The Navajo Nation is moving forward with plans to purchase a $23 million ranch in Colorado. A committee vote on July 25 was the final approval needed.
The 25.5-square-mile ranch is home to the tribe’s ancestral land and sacred mountain, along with 230 head of cattle, 300 head of bison, water rights and the ability to produce 800 tons of hay a year.
MORE: Navajo Nation Wants To Buy Sacred Mountains in Colorado
Council delegate Dwight Witherspoon said the purchase makes “agricultural, political, business and spiritual sense.”
Delegate Tom Chee opposed the plan asking, why can’t we spend the money on our own people?
Navajo President Russell Begaye said it provides opportunities for both economic development and conservation of a place where the tribe’s sacred mountain can be viewed.
