Research Guides: Chokecherry Canyon Murders and Farmington's Navajo Protests of 1974: Home

The Farmington Riots and Navajo Protests of 1974

"American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, like all people, are entitled to inalienable, fundamental human rights."

Native American Rights Fund, 2018.

The murders of three Navajo men by white teens near Farmington, New Mexico in 1974 brought groups of Native American protesters to Farmington, NM and unrest to Farmington and neighboring communities. An investigation was conducted by the N.M. Advisory Committee and reported the results to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights..

The Farmington Report : A Confict of Cultures (N.M. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights) identified and documented the issues. The report includes recommendations and there were additional follow up hearings culminating in the The Farmington Report: Civil Rights for Native Americans 30 Years Later.

Farmington, NM Riot, 1974. Farmington Daily Times.

Movements for Change: New Mexico Navajo Protest 1974.

The Bob Fitch Photography Archive, Stanford University Libraries.

Movements for Change: New Mexico Navajo Protest, 1974
A presentation on the nonviolent New Mexico Navajo Protests of 1974 and the riots in Farmington started in response to those protests.
Broken Circle Timeline, 1974
A timeline of the Broken Circle events from the discovery of 2 of the 3 murdered men around Farmington, to the arrests and light sentencing of the three white teenagers who committed the murders, to the protests and investigations.
Assessing Race Relations between Navajos and Non-Navajos 2008-2009
A review of race relations in the area from the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission.

The Farmington report: a conflict of cultures: a report of the New Mexico Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
A government report on the violations of Native American civil rights in Farmington in 1974.
“No Explanation, No Resolution, and No Answers”: Border Town Violence and Navajo Resistance to Settler Colonialism by Jennifer Nez Denetdale
A scholarly article exploring the violence against Native Americans in border towns of the United States, and the systemic issues that condone and abet such violence.
Indian Blood
A story from the Santa Fe Reporter on hate crimes against Native Americans in and around Farmington, New Mexico.
Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission
The Commission was established to collect data regarding discriminatory acts against citizens of the Navajo Nation by private citizens, businesses, organizations and foreign governments within and outside the Navajo Nation.