Emphasizing the fact that the Federal government has failed to recognize the inherent differences of the Hopi and Navajo lifestyles, this study examines the century-old Navajo-Hopi American Indian land dispute; the literature on forced removal of peoples; multi-dimensional stressors associated with the forced relocation of 15 Navajo families; and a proposed model of a relocation assistance program for 3,500 potential Navajo relocatees. Major conclusions are reported as follows: beneath the disputed area or the Joint Use Area (JUA), there are easily exploitable coal deposits of 2.5-25 billion tons, which will make the JUA a matter of economic interest to parties outside the two tribes at a time when energy resource development is a Federal objective; although PL 93-531 provides for herd reduction and relocation cost incentives including acquisition of new land, the Navajo's traditional identification with the land will necessarily cause relocation problems; the 15 Navajo families evicted from District 6 in 1972 evidence three interrelated categories of multidimensional stress (a la Thayer Scudder) which seem to affect peoples subjected to forced removal and which should be considered in the projected removal of the 3,500 Navajos from the JUA; the three stress categories are: psychological stress (grieving for a lost home); physiological stress, which results in increased morbidity and mortality rates; and sociocultural stress, a result of cultural conservation, an inability to adjust to the new area, and a clinging to old customs in a new environment. (JC)