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 The accord, resolving claims that date back as far as 50 years and
marking the biggest U.S. legal settlement with a single tribe, will
be formally signed at a ceremony on Friday in Window Rock, Arizona,
the capital of the sprawling Navajo reservation.
The deal stems from litigation accusing the government of
mismanaging Navajo trust accounts and resources on more than 14
million acres (5.7 million hectares) of land held in trust for the
tribe and leased for such purposes as farming, energy development,
logging and mining.
In return for $554 million, the Navajo agreed to dismiss its lawsuit
and forego further litigation over previous U.S. management of
Navajo funds and resources held in trust by the federal government.
The deal does not preclude the tribe from pursuing future trust
claims, or any separate claims over water and uranium pollution on
its reservation, Navajo Attorney General Harrison Tsosie said.
He declined to quantify the total sum the Navajo had claimed it was
owed before the settlement, saying he needed to review
non-disclosure clauses.
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly hailed the outcome as a "victory
for tribal sovereignty" and promised to host town hall meetings to
decide how to allocate settlement funds.
The Navajo Nation is the most populous American Indian tribe, with
more than 300,000 members, and the largest by land mass, occupying
27,000 square miles (70,000 sq km) across Arizona, New Mexico and
Utah.
"After a long, hard-won process, I am pleased that we have finally
come to a resolution on this matter to receive fair and just
compensation for the Navajo Nation," Shelly said in a statement.
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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the agreement historic and
said it showed the Justice Department's commitment to "strengthening
our partnership with tribal nations."
The deal comes over two years after the administration announced
similar settlements with 41 tribes for about $1 billion
collectively. Since then, the government has resolved breach of
trust claims by nearly 40 additional tribes for more than $1.5
billion, a U.S. Justice Department official said.
Shelly publicly disclosed in May that the Navajo had reached an
agreement in principle. The sides revealed on Wednesday that the
deal had been fully approved and executed.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman from Los Angeles; Additional reporting by
Julia Edwards in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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