NMCentennialBlueBook

The people, under the watch of U.S. Army guards, were forced to march the whole distance. Thousands
died along the way, during the four years the people spent at the Bosque Redondo, and during the walk
home in 1868. This episode of tragedy and human survival is known as “The Long Walk.”
The leaders of the different clans of the Navajo people signed the Treaty of 1868 at the Bosque
Redondo with the U.S. The treaty set aside a reservation — a fraction of the Navajo’s original
homelands — and in exchange for peace, the U. S. government promised to provide basic services
to the Navajo people.
In 1921, oil was discovered in northwest New Mexico and the U.S. government created the first
form of the Navajo Tribal Council, a six-man business council created for the sole purpose of giving
consent to mineral leases. In 1936, the U.S. government issued the “Rules of the Navajo Tribal
Council” which formed the basis for the Navajo Nation government that remains in effect today.
The capital of the Navajo Nation is Window Rock, Arizona. The Navajo Nation Council meets
four times a year to enact legislation and discuss other issues of importance to the Navajo people.
The 24 members of the Council are elected based on population from 110 chapters. The Council is
the governing body of the Navajo Nation and its meetings are presided over by the Speaker who is
elected by the membership of the Council. The Speaker serves as CEO of the Legislative Branch.
The Executive Branch is headed by a President and Vice President who are elected every four years
by the Navajo people. The bulk of tribal employees and service delivery programs are located
within the Executive Branch.
The annual budget for the
Navajo Nation government
is about $96 million and 80
percent is appropriated to the
Executive Branch.
The 110 chapters are the local
form of government and each
chapter also elects a President
and Vice President, Secretary/
Treasurer and other officials.
Community meetings are held
in the chapter houses and the
members vote on issues such
as home site leases and land
use plans. The Navajo people
easily adapted to the chapter
system because it simply
was a formalization of the
traditional form of community
meetings. Over 50 chapters
are located in New Mexico
or straddle the Arizona-New
Mexico state line.
Three bands, or satellite
communities, of the Navajo
Nation are also located in
New Mexico. These are the
Alamo Band, located about
30 miles west of Magdalena,
the Canoncito Band (as of
1999 this group changed
back to its original name:
To’hajiilee) about 25 miles
west of Albuquerque, and the
Ramah Band, about 40 miles
south of Gallup.
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Navajo: Studio portrait of Hastiin Ch'il Haajini, (Manuelito) and wife,
Asdzaa tl Ogi (Juanita) in 1881. He was an early, important Navajo chief.
In the picture he wears boot moccasins, leggings, a bead necklace, cloth
headband and a top hat. She is wearing a bil dress and a blanket.