Perkins Coie Brown & Bain Helps Resolve 40-Year-Old Hopi-Navajo Land Dispute

PHOENIX (November 6, 2006) – Perkins Coie Brown & Bain assisted the Navajo Nation in resolving a 4-decade old land dispute with the Hopi Tribe sites located on more than 7 million acres of the Navajo Reservation. Terry Fenzl, a partner at the firm who represented the Navajo Nation in the dispute for 32 years—since December 1974 when the lawsuit was filed—helped negotiate the historic settlement.

"This was a dispute in which both sides were equally passionate about their issues," said Fenzl. "It is a testament to the leadership of both tribes that they were able to resolve this long-standing dispute in a manner that is beneficial to everyone."

The land was set aside by Congress in 1934 as a reservation "for the benefit of the Navajo and such other Indians as may already be located thereon." The Hopi claimed that their members were located on that land before Congress created the reservation and that the tribe was entitled to a half interest in the land. After two trials and several appeals, the issues had come down to a battle over sacred sites and shrines.

Because of the dispute, in 1966, federal officials imposed a ban on construction and infrastructure development on about 1.5 million acres of the disputed lands, leaving thousands of Navajos living without water, electricity or modern appliances in what became known as the Bennett Freeze Area.

The settlement allows the members of each tribe to practice their traditional religions on the land of the other tribe, establishes an arbitration board comprised of members from both tribes to settle disputes, divides an existing escrow account administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs between the two tribes, and requires an ongoing study of golden eagles in the area, which are significant to the religious traditions of both tribes.