In a letter to Senator Pete Domenici (Republican of New Mexico), Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. voiced concern last week over a proposed energy bill before the Senate. The Nation fears that the bill will lead to a weakening of the federal trust relationship, disengaging the Department of Interior from the interests of Native companies and its fiduciary obligations towards Native American peoples. The bill, they claim, would permit the same type of fraud and negligence on the part of federal officials that was the subject of the Nation’s $600 million breach of trust lawsuit against the government. The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo by a vote of 6-3 earlier this year.
