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Hopis, Navajos End 40-Year Argument
An accord has been reached between the Navajo and Hopi tribes to end a bitter 40-year struggle over Hopi religious sites on more than 700,000 acres of the western Navajo Reservation.Thousands of Navajos in the so-called Bennett Freeze Area have been without running water, electricity or modern appliances for decades because of a development ban put in place during the dispute. The area is part of the 7 million total acres of Navajo land in which access by Hopis to religious sites will be resolved. Federal officials imposed a ban in 1966 on construction and additional utility infrastructure on the Navajo land unless both sides agreed to it. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., will be in Phoenix today for a signing ceremony at 4 p.m. at the Heard Museum to discuss details of the agreement. Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-11-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=170739 |