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WINDOW ROCK, AZ - The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has asked the full Senate to approve a bill which would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an independent study of the impact of the Navajo-Hopi Relocation Law, Navajo President Kelsey Begaye said Tuesday.

"Although the federal government has spent over $300 million on the relocation program, no study has ever been undertaken to assess its long-term effects or the ongoing needs of the affected communities," Begaye said.

The study, to be conducted by an independent contractor hired by the Department of the Interior, would analyze whether the goals of the 1974 Act have been achieved; recommend activities to mitigate the consequences of implementation of the Act; and analyze the long-term effects of the relocation, as well as the ongoing needs of the relocated population and the ongoing needs of other communities including the Bennett Freeze area.

The study would also address the effects of termination of the relocation programs and closure of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation with transfer of its responsibilities to other Federal agencies and to the Navajo Nation. The Secretary of the Interior has one year to submit the results of the study to Congress, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation.

"I know that many Navajo families have been traumatized by relocation and, as a result, suffer from a much higher incidence of alcoholism, poverty, suicide, depression and physical illnesses. This study will be critically important for future planning and funding efforts to help these families," Begaye said.

The study legislation, which is part of the Indian Programs Reauthorization and Technical Amendments Act of 2002, must still pass the full Senate and the House before going to President Bush for his signature.

SOURCE: The Navajo Nation