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado . In the years from 1868 through the 1960s, the Ramah Navajo acted independently of

124-639: A mediation-style process. While the people were held at Bosque Redondo, the U.S. Army handled severe crimes. Lesser crimes and disputes remained in the purview of the villages' chiefs. After the Navajo return from Bosque Redondo in 1868, listed criminal offenses were handled by the US Indian Agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs with support of the U.S. Army, while lesser disputes remained under Navajo control. In 1892, BIA Agent David L. Shipley established

186-547: A source of prestige. Also during this period, under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, the federal government was encouraging tribes to revive their governments according to constitutional models shaped after that of the United States. Because of the outrage and discontent about the herd issues, the Navajo voters did not trust the language of the proposed initial constitution outlined in

248-533: A term used in many languages as an endonym . Among the Navajo populace, both terms are employed. In 2017, the Navajo Nation Council rejected legislation to change the name to "Diné Nation", citing potential "confusion and frustration among Navajo citizens and non-Navajos". In Navajo, the geographic entity with its legally defined borders is known as Naabeehó Bináhásdzo . This contrasts with Diné Bikéyah and Naabeehó Bikéyah for

310-625: A voluntary basis, at market rates, through this program if their tribe participated. Through March 2017, under the Tribal Nations Buy-Back Program, individual Navajo members received $ 104 million for purchase of their interests in land; 155,503 acres were returned to the Navajo Nation for its territory by the Department of Interior under this program. In the traditional Navajo culture, local leadership

372-616: Is a school district headquartered in the Zuni Pueblo census-designated place of unincorporated McKinley County , New Mexico , United States . It includes sections in Cibola County and McKinley County (including Zuni Pueblo and Black Rock ). Created on July 1, 1980, it was the first tribally controlled public school system in the United States. The last school district creation, prior to that of Zuni, occurred in 1950. Zuni School District, which largely coincides with

434-722: Is a tribal school, Pine Hill Schools , operated by the Ramah Navajo School Board and associated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Additionally the Gallup-McKinley County Schools is the local school district; the proximity of the nearest schools in Cibola County were so far, 50 miles (80 km) away, that Cibola and McKinley counties agreed to have students sent to McKinley County schools. As of 1995 it buses students from

496-691: Is available on the Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Services, as well as a section for amendments beginning from January 2014 to December 2022. There is a map that outlines the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, available on the Navajo Land Department's Website. Also, see Dine Land Use's website for the history of the Navajo Nation's land base. Lands within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation are composed of Public, Tribal Trust, Tribal Fee, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Private, State, and BIA Indian Allotment Lands. Within

558-400: Is called the "checkerboard area". It resulted in the loss of much Navajo land. In the southeastern area of the reservation, the Navajo Nation has purchased some ranches, which it refers to as its Nahata Dził , or New Lands. These lands are leased to Navajo individuals, livestock companies, and grazing associations. In 1996, Elouise Cobell ( Blackfeet ) filed a class action lawsuit against

620-508: Is located in Window Rock, Arizona . At roughly 17,544,500 acres (71,000 km ; 27,413 sq mi), the Navajo Nation is the largest Indian reservation in the United States, exceeding that of ten U.S. states . It is one of the few reservations whose lands overlap the nation's traditional homelands. In 2010, the reservation was home to 173,667 out of 332,129 Navajo tribal members; the remaining 158,462 tribal members lived outside

682-759: Is rooted in their clans and oral history. The clan system of the Diné is integral to their society. The system has rules of behavior that extend to the manner of refined culture that the Navajo people call "walking in beauty". The philosophy and clan system were established long before the Spanish colonial occupation of Dinétah, through to July 25, 1868, when Congress ratified the Navajo Treaty with President Andrew Johnson , signed by Barboncito , Armijo , and other chiefs and headmen present at Bosque Redondo , New Mexico. The Navajo people have continued to transform their conceptual understandings of government since signing

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744-519: Is unique from the rest of the Navajo Nation with having its own police force and police district along with its own new detention center which opened in 2016. Ramah Navajo Chapter is represented by Norman M. Begay who is one of the 24 Council Delegates who represents the nations 110 Chapters. He also Represents two other satellite chapters of Alamo and To'Hajiilee. He is also a part of the Navajo Nation Budget and Finance Committee. There

806-401: The 37th parallel in the north; the southern border as a line running through Fort Defiance ; the eastern border as a line running through Fort Lyon ; and in the west as longitude 109° 30′. As drafted in 1868, the boundaries were defined as: the following district of country, to wit: bounded on the north by the 37th degree of north latitude, south by an east and west line passing through

