Will the Navajo Nation buy the oldest U.S. gunmaker? Maybe

Remington Arms, the oldest gun manufacturer in the United States, could file for Chapter 11 protection and be snapped up by the Navajo Nation, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The story cites unnamed sources saying that the bankruptcy move and the asset acquisitions by the Native Americans could happen as early as today. However, it’s also possible, they said, that the Navajo Nation won’t enter a bid.

Remington has been here before. The Huntsville, Alabama-based company filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.

It shed an estimated $775 million in debt, the Journal reported, but continues to deal with ongoing challenges, including high interest, litigation from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting eight years ago, and a stronger gun control movement.

The Navajo Nation eyed Remington two years ago, too. The New York Times reported at the time that the plan included going the police-and-defense-contracts route, instead of selling to the public; pulling back from AR-15 semi-automatic weapons; and using the manufacturing as a way to reduce tribe unemployment.

The Navajo Nation, with more than 250,000 people, spans 27,000-plus square miles in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, the largest Native American reservation in the country, according to the U.S. government.

Remington began as a business in 1816, with founder Eliphalet Remington’s first hand-built rifle, the company website explains.