Manley Barton v. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation

BACKGROUND

I. The Settlement Act

After years of conflict between the Navajo and Hopi tribes about ownership of the JUA, Congress enacted the Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act (“Settlement Act”) to partition the land between the two tribes. Bedoni v. Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation Comm’n, 878 F.2d 1119, 1121 (9th Cir. 1989). The JUA was split into the Hopi Partitioned Lands (“HPL”) and Navajo Partitioned Lands (“NPL”), and we approved the partition in Sekaquaptewa v. MacDonald, 626 F.2d 113 (9th Cir. 1980).

BARTON V. OFFICE OF NAVAJO AND HOPI INDIAN RELOCATION

Pursuant to the Settlement Act, individuals residing on land partitioned to the tribe of which they were not a member were required to relocate from their homes. See 25 U.S.C. § 640d-13(a). Congress also created ONHIR, a federal agency, to administer the Act, and funds were allocated to provide eligible tribe members with relocation benefits. See 25 C.F.R. § 700.1 (1988). To be eligible for benefits, an applicant had to show that he (1) was a resident of the land partitioned to the tribe of which he was not a member on December 22, 1974, and (2) was head of household as of the date he moved away from the land partitioned to…