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A History of Utah's American Indians
sums of money on projects that did not benefit the Aneth Navajos. Again the judge ordered the commission to comply with the court orders and spend the money on projects that would benefit the Aneth Navajos. A series of lawsuits ensued. In 1968 the Utah Indian Commission sponsored legislation in Congress to expand the class of people who could benefit from the oil royalties. Instead of just Navajos living on the oil fields, the new bill gave benefits to all Indians living in San Juan County. The bill was passed and also included a change in the purposes for which the royalties could be used. The new wording read "health, education and general welfare." This subsequently has been loosely interpreted, and, consequently, Aneth Navajos feel they have not benefited much from the royalties, although other area Indians and county Navajos have benefited from the change. The United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of United States v. Jim that the royalties granted by the 1933 congressional act were not protected by the Constitution and that Congress did have power to change the way in which the royalty funds were directed. Justice William O. Douglas wrote a strong dissenting opinion, stating that Indians are citizens and beneficiaries of the due process and just compensation clauses of the Constitution, and that Aneth Navajos have rights to the royalties, not because Congress granted the rights but because the land belongs to these Navajos because of their continuous possession of the land. He went on to say that the United States government is charged with protecting Indians and that Congress should not rob the Navajos of their rights.26 Utah Navajos continued to bring land-rights cases to court. Even today, there are litigations pending which will extend into the new millennium. One significant case is presently being heard in the BLM internal court system regarding the protection of sacred sites on Cedar Mesa, near Blanding, Utah. The proposal for an enlarged ranger visitor station in Kane Canyon alarmed many Navajos. The Hopi and Navajo Nations have joined in litigation aimed at protecting the cedar trees and sacred ancestral sites on Cedar Mesa. Other Indian relocation efforts were going on across the country. Indians were encouraged to move off their reservations in a reversal of the federal Indian policy of the IRA days. Acculturation and assimilation were the desired outcomes of all relocation efforts. Beginning in the 1950s some tribes special relationships with the federal government were terminated, but Navajos were not affected. The terminated tribes were thought to have reached economic self-sufficiency and a degree of acculturation, but in every case the federal termination policy was a failure.
