ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a case study of economic development efforts in the Navajo Nation. It describes the Navajo Nation's contemporary geography, political and administrative structures, and socioeconomic conditions. The Navajo tribal government, through its Division of Economic Development and other offices, has done valuable work in detailing the constraints to and strategies for economic development on the reservation. Yet, the Navajo Nation is significant to Indian country for it contains about one-fifth of all Native Americans living in tribal areas in the United States. The Navajo Nation Supreme Court is the final arbiter in the judicial system and is one of the most respected judicial bodies in Indian country. The 1990 census listed the Navajo Nation's unemployment rate as 27.9 percent, compared with the nationwide average of 6.7 percent. In April 1999, Sandia National Laboratories estimated the reservation's overall unemployment rate at 58.6 percent.
