Interesting. A story about how the Navajos are again victim of their benevolent white brothers (State and Federal Government) and not one comment. Perhaps the DN should do an investigative story on the truth of the plight of the Navajos, from the forced march to modern day. When a people are kept at the courtesy of any government, their hope is gone. We can argue all day long about what the Navajos' role in their current situation has been, but the fact of the matter is the root is the curse of being wards of the State. Give them a break. The plight of the reservation should be a priority to every person in this country.

I would love to give them a break. Lets have them be responsible for their own money, accounting, safety, protection, education, commerce, ect. ect. Then maybe the rest of us wont have to be. The fact is, they have been far too dependent for far too long. If they make their own choices then the "plight" of the reservation will be their own. Right?

I think we are arguing the same point. Let's get government controls off the reservation and let the Indians have a chance like the rest of us. That includes controlling the land, mineral rights and water rights unfettered. When you treat people like second class citizens who are incapable of making their own decisions, they will prove you right.

John L.

But along with making them responsible they need to quit expecting finacial help. Lets face it,none of the people in the tribe today were alive when the treaties were signed. If they want to be treated like everyone else then they need to make it on their own like everyone else.

With regard to the comments above, with the exception of the first one, it is not so simple. We are dealing with a culturally different group and their abilities to manage their own resources varies and depends upon some very complex variables. History tells us that turning over responsibility for resources too soon has been a disaster via the Allotment era that began 1887 and the termination era of the 1950s (termination of Utah's Paiutes for example). The key to all this is education and training. As long as there is an achievement gap, it will hamper efforts to promote self determination and keep Indian people dependent upon governments. Regarding Indian people and self-reliance, they were all very self-reliance prior to contact with Euro-Americans.