Through the 1868 Treaty, the Navajo (Diné) found a way to return to their home. Yet the 3.5-million-acre reservation recognized under the treaty was only a fraction of the Navajo’s (Diné’s) traditional tribal homelands.
The Navajo (Diné) have always desired to gain back more of their lands. Over time, the Navajo (Diné) expanded the treaty-prescribed boundaries, and today the nation encompasses about 17 million acres of land in northwestern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona, and southeastern Utah, making it the largest reservation in the United States.
In 2018, the Navajo (Diné) Nation approved the purchase of two large ranches in Colorado, marking the first Navajo (Diné) land buys in Colorado. This purchase brings the nation closer to two of its sacred mountains, Blanca Peak and Hesperus Mountain, both located in Colorado.
“The creator placed Navajo people within the four sacred mountains. Everything we do, whether it’s legal signing of legislation, contracts, whatnot, it all happens within the four sacred mountains. And each of these mountains provides teachings and guidance to our people. All of our kids, all of our children, they know about the four sacred mountains, and it’s depicted in our flags, in the things that we do, things that we produce, every literature that we have depicts the four sacred mountains and the locations of those.”
- Navajo (Diné) Nation President Russell Begaye (2015-2018)
