Navajo Hopi Land Commission loses quorum

Colleen Biakeddy, who lives on Hopi Partition Land, was among several residents that spoke to members of the Navajo Council's Navajo Hopi Land Commission in front of the Council chambers before the NHLC special meeting on Oct. 30, 2014, about the pre-dawn livestock impoundments by Hopi police and federal rangers since mid-October. Standing to the right of Biakeddy are NHL Commissioners Dwight Witherspoon and Lorenzo Curley. Photo by Marley Shebala. (Please provide proper photo credit when reusing photo.)

Colleen Biakeddy, who lives on Hopi Partition Land, was among several residents that spoke to members of the Navajo Council’s Navajo Hopi Land Commission in front of the Council chambers before the NHLC special meeting on Oct. 30, 2014, about the pre-dawn livestock impoundments by Hopi police and federal rangers since mid-October. Standing to the right of Biakeddy are NHL Commissioners Dwight Witherspoon and Lorenzo Curley. Photo by Marley Shebala. (Please provide proper photo credit when reusing photo.)

The Navajo Hopi Land Commission came out of executive session about 4 p.m. but before the Commission could vote on getting out of executive session, NHLC Chairperson Walter Phelps announced that they had lost a quorum.

NHL Commissioner Lorenzo Curley broke the quorum.

Phelps said that the Commission would continue working the concerns of the Navajo families and that the loss of quorum would actually allow the attorneys of both tribes to meet. “we will give feedback to the families as we meet these objectives.”

He added that the impoundment of livestock by the Hopi police and federal rangers would continue to be on the NHLC’s meeting agendas. And that the NHLC could even call a special meeting on the livestock impoundments.

The NHLC meets every second week of the month, on thursday.

During the NHLC’s executive session, the Navajo families living on Hopi Partition Lands met with President Shelly. It is 4:15 p.m. and the families are still meeting with Shelly.

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