WASHINGTON, D.C. - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona will join Hopi and Navajo leaders at a historic signing ceremony in Phoenix, Ariz., tomorrow. Representatives of the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe will sign a compact resolving a long-standing dispute over access to sites for traditional tribal religious observances.
Signing the agreement will be Todd .Honyaoma, Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribal Council, and Joe Shirley, President of the Navajo Nation. The signers, Secretary Kempthorne and Rep. Renzi will make remarks.
Also participating in the ceremony will be Navajo Nation Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan; Navajo Attorney General Louis Denetsosie and other officials of the Navajo Nation; Cedric Kuwaninvaya, Chairman of the Hopi Land Team and other members of the Hopi Tribal Council.
Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs will be represented by BIA Director Pat Ragsdale; Director of Trusts Arch Wells; Western Regional Director Allen Anspach; and Navajo Regional Office Acting Director Omar Bradley.
WHO: Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne; U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi; Joe Shirley, President of the Navajo Nation; and Todd Honyaoma, Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribal Council; and other Hopi, Navajo, State and Federal officials.
WHAT: Signing Ceremony for historic compact to resolve dispute over access to traditional religious sites
WHEN: 4 p.m. Friday, November 3, 2006
WHERE: Heard Museum, Monte Vista Room, 2301 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona.
MEDIA: All credentialed news media are invited to attend
