In Window Rock, Arizona, the seat of government of the Navajo Nation, President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez recently signed into law a resolution enacting the Navajo Nation Land Acquisition Act. The act will amend the land acquisition process and make it easier to acquire industrial and commercial properties and dispose of real property.
Begaye stated, “The process needs to be more immediate because the previous process was too time consuming and had caused the Nation to lose out on property. The legislation positions the Navajo Nation to be on the same level as companies that compete against us in purchasing prime property. It positions us to invest in property in big cities.”
Nez added the amendments to the act also will speed up land disposal. “It has been difficult to sell our properties because we didn’t have authority to do so. Amendments to this act have addressed this issue so that the Nation can look at selling property. The Nation needs to be able to sell unusable or undevelopable properties when the interest is there,” Nez said.
Navajo Land Department Director Mike Halona noted, “This legislation is a proactive approach that is based on the needs of the Nation.” He pointed out one of the amendments to the Navajo Nation Land Acquisition Act gives the executive director of the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources limited authority to grant final approval for purchasing or disposing of land, with a limit of $5 million per calendar year.
