Two sites considered for Twin Arrows casino

Families living in the Twin Arrows area east of Flagstaff, where the Navajo Nation is looking to build a resort casino, said this week that they have not given permission for their land to be used and will fight any attempt by the tribe to move forward without their permission.

Calvin Johnson, who has been chosen to speak for the families, said the Navajo Nation refuses to talk to the families.

Family members claim four members of the Young family who live in the area have grazing site leases, which under Navajo law confers considerable power over what development is allowed within the lease area.

The families decided to make their concerns public after reading a March 3 story from the Associated Press that reported plans to break ground this fall on the $180 million resort, spa and casino.

The resort, which would be built in phases, would also include a golf course, hotel and a store selling Native arts and crafts. Phase 1 is expected to open for business in fall 2011.

Johnson said the families are upset because the Navajo Nation has done nothing about getting the various clearances needed to build on their land, such as surveying for archaeological and cultural resources.

The reason they have not been contacted, responded Mike Halona, head of the tribe's Land Department, is that no decision has been made yet on whether that site will be used.

The tribe is looking at two sites, the one under dispute by the families in the area and another one nearby, he said.

Halona said the second site is on non-tribal land and would be purchased using funds appropriated under the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act, which allows the tribe to purchase land to replace a portion of the 900,000 acres turned over to the Hopis.

The law also states that the purchased land must be placed in trust, which is important since federal law allows tribes to put casinos only on trust lands.

A decision on which site will be chosen is expected by mid-April, Halona said, adding that the fact one site is undisputed does not mean it will be picked.

"If we choose the other site, we will sit down at that time and negotiate with the families who have grazing rights to the land," he said.

Johnson said family members are willing to sit down with officials but want to be sure their concerns are addressed and their rights to the land respected.

Halona said family members have talked to tribal officials before and some have said obtaining their consent would require the tribe to give family members prominent positions in the casino and a percentage of the proceeds, two things the tribe has refused to do at its casino in Church Rock, N.M.

What the tribe can offer, he said, is to pay those who have the grazing rights the appraised value of the rights.

As for jobs, officials with the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise always would prefer to recruit local people, so family members who want jobs would be encouraged to apply.

But it's the matter of a fair compensation where land users and the tribe have butted heads time and time again.

Halona said grazing permittees do not own the land. That ownership remains with the tribe.

What the permit gives the family, he said, is the rights to the grass that grows on the land and this usually amounts to $10 for each head of cattle on the permit to graze.

But the permittees have argued that this is not enough, pointing out that the real value may be far beyond the appraised value, which does not take into consideration location or the intended use.

Family members say they would have to put up with a lot of problems from the development, all of which would affect their quality of life, and they want to be compensated for that.

But the family includes more than 60 members, and Halona said any negotiations would be solely with those who have grazing permits. If other family members want compensation, they'll have to talk to the permit holders, he said.

Historically, the tribe has avoided using eminent domain to free land for a public purpose, and most projects don't have the budget to pay off grazing permit holders.

This has stopped hundreds, if not thousands, of community development projects throughout the Navajo Nation.

But the casinos, like big-ticket developments such as the Desert Rock Energy Project, are in a different category. These projects have the money to buy out residents who might stand in their way, and the tribe has used condemnation when all else failed.

Work on the Twin Arrows site and four other sites on and near the reservation is expected to get underway by this fall or early next year, pending approval of the financing by the tribe's money managers.

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