The Relocation Act did not protect the human rights of the Diné but rather it appears the Act was structured to allow corporate mining companies exploit valuable subsurface minerals that belonged to the Indigenous Nations। The Relocation Act has a lengthy and twisted history that precipitated many debates and legislations to where members of Congress no longer support the Act. Arizona Senator John McCain pushed for the end to relocation in 2005 by introducing amendments to the Act that would close the Office of Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation and move the responsibilities to the Department of Interior with no new appropriations. The Navajo Nation opposed the sudden pull out of the federal government and demanded Congress finish the relocation of Diné families to the satisfaction of the Navajo Nation government and more importantly to the people.
While much focus was given to Congress and the federal budgeting process to “fix” relocation and other Diné federal obligations, a group of Diné leaders began to engage in the global discussion on Indigenous rights in the United Nations। The U.N. Special Rapporteur José F. Martinez Cobo in his study advised the U.N. Economic and Social Council in 1982 that Indigenous Nations faced discrimination and were found to have diminished rights to selfgovernment, land rights and to the protection and practice of traditional and cultural Life Ways. Rapporteur Cobo’s study gave impetus to the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Diné leaders were active in the formulation of the Declaration. Indigenous leaders and organizations from all over the world embraced the Declaration and advocated for its adoption. The Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007 with four countries voting against the adoption of the Declaration, including the United States.
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While much focus was given to Congress and the federal budgeting process to “fix” relocation and other Diné federal obligations, a group of Diné leaders began to engage in the global discussion on Indigenous rights in the United Nations। The U.N. Special Rapporteur José F. Martinez Cobo in his study advised the U.N. Economic and Social Council in 1982 that Indigenous Nations faced discrimination and were found to have diminished rights to selfgovernment, land rights and to the protection and practice of traditional and cultural Life Ways. Rapporteur Cobo’s study gave impetus to the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Diné leaders were active in the formulation of the Declaration. Indigenous leaders and organizations from all over the world embraced the Declaration and advocated for its adoption. The Declaration was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007 with four countries voting against the adoption of the Declaration, including the United States.
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