868-472: The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) attempted to mitigate environmental damage due to over-grazing on reservations. Significant pushback was given by the Navajo, who did not feel that they had been sufficiently consulted before the measures were implemented. BIA Superintendent John Collier 's attempt to reduce livestock herd size affected responses to his other efforts to improve conditions for Native Americans. The herds had been central to Navajo culture, and were

930-673: The Zuni Indian Reservation , became the 89th school district in New Mexico. The initial prospective enrollment was 1,800, with 98% of them being Zuni people . Hayes Lewis, the acting superintendent, stated that the reason why the Zuni Pueblo community decided to leave the Gallup-McKinley County Schools system is because the Zuni people wanted to make their own educational decisions, and a Zuni had never been elected to

992-698: The "Navajo Nation Supreme Court", and redefined "Trial Courts of the Navajo Tribe" as "District Courts of the Navajo Nation". Navajo courts are governed by Title 7, "Courts and Procedures", of the Navajo Tribal Code. From 1988 to 2006, there were seven judicial districts and two satellite courts. As of 2010 , there are ten judicial districts, centered respectively in Alamo (Alamo/Tó'hajiilee) , Aneth , Chinle , Crownpoint , Dilkon , Kayenta , Ramah , Shiprock , Tuba City and Window Rock . All of

1054-645: The "Navajo Nation", which is displayed on its seal. In 1994, the Tribal Council rejected a proposal to change the official designation from "Navajo" to "Diné" , a traditional name for the people. Some people said that Diné represented the people in their time of suffering before the Long Walk , and that Navajo is the appropriate designation for the future. In the Navajo language , Diné means "the People",

1116-570: The Arizona and Utah portions of the Navajo Nation, there are a few private and BIA Indian Allotments in comparison to New Mexico's portion, which consists of a checkerboard pattern of all the aforementioned lands. The Eastern Agency, as it is referred to, consists of primarily Tribal Fee, BIA Indian Allotments, and BLM Lands. Although there are more Tribal Fee Lands in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation government intends to convert most or all Tribal Fee Lands to Tribal Trust, which has some benefits according to

1178-542: The Arizona–New Mexico border in 1912, when the states were admitted to the union. Unlike many reservations in the U.S., it has since expanded several times since its formation, reaching its current boundaries in 1934. In English , the official name for the area was "Navajo Indian Reservation", as outlined in Article II of the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo . On April 15, 1969, the tribe changed its official name to

1240-404: The Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Title II Amendment of 1989 established the Navajo Nation government as a three-part system (changes to the judicial branch had already begun in 1958). Two branches are independent of the council (where all government decision making was centralized before the change). The president and vice-president are elected every four years. The Executive nominates judges of

1302-536: The District Courts, and the Supreme Court. The nation consists of several divisions, departments, offices, and programs as established by law. In 2006, a committee for a "Navajo Constitution" began advocating for a Navajo constitutional convention. The committee's goal was to have representation from every chapter on the Navajo Nation represented at a constitutional convention. The committee proposed

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1364-661: The Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the council. As of 2006, 44 chapters were LGA certified. The Navajo Nation is divided into five agencies. The seat of government is located at the Navajo Governmental Campus in Window Rock/ Tségháhoodzání . These agencies are composed of several chapters each, and reflect the five Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agencies created in the early formation of

1426-656: The Interior for Secretarial Review , through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Most conflicts and controversies between the federal government of the United States and the Nation are settled by negotiations outlined in political agreements. The Navajo Nation Code consists of codified rules and laws of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation Code has 26 titles, covering subjects from the Navajo Nation Government to Commerce and Trade to Water. The 2010 version

1488-660: The Navajo Court of Indian Offenses and appointed judges. Previously, judicial authority was exercised by the Indian Agent. In 1950, the Navajo Tribal Council decided that judges should be elected. By the time of the judicial reorganization of 1958, the council had determined that, due to problems with delayed decisions and partisan politics, appointment was a better method of selecting judges. The president makes appointments, subject to confirmation by

1550-405: The Navajo Nation Council consisted of 88 representatives. The Navajo voted for the change in an effort to have a more efficient government and to curb tribal government corruption associated with council members who established secure seats. In 1927, agents of the U.S. federal government initiated a new form of local government entities called Chapters , modeled after jurisdictional governments in

