Just because Navajo voters approved a measure to reduce the Navajo Nation Council to 24 delegates, that doesn't mean their voice stops at the voting booth.

Reapportionment meetings President Joe Shirley Jr. has scheduled a series of public meetings to discuss maps that show possible ways to reapportion council districts for a 24-member council. Meetings were held Monday in Shiprock, Tuesday in Window Rock and Wednesday in Crownpoