Gov. Katie Hobbs announced on Friday that a longstanding tribal land dispute, nearly three decades in the making, is finally getting settled. It’ll transfer thousands of acres of state land into trust for the Hopi Tribe.
The Arizona State Land Department, which manages more than 9 million acres of state trust lands, will get paid nearly $4 million by the tribe to take almost 21,000 acres from Coconino County — south of I-40 near Winslow — into trust.
That’s roughly $185 per acre.
In all, the Hopi Tribe will eventually spend more than $20 million to consolidate about 110,000 acres worth of checkerboarded properties in Coconino and Navajo counties that border tribal lands.
By taking those lands into trust, the Hopi Tribe, which is surrounded by the sprawling 17-million-acre Navajo Nation, shall expand its 1.5-million-acre-reservation in northeastern Arizona. This agreement follows the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act that ended hostilities between the two tribes in 1996.
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After finally being sworn in following a historic seven-week delay, Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva is using her first legislative act to fulfill a campaign promise she made to tribes in Arizona and across Indian Country. -
This newer holiday tradition began with the White Mountain Apache in 2023, followed by the San Carlos Apache last year. Now the state Capitol tree will come from the “People of the Tall Pines” — or Hualapai. -
It’s not every day you get to see an eagle — let alone two — alive and up close. But it’s something visitors of Liberty Wildlife did recently while blessing these animals during the nonprofit’s third annual Native American wildlife celebration. -
Last week, more than a dozen tribes across the U.S. commented on a new proposal by the Trump administration to let developers obtain preliminary permits for hydropower projects on reservations in spite of tribal opposition. -
The official designation comes at a pivotal time when sustained drought threatens this precious natural resource — CRIT considers “a living entity” — running parallel to the nearly 300,000-acre reservation along the California border.