1612-493: The Navajo Nation Council; however, the president is limited to the list of names vetted by the Judiciary Committee of the council. The current judicial system for the Navajo Nation was created by the Navajo Tribal Council on 16 October 1958. It established a separate branch of government, the "Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation Government", which became effective 1 April 1959. The Navajo Court of Indian Offenses

1674-793: The Navajo Nation. The five agencies within the Navajo Nation are Chinle Agency in Chinle, Arizona; Eastern Navajo Agency in Crownpoint, New Mexico; Western Navajo Agency in Tuba City, Arizona ; Fort Defiance Agency in Fort Defiance, Arizona ; and Shiprock Agency in Shiprock, New Mexico . The BIA agencies provide various technical services under direction of the BIA's Navajo Area Office at Gallup, New Mexico . Agencies are divided into chapters as

1736-515: The Navajo Nation. Although part of the Navajo Nation since the 1960s, they accomplished some "firsts." They founded the Pine Hill community with its Pine Hill Navajo School and health clinic. Community leaders, professionals, and Michael Gross, a lawyer from the East who had begun to work in legal services for Native Americans, obtained funding directly from the U.S. Congress in the early 1970s for

1798-619: The Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals. Subsequently, the Supreme Judicial Council was criticized for bringing politics directly into the judicial system and undermining "impartiality, fairness and equal protection". In December 1985, the Navajo Tribal Council passed the Judicial Reform Act of 1985, which eliminated the Supreme Judicial Council. It redefined the "Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals" as

1860-614: The Ramah Navajo chapter and the associated Ramah Navajo School Board, which operates Pine Hill Schools, sued the New Mexico Public Education Department and the Gallup McKinley County Schools arguing that the defendants breached the tribe's sovereignty by allowing the school district to extend school bus services further into the tribal grounds and therefore taking students who would have attended Pine Hill Schools and violating

1922-673: The Ramah reservation, with one at the chapter house and another at a point to the south; this was approved by Alan Morgan , the New Mexico State Superintendent of Education. Area parents disliked the new bus stops, saying they had hazards and that they lacked the necessary space. Morgan approved establishing the bus stops deeper into the reservation, adjacent to Pine Hill schools and at the housing complex, and these stops began operation in December 1994. In January 1995

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1984-474: The Treaty of 1868. Social, cultural, and political academics continue to debate the nature of modern Navajo governance and how it has evolved to include the systems and economies of the "western world". In the mid-19th century, primarily in the 1860s, most of the Navajo were forced to abandon their homes due to a series of military campaigns by the U.S. Army conducted with a scorched-earth policy and sanctioned by

2046-456: The Tribal Council to establish the current judicial, legislative, and executive model. This was a departure from the system of "Council and Chairmanship" from the previous government body. Conceptual additions were made to the language of Navajo Nation Code Title II, and the acts expanded the new government on April 1, 1990. Qualifications for the position of president include fluency in the Navajo language (this has seldom been enforced and in 2015

2108-535: The U.S. government. The Army burned their homes and agricultural fields, and stole or killed livestock, to weaken and starve the Navajo into submission. In 1864, the main body of Navajo, numbering 8,000 adults and children, were marched 300 miles (500 km) on the Long Walk to imprisonment in Bosque Redondo. The Treaty of 1868 established the "Navajo Indian Reservation" and the Navajo people left Bosque Redondo for this territory. The borders were defined as

2170-450: The US such as counties or townships. Each chapter elected officers and followed parliamentary procedures. By 1933, more than 100 chapters operated across the Navajo Nation. The chapters served as liaisons between the Navajo and the federal governments, respectively. They also acted as voting precincts for the election of tribal council delegates. They served as forums for local tribal leaders but

2232-509: The chapters had no authority within the structure of the Navajo Nation government. In 1998, the Navajo Tribal Council passed the "Local Governance Act" (LGA), which expanded the political roles of the existing 110 chapters. It authorized them to make decisions on behalf of the chapter members and to take over certain roles previously delegated to the council and executive branches. This included entering into intergovernmental agreements with federal, state and tribal entities, subject to approval by

2294-471: The convention be held in the traditional naachid /modern chapter house format, where every member of the nation wishing to participate may do so through their home chapters. The committee was formed by former Navajo leaders Kelsey Begaye , Peterson Zah , Peter MacDonald , Ivan Gamble (a writer/social activist), and other local political activists. Prior to Long Walk of the Navajo , judicial powers were exercised by peace chiefs ( Hózhǫ́ǫ́jí Naatʼááh ) in

