By ADI News Service
Speaking directly to President Trump’s Intergovernmental Affairs Officer Billy Kirkland, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said that Indian Tribes need to own their lands to foster economic and infrastructure development.
Kirkland was in attendance at the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) Winter Legislative Meeting held at the Stanley R. Crooks Tribal Leaders Conference Center in Washington D.C. President Begaye serves as the Chairman of COLT.
“We are constantly being reminded that Indian reservations are federal lands and that they do not belong to us. In a sense, we just lease them,” President Begaye said. “I disagree. The Navajo Nation is our land and tribal control over tribal lands needs to be redefined.”
