The Hopi and Navajo tribes have been engaged in a long and complex land dispute within the 1882 Executive Order Area (Joint Use Area) of Arizona, an area recently redefined via the Partition Act of 1974 which calls for the relocation of 5 to 10,000 Navajos. This rearrangement of political domain threatens to influence the future management and exploitation of land and mineral resources. Traditionally, the Navajo have existed as conjugal family clusters via a grazing economy requiring vast areas for life support, while the Hopi traditionally have lived in clustered villages cultivating small fields. Having grown much faster than that of the Hopi, the Navajo population has contributed to overgrazing and land deterioration in the Joint Use Area; consequently, the Partition Act also stipulates stock reduction to accommodate the carrying capacity of the Area. While surface areas are to be redefined by the Act, the coal and water rights beneath the surface are to remain jointly owned, but as yet the Native peoples haven't the economic/technical resources to develop these potentials. When these factors are coupled with the psychological and cultural implications of Navajo relocation, it becomes apparent that Hopi and Navajo lifestyles are being forced to operate within a framework of Anglo laws, complicated by the varying perceptions of three different peoples. (JC)