2356-459: The council changed the law to repeal this requirement). Term limits allow only two consecutive terms. The Navajo Nation Council, formerly the Navajo Tribal Council, is the legislative branch of the Navajo Nation. As of 2010 , the Navajo Nation Council consists of 24 delegates, representing the 110 chapters, elected every four years by registered Navajo voters. Prior to the November 2010 election,

2418-614: The design of the Navajo Nation's flag by a dark-brown rectangle. As no physical boundaries or signposts were set in place, many Navajo ignored these formal boundaries and returned to where they had been living prior to the U.S. occupation. A significant number of Navajo had never lived in the Hwéeldi (near Fort Sumner). They remained or moved near the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers, on Naatsisʼáán ( Navajo Mountain ), and some lived with Apache bands. The first expansion of

2480-424: The districts also have family courts, which have jurisdiction over domestic relations, civil relief in domestic violence, child custody and protection, name changes, quiet title, and probate. As of 2010 , there were 17 trial judges presiding in the Navajo district and family courts. The Navajo Nation Presidency, in its current form, was created on December 15, 1989, after directives from the federal government guided

2542-639: The dormitory in Ramah now only took elementary students, and the Gallup-McKinley school district did not bus to other public schools. The Navajo Legal System Program (DNA) sued the school district in August 1968 in an attempt to reopen the public school. The courts ruled that the reservation could have busing to Zuni Public Schools , but the Gallup-McKinley County district chose to not allow its buses to enter Cibola County, which contained

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2604-462: The federal government on behalf of an estimated 250,000–500,000 plaintiffs, Native Americans whose trust accounts did not reflect an accurate accounting of money owed them under leases or fees on trust lands. The settlement of Cobell v. Salazar in 2009 included a provision for a nearly $ 2 billion fund for the government to buy fractionated interests and restore land to tribal reservations. Individuals could sell their fractionated land interests on

2666-441: The general idea of "Navajoland". Neither of these terms should be confused with Dinétah , the term used for the traditional homeland of the Navajo. This is located in the area among the four sacred Navajo mountains of Dookʼoʼoosłííd ( San Francisco Peaks ), Dibé Ntsaa ( Hesperus Mountain ), Sisnaajiní ( Blanca Peak ), and Tsoodził ( Mount Taylor ). The Navajo people 's tradition of governance

2728-413: The legislation. This contributed to their rejection of the first version of a proposed tribal constitution. In the various attempts since, members found the process to be too cumbersome and a potential threat to tribal self-determination. The constitution was supposed to be reviewed and approved by BIA. The earliest efforts were rejected primarily because segments of the tribe did not find enough freedom in

2790-527: The orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article. Though the treaty had provided for one hundred miles by one hundred miles in the New Mexico Territory , the size of the territory was 3,328,302 acres (13,470 km ; 5,200 sq mi) —slightly more than half. This initial piece of land is represented in

2852-529: The pattern of small family farms common among Americans. This was intended to extinguish tribal land claims for such territory. The land allocated to these Navajo heads of household was initially not considered part of the reservation. Further, the federal government determined that land "left over" after all members had received allotments was to be considered "surplus" and available for sale to non-Native Americans. The allotment program continued until 1934. Today, this patchwork of reservation and non-reservation land

2914-481: The previous agreement between the tribe and the counties. 34°50′47″N 108°22′46″W  /  34.84639°N 108.37944°W  / 34.84639; -108.37944 Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( Navajo : Naabeehó Bináhásdzo ), also known as Navajoland , is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona , northwestern New Mexico , and southeastern Utah . The seat of government

2976-483: The proposed forms of government. In 1935 they feared that the proposed government would hinder development and recovery of their livestock industries; in 1953 they worried about restrictions on development of mineral resources. They continued a government based on traditional models, with headmen chosen by clan groups. The Navajo Nation must submit all proposed laws to the United States Secretary of

3038-518: The region around Aneth, Utah in 1905 was confirmed by Congress in 1933. The eastern border was shaped primarily as a result of allotments of land to individual Navajo households under the Dawes Act of 1887. This experiment was designed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American culture. The federal government proposed to divide communal lands into plots assignable to heads of household – tribal members – for their subsistence farming, in

3100-463: The reservation in 1943. It had an enrollment of 30 students at the start. In 1952 Ramah Navajo Native Americans were to vote on whether to send their children to a BIA dormitory in Ramah Village, which had the nearest school district-operated public schools. A Navajo named King Chee supported instead having an on-reservation school. After the Ramah Navajo approved the dormitory idea, the proposal

