By Christia Gibbons
InMaricopa
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McD and Shirley Ann Hartman are concerned 670 acres near their farm will be transferred into Indian trust land, which means a loss in tax revenue. Jake Johnson photo
More than 670 dusty acres of scrub desert land near Maricopa is quietly undergoing a big change.
The Ak-Chin Indian Community owns the land but requested more than a year ago to transfer it to trust land, which means it would become part of its sovereign nation and the tribe would have ultimate control over it.
It’s called a fee-to-trust transfer and is under consideration by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Such a transaction can impact the city, county and nearby private landowners who lose all claim to zoning ordinances and control over such infrastructure as roads, water and electrical distribution.
“I don’t think people realize what having the land in a sovereign nation means,” said Shirley Ann Hartman, whose family has farmed the area since 1939. The main road to the Hartman land lies roughly in the middle of the 679 acres of the fee-to-trust request.
