Navajos had been imprisoned at a desolate tract of land in eastern New Mexico before signing a treaty with the federal government in 1868. A Navajo legislative committee is expected to vote Tuesday to accept an original copy of the treaty that was believed to have been lost and is one of only three original copies. Tribal officials asked Weaver last year during a gathering for the 150th anniversary of the signing of the treaty if she would donate the Tappan copy to the Navajo Nation. The Tappan treaty — written on 17 pages of ledger paper, measuring 8 inches by 12 inches and tied with a faded red ribbon — is valued at $10,000. Seeing original treaties connects people with their ancestors, whose DNA is on the historical records, she said.

Source: thestar May 27, 2019 17:48 UTC