Navajo Nation getting $554 million from U.S. for mismanaging resources

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona -- The Navajo Nation is poised to receive $554 million from the federal government over mismanagement of tribal resources in the largest settlement of its kind for an American Indian tribe.

Much of the land on the 27,000-square-mile reservation has been leased for things like farming, grazing, oil and gas development, mining and housing. The leases once were largely overseen by the government, which mismanaged the revenue and failed to properly invest and account for it, according to the tribe.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is scheduled to visit Window Rock on Friday and formally recognize the settlement.

"The Navajo Nation is excited to host the signing ceremony on Friday," Tribal President Ben Shelly said in a statement. "The trust litigation has been a protracted battle and in the end, it was a victory for tribal sovereignty."

The tribe agreed to settle the case earlier this year but was awaiting signatures from federal agencies before the deal could be finalized. The Navajo Nation originally sought $900 million when the lawsuit was filed in 2006.

Public meetings will be held to ask Navajos how they think the money should be spent, Navajo Nation Council Delegate Lorenzo Curley said. The first meeting is scheduled for October. Already, tribal members have suggested that it be set aside for future generations or used for business development, he said.

Andrew Sandler, one of the Navajo Nation's attorneys on the case, said the tribe has taken on much of the responsibility for leasing on its land. If further disputes arise with the federal government, the settlement outlines a process to resolve them.

"This was viewed as an appropriate and respectful settlement where the federal government acknowledged its responsibility and acted in an honorable way," Sandler said. "It was a good result for all parties, and appropriate result for all parties, and it creates finality."

Tribes across the country have filed more than 100 breach-of-trust cases against the U.S. government. The Navajo Nation settlement is the largest, exceeding the next highest amount by $170 million, Sandler said.

The Interior Department said it is working to resolve cases with other tribes without going to trial. Since October 2010, the Obama administration has settled about 80 cases, totaling more than $2 billion.

Sandler said the Navajo Nation should receive its money within 60 days.

The Navajo Reservation is larger than any single American Indian land base, covering sections of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Almost two-thirds of the 300,000 Navajos live on the reservation that has some of the most iconic landscapes in the Southwest and is rich in natural resources.