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Treaty of 1868

The borders were defined as 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′.^[1]

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 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 109' 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 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 the orders of the President, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in, the territory described in this article.^[2]

^[3]

Though the treaty had provided for one hundred square miles in the New Mexico Territory, the size of the territory was 3,328,302 acres (5,200.472 sq mi; 1,346,916 ha)^[1]—slightly more than half. This initial piece of land is represented in the design of the Navajo Nation's flag by a dark-brown rectangle.^[4] There were no physical boundaries or signposts that clearly defined the "new" Navajo lands after The Long Walk (Hwéeldi). Some Navajo avoided Kit Carson by staying along the Little Colorado and Colorado rivers, as well as on Naatsisʼáán (Navajo Mountain) that was clearly not part of the treaty lands. Upon their return from the Bosque Redondo many Navajo ignored the unmarked boundaries and returned to where they had been living prior to captivity.^[1]

Expansions from 1878 to 1933

The first expansion of the territory occurred on October 28, 1878, when President Rutherford Hayes signed an executive order pushing the reservation boundary 20 miles to the west.^[1] 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 the region around Aneth, Utah in 1905 was confirmed by Congress in 1933.^[5][6]

Dawes Act of 1877

The eastern border was shaped primarily as a result of allotments of land to individual households under the Dawes Act of 1887. In an attempt to assimilate Native Americans to the majority culture, the federal government proposed to divide communal lands into plots assignable to heads of household - tribal members, for their subsistence farming, in the pattern of small family farms common among European Americans. The 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. At the same time, the tribal government was to be disbanded. The allotment program continued until 1934.

This process was controversial. While the Navajo reservation proper was excluded from the act's provisions, the eastern border became a patchwork of reservation and non-reservation land, known as a "checkerboard" area, through sales of some property to non-Navajo people.^[7]

Hopi Reservation of 1882

Historically, the Hopi were surrounded by the Abathakins, primarily the Navajo. The US Government claimed sovereignty in the Mexican Cession in 1848 of all lands in the Southwest. The Hopi did not have any direct conflicts with the US Government or need of a treaty. In 1882 President Arthur passed an executive order creating a reservation for the Hopi. For "use and occupancy of Moqui (Hopi) and such other Indians as the Secretary of the Interior may see fit to settle thereon". The reservation was initially designed to keep non-Native Americans from encroaching up both the Hopi and Navajo. This was called the Joint Use Area.

Act of 1934

Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974

For several reasons the Hopi contested the joint use of land with the Navajo as set out in the executive order of 1882. The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 set defined boundaries of the Hopi Reservation. The effective size of the Navajo reservation was reduced.

In the 1980s, a conflict over shared lands peaked when the Department of the Interior attempted to relocate Navajo residents living in what is still referred to as the "Navajo/Hopi Joint Use Area." The litigious and social conflict between the two tribes and neighboring communities ended with the "Bennett Freeze" Agreement and was completed in July 2009 by President Barack Obama. The agreement lessened the contentious land disagreement with a 75-year lease to Navajos with claims dating to before the US occupation. <citation needed>

Land buying and Leases

Together with Tribal Trust Land and Recently Acquired Land, the Navajo Nation currently (2016) owns and leases 25 Navajo ranches, which are leased to Navajo individuals, livestock and grazing associations, and livestock companies. Twenty-two of these ranches are located within New Mexico and three ranches are located in Arizona. In the southeastern area of the reservation, the Navajo Nation has purchased some ranches, which it calls its Nahata Dzil or New Lands. They are leased to Navajo individuals, livestock and grazing associations, and livestock companies.

In 1996, Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet) filed a class action suit against 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 monies 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 a voluntary basis, at market rates, through this program if their tribe participated.

Buy Back Program of 2016

In 2016 under the Tribal Nations Buy-Back Program, individual Navajo members received $104 million for purchase of their interests in land; some 149,524 acres were returned to the Navajo Nation for its territory by the Department of Interior under this program.^[8] The program is intended to help tribes restore the land bases of their reservations, and to use the land for tribal welfare. More than 10,000 Navajo citizens were paid for their interests under this program. The tribe intends to use the consolidated lands to "streamline infrastructure projects," such as running power lines.^[8]