The Catena Foundation provides support for the coverage of tribal natural resources.
On Friday, Gov. Katie Hobbs made an exciting announcement regarding the resolution of a tribal land dispute that has been ongoing for almost thirty years. This long-awaited settlement will involve the transfer of thousands of acres of state land into trust for the Hopi Tribe.
The tribe will pay the Arizona State Land Department close to $4 million to transfer approximately 21,000 acres from Coconino County to trust land. The Arizona State Land Department oversees over 9 million acres of state trust lands. The land in question is located south of I-40 near Winslow.
That amounts to approximately $185 for every acre.
The Hopi Tribe has allocated over $20 million to consolidate approximately 110,000 acres of checkerboarded properties in Coconino and Navajo counties, which are adjacent to tribal lands.
The Hopi Tribe, located in northeastern Arizona and surrounded by the vast 17-million-acre Navajo Nation, will be able to expand its 1.5-million-acre reservation by taking those lands into trust. This significant development follows the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996, which brought an end to the long-standing conflicts between the two tribes.