WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations and fulfill federal trust obligations, on Friday, Sept. 26, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn and Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division will join Navajo Nation tribal leaders and members to announce a major tribal trust accounting settlement.
The announcement will be made at Window Rock Tribal Park and will include a signing ceremony. Friday's announcement marks a significant milestone in the Obama Administration's commitment to resolving tribal trust management lawsuits with Native American tribes.
The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American tribe in the United States, with more than 300,000 members. The Nation has the largest reservation in the United States, encompassing more than 27,000 square miles of land in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The reservation includes more than 14 million acres of trust lands, which are leased for various productive uses, including farming; grazing; oil, gas, and other mineral development; businesses; rights-of-way; timber harvesting; and housing. The Navajo Nation also owns or has ownership interests in over 100 trust accounts.
WHO:
Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Sam Hirsch, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Kevin Washburn, U.S. Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
Ben Shelly, President, Executive Branch, Navajo Nation
LoRenzo Bates, Speaker Pro Tempore, 22nd Navajo Nation Council
Harrison Tsosie, Attorney General, Navajo Nation
Lorenzo Curley, Trust Mismanagement Litigation Task Force Chair, Council Delegate 22nd Navajo Nation Council
WHAT:
Press Conference and Signing Ceremony to Announce Major Tribal Trust
Accounting Settlement
WHEN:
Friday, Sept. 26, 2014
10 a.m. MDT
WHERE:
Window Rock Tribal Park
100 Parkway
Window Rock, Arizona 86515
RSVP:
Credentialed members of the media interested in covering the announcement are encouraged to RSVP HERE by Sept. 25, 2014 at 5 p.m. MST.
NOTE:
This event will be live-streamed at here.
Source: Department of Interior
