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Navajo Nation
The largest reservation in the United States
The Navajo Nation spreads across more than 27,000 square miles of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah, an area larger than ten U.S. states. The Diné, as the Navajo call themselves, know their homeland as Diné Bikéyah, traditionally bounded by four sacred mountains. It holds some of the most famous scenery in the West, including Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly, and it is the largest reservation in the country. With more than 427,000 enrolled citizens in 2026, the Navajo Nation and the Cherokee Nation are the two largest tribes in the country.
The reservation was created by the Treaty of 1868, which let the Diné return home after the Long Walk of 1864 and years of forced confinement at Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. It began as about 3.3 million acres and was enlarged many times until 1934. The Nation governs itself from Window Rock through an elected president, a 24-member council representing 110 chapters, and its own courts, and in 2024 it made Diné bizaad its official language. Water remains a defining issue: many homes still lack running water, and a major Arizona water settlement awaited congressional approval in 2026.