Land, Grazing & Homesite Leases

Land defaults to grazing — to build anything, a piece has to be withdrawn from grazing and leased — a slow, multi-step process. Family land isn’t blank — long-standing customary use areas have to be documented and protected before any new area can be opened — which is what makes land reform politically delicate.

The credible version of land reform does two things at once: it secures existing family and customary land first, then opens clearly identified new areas for homes and business with better planning. Candidates who raised it were careful to frame it as protecting land, not taking anyone’s away.

Grazing permit — the right to run livestock on a grazing district; the system dates to the 1930s–50s. Homesite / business-site lease — the lease needed to build; the backlog is a core bottleneck. Withdrawal — moving a piece of land out of grazing use so it can be developed. Customary use area — traditional family homeland held over generations; its rights must be secured.

Before asking what’s broken, it helps to know who’s even supposed to be in charge — the law, the referee, and the watchers. Why this matters →

What’s the law?Navajo grazing law, homesite and business-site leasing law, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) trust rules govern who can use which land. Who regulates it? (the outside referee)The BIA sits over trust land and lease approvals. Who oversees it? (the inside watchers)Grazing officials, chapters, and the Divisions of Natural Resources and Community Development.

Land 101 → — What’s broken — and what candidates would fixA century-old grazing framework plus slow leasing block development — see below.

A starting map — confirm current laws and body names against the Nation’s official resources. General civic information, not legal advice.

• Default grazing blocks development. Nothing gets built until land is withdrawn from grazing.
• Leasing is slow. Withdrawal, surveys, clearances, and BIA sign-off can take years.
• Family rights must be secured. Opening land safely means documenting customary use first.
• It’s politically charged. People fear reform means losing their land, so leaders avoid the topic.

What this costs: entrepreneurs who can’t get a lot, homes that can’t be built, and a century-old system no one will touch.

Read summaries of how they answered — each name links to that candidate’s full interview summary:

Andrew Curley Cal asked: What's the central problem facing the Nation?Curley's number-one issue is land reform. The century-old grazing-lease system makes all reservation land grazing land by default, so home-site, commercial, or industrial use requires bureaucratic withdrawal — strangling development. He would begin a careful, multi-term re-examination of grazing law to open land while documenting and securing family and traditional lands.

Curtis Yanito — Cal asked: You sponsored legislation granting tribal-organization status to the Navajo Land Nursing Home — explain it.Yanito is pushing to convert the Chinle nursing home (a nonprofit registered with the Nation) into a 638 entity, arguing the Nation should be a supplemental funder but has neglected it; he tied it to caring for elders and veterans who never accrued work benefits.

Darryl Bitsoi — Cal asked: Chaco Canyon fracking, zoning, the checkerboard allotment area?Bitsoi said he is against fracking near Chaco, and was candid that he is not yet familiar with the zoning specifics or the checkerboard land-allotment issue that touches his region.

Eula Yazzie — Cal asked: What's your second priority?Her second plank is water — she flags several Navajo Nation land purchases where it's unclear who's using the land or whether the Nation receives any funds, and wants a workable, transparent solution for chapters.

Marcella Yazzie — Cal asked: Who's ultimately responsible for veterans, and what about grazing?Yazzie honors veterans and lists them as a top priority, but was candid she didn't know which Window Rock office is ultimately responsible — describing instead her chapter's veteran organization. On grazing she would start by identifying ranchers, permits, and tallies, citing overgrazing and incorrect tallies as real problems.

Melinda Arviso Ciocco — Cal asked: Who are you and what's your platform?With about 15 years across the legislative branch, the Division of Natural Resources (eight years), and the Office of the President, Arviso-Ciocco runs on land — how land is allocated — and brings a technical, experienced view of both branches of government.

Titus J Nez — Cal asked: What about land — trust land, restricted-fee, the checkerboard around Gallup?Nez wants trust and restricted-fee land returned to the chapters that surround it, supports buying back non-Navajo land around Gallup, and would return the Church Rock Industrial Park (and its casino tax revenue) to the local chapter. He did not go into grazing or homesite-lease mechanics.

Only candidates interviewed by Cal Nez appear, and only where the topic came up. A blank isn’t a mark against anyone — interviews weren’t standardized, so coverage isn’t comparable across seats.

‘Economic development’ and ‘more homes’ promised while the land stays locked in grazing — one bottleneck under many promises. See the root — Accountability & Justice →

Where the community stands: collecting — tallies and best ideas publish with the weekly findings.

Not promises — numbers you could actually check a year in:

• Homesite and business-site leases issued, and the average wait time.
• Acres opened for development with family rights documented first.
• The number of certified chapters doing their own leasing.

• “What’s your plan to speed up homesite leases in my chapter?”
• “How would you protect family land while opening new areas?”
• “Do you support re-examining the grazing framework — and how?”

• Land, Grazing & Homesite Leases 101 →
• Chapter Government & the LGA →
• Economic Development 101 →

See who’s running and read their full interviews and profiles on the candidate list →, or line up their positions side by side in the comparison grid →.

Your part — do something with this. Read what a candidate said, ask them one of the questions above, and vote your own judgment. This is a conversation — keep it going.