This thesis presents a case study of the policy formation that is intended to shed light on important aspects of the Federal Governments' involvement with Big Business concerning the alleged Navajo-Hopi land dispute. The federal law to be examined is Public Law 93-531: The Navajo and Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974. The federal law was instituted in an effort to settle the decades old "problem" concerning land issues that arose between members of the two tribes. A prodding from Big Business in interests led the federal government to become involved, supposedly because the two tribes could not remedy the situation.
I postulate that a mixture of government involvement at all levels with Big Business was involved to reach the eventual outcome. The study looks at the solution from multiple perspectives, including federal and state governments, tribal governments, Big Business interests, and natives who were impacted by the enacted decisions. Further, I postulate that this is not a dispute between two tribes, but a dispute between the tribes and the government.
