By Jeremy Duda
Arizona Capitol Times
Native American nations don’t get a piece of state shared-revenue the way that cities counties do, and for decades they haven’t been able to change that. But a proposal in the Legislature could help make that elusive goal a reality.
And northern Arizona lawmakers are looking to give the state’s largest tribe a county of its own to help direct some of that money their way.
Sen. Chester Crandell’s SB 1283 would create a study commission to examine the possibility of changing county boundaries. Crandell, R-Holbrook, said the goal of the proposed joint committee is to redraw the lines in Apache, Navajo and potentially Coconino counties in order to create a new county that encompasses the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.
The Navajo have spent years trying to get state-shared revenue, Crandell said, but Indian nations have never been included in the formula that distributes money to cities and counties. but have been frustrated by the Arizona Constitution’s requirement that only counties and municipalities be included in the formula. But if the Navajo and Hopi essentially got their own county, that county would be able to get state-shared revenue that could be used for improvements and economic development on reservation land.
