Audio Clip Navajo Families To Finally See Rebuilding Funds



Anne Hoffman Carol Colorado lives in the former Bennett Freeze area. For 40 years she and her husband couldn't repair their home, which is built out of ammunition cans.

About 8,000 Navajo families under a decades-long development freeze may finally see some money to rebuild their homes next month. But the tribe said it’s not nearly enough.

It’s called the Bennett Freeze. Four decades ago Robert Bennett, the commissioner of Indian Affairs, outlawed construction of any kind on a million and a half acres in northeastern Arizona. This was his solution to a land dispute between the Navajo and Hopi Tribes. The tribes came to an agreement in 2006, but many people are still waiting on new homes, water and electricity promised to them.

When the compact was signed, $12 million was divided between the two tribes. After divvying up the money to lobbying efforts and to emergency housing, there’s $2.9 million left for Navajo families.

"That’s just the drop in the bucket," said Raymond Maxx, the director of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office. "It’s going to require a lot more funds to rehabilitate and for the area to recover from the 40 years of the Bennett Freeze."

Past surveys show the tribe needs about $600 million to build homes and infrastructure. Maxx blamed internal bureaucracy and politics as well as the federal government for the delay.

"The federal agency due to their policy we had to endure 40 years of this freeze," Maxx said. "They need to own up to the responsibility of recovery and rehabilitation."

The Navajo tribe is working on a study to better analyze its housing and infrastructure needs.