3162-548: The reservation to Ramah Village : Ramah Elementary School and Ramah Middle/High School . The reservation is physically within the Grants-Cibola County Schools district. Historically Native students in the reservation attended Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools in New Mexico and other states. The BIA opened a Kindergarten through grade 3 day school, Mountain View Day School, on

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3224-646: The reservation, in urban areas (26%), border towns (10%), and elsewhere in the U.S. (17%). In 2020, the number of tribal members increased to 399,494, surpassing the Cherokee Nation as the largest tribal group by enrollment. The U.S. gained ownership of what is today Navajoland in 1848 following the Mexican-American War. The reservation was first established in 1868 within New Mexico Territory , initially spanning roughly 3,300,000 acres (13,000 km ); it subsequently straddled what became

3286-505: The reservation. Therefore the Ramah Navajo Indian School Board was established in 1970 and established a plan to open a tribal school, which it did in the ex-Ramah School in 1970; the tribal school moved to Pine Hill in 1975. In 1983 the Ramah Village public high school reopened. In Summer 1994 the Ramah tribal government and the governments of Cibola County and McKinley County agreed to have two bus stops on

3348-497: The school and clinic. Although the Ramah Band of Navajo had lived on their lands for several centuries up to the 1970s, their rights to them had not been fully secured under United States law since a transfer by the U.S. government had not occurred. The Navajo on these lands were not eligible for the services and benefits provided by the governmental agencies and departments to federally recognized tribes on trust lands. In 1979,

3410-605: The site of old Fort Defiance, in Canon Bonito, east by the parallel of longitude which, if prolonged south, would pass through old Fort Lyon, or the Ojo-de-oso, Bear Spring, and west by a parallel of longitude about 109º 30' west of Greenwich, provided it embraces the outlet of the Canon-de-Chilly [Canyon de Chelly], which canyon is to be all included in this reservation, shall be, and the same hereby, set apart for

3472-478: The smallest political unit, similar to municipalities or small U.S. counties. The Navajo capital city of Window Rock is located in the chapter of St. Michaels, Arizona . The Navajo Nation also operates executive offices in Washington, DC to facilitate government-to-government relations and for lobbying services and congressional relations. Zuni Public Schools Zuni Public School District ( ZPSD )

3534-441: The territory occurred on October 28, 1878, when President Rutherford Hayes signed an executive order pushing the reservation boundary 20 miles (32 km) to the west. Further additions followed throughout the late 19th and early 20th century (see map). Most of these additions were achieved through executive orders, some of which were confirmed by acts of Congress. For example, President Theodore Roosevelt 's executive order to add

3596-605: The use and occupation of the Navajo tribe of Indians, and for such other friendly tribes or individual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among them; and the United States agrees that no persons except those herein so authorized to do, and except such officers, soldiers agents, and employees of the Government, or of the Indians, as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties imposed by law, or

3658-559: The volunteer, Jan Crull, Jr. succeeded, securing Public Law 96-333 . He also taught the Ramah Navajo how to obtain all mineral rights underlying the lands he had secured for them with Public Law 97-434 . Crull's work led to his nomination by the Navajo for the Rockefeller Public Service Award in 1981, which was endorsed by U.S. senators Dennis DeConcini , Pete Domenici , and John Melcher ; and U.S. congressmen Manuel Lujan, Jr. and Paul Simon . Ramah

3720-406: Was eliminated; the sitting judges became judges in the new system. The resolution established "Trial Courts of the Navajo Tribe" and the "Navajo Tribal Court of Appeals", which was the highest tribal court and its only appellate court. In 1978, the Navajo Tribal Council established a "Supreme Judicial Council", a political body rather than a court. On a discretionary basis, it could hear appeals from

3782-468: Was organized around clans , which are matrilineal kinship groups. Children are considered born into the mother's family and gain their social status from her and her clan. Her eldest brother traditionally has a strong influence on rearing the children. The clan leadership have served as a de facto government on the local level of the Navajo Nation. In 1933, during the Great Depression ,

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3844-505: Was that the U.S. federal government would pay the New Mexico authorities for any Native American children attending New Mexican public schools. This dormitory opened in 1954, and Mountain View closed; this meant that the majority of reservation students could attend a local public school. The Ramah Village public high school closed circa 1968, due to being condemned. At first secondary students were forced to attend distant BIA boarding schools as

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