The Navajo Nation Profile

Demographics:
The Navajo Nation has approximately 225,000 members and is the largest federally recognized Indian tribe in the United States. According to the recent 2000 Census, an estimated 180,000 Navajos reside on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo population is increasing at a very rapid pace. The Navajo Nation is a young Nation, as the median age is 18 to 24 years. Several thousand non-members also reside and work on the Navajo Nation.

Geography:
The Navajo Nation is located on approximately 25,000 square miles, or 16.2 million acres. Navajoland, Diné Be Keyah, is situated within the exterior boundaries of the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, occupying parts of 13 counties in those states. The Navajo Nation has significant renewable and non-renewable natural resources, including surface and ground water, rangelands and forests, irrigated farmlands, lakes, fish and wildlife, and substantial reserves of coal, oil and natural gas. Much of Navajoland is extremely remote and isolated.

Governmental Structure:
The elected President and Vice President head the Executive Branch, which is comprised of ten executive departments, identified as “Divisions.” The Divisions provide a broad range of governmental services to Navajo Nation members and other residents of the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation’s inherent right to self-govern is sacred and demonstrated through daily governmental actions. As the governing body of the Navajo Nation, the Navajo Nation Council has the authority to pass laws which govern the Navajo Nation, members of the Navajo Nation, and certain conduct of non-member Indians and non-Indians within the territorial boundaries of the Navajo Nation.

The Navajo Nation central government is composed of three branches headquartered in Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona).

An 88 member popularly-elected Council, with 12 standing committees, serves as the governing body of the Navajo Nation. The Legislative Branch contains various offices and boards, which are administered by the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council.

The Judicial Branch consists of a system of seven District Courts, seven Family Courts, seven Peacemaker courts, and a Supreme Court.

One hundred and ten local government subdivisions, identified as Chapters, exist throughout Navajoland.

All branches of the Navajo Nation government exercise varied delegated powers and governmental authority in accordance with Navajo statutory, regulatory, and common law.

Permanent Issues:
In 1997, fifty-six percent of Navajo people lived below the poverty level and the per capita income was reported to be $5,599. Twenty-four percent of personal income made on the Navajo Nation is spent on the reservation leaving vast potential for on-reservation economic development.

High levels of unemployment persist on the Navajo Nation despite our efforts to find ways to attract various types of businesses to locate on the reservation to create jobs and spur economic development.

The Navajo Nation is challenged daily by the tasks associated with attracting businesses to an environment that has little or no infrastructure. On a regular basis, several businesses explore the possibility of locating to the Navajo Nation before realizing the obstacles of inadequately paved roads and the lack of electricity, water, and telecommunication services, not to mention limited police and fire protection.

The Navajo Nation currently has 6,184 miles of roads. 1,373 miles are paved and 4,811 miles, or 77 percent, are dirt or gravel. According to the 1990 Census, of the 56,372 housing units on the Navajo Nation, 29,099 homes (51 percent) lack complete plumbing and 26,869 homes (48 percent) do not have complete kitchen facilities.

Federal/Navajo Nation Relations:
The existing federal-tribal government-to-government relationship is also significant given that the United States has a unique legal relationship with Indian tribal governments as set forth in the Constitution of the United States, treaties, statutes, Executive Orders, and court decisions. Since the formation of the Union, the United States has recognized Indian tribes as domestic dependent nations under its protection and has affirmed the Navajo Nation’s sovereignty.

In Senate Report 100-274, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs described the current federal policy in Indian affairs as follows:

The federal policy of Indian self-determination is premised upon the legal relationship between the United States and the Indian tribal governments. The present right of Indian tribes to govern their members and territories flows from a preexisting sovereignty limited, but not abolished, by their inclusion within the territorial bounds of the United States. Tribal powers of self-government today are recognized by the Constitution, Acts of Congress, treaties between the United States and Indian tribes, judicial decisions and administrative practice.

A fundamental attribute of the federal Indian policy is the trust relationship that exists between the United States and Indian tribes. The trust relationship was articulated by Chief Justice John Marshall in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet) 1 (1831). The trust relationship and the trust principles first articulated in Cherokee Nation remain operable today. Trust duties set the standards of conduct for federal officials and Congress in their dealings with Indian tribes, create the basis for causes of action against the United States and its officials for breach of these duties, and have been employed to establish and protect the rights of Indian tribes and individuals.

In the Navajo Nation context, the United States Supreme Court in Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217 (1959) limited the authority of a state court to adjudicate a matter that arose on the Navajo Nation. The Supreme Court held:

The cases in this Court have consistently guarded the authority of Indian governments over their reservations. Congress recognized the Navajos in the Treaty of 1868, and has done so ever since.

The Navajo Nation relies on the Treaty of 1868, the trust relationship, and federal Indian policy in its dealings with the United States.

###