Navajo Indian Irrigation Project
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The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) (Navajo: Dáʼákʼeh Ntsaa) is a large agricultural development located in the northwest corner of New Mexico. The NIIP is one of the largest Native American owned and operated agricultural businesses in the United States. This venture finds its origins in the 1930s when the federal government was looking for economic development for the Navajo Nation. The NIIP was approved in 1962 by Congress. The Bureau of Reclamation received the task of constructing this project.
Originally designed to provide jobs for Native American family farms the project has transformed into a large corporate entity. Composed of over 110,000 acres (450 km²) the project is currently 70% complete (with about 68,000 acres (280 km²) in production). In many respects, this development is controversial because the project has had numerous economic and structural problems throughout its history. One of the main complaints regarding this endeavor is that it has taken over 40 years to construct and still remains unfinished. High federal budget deficits are sometimes blamed for the failure of the project. Some critics also contend this project does not rate high budgetary priority because it benefits only Native Americans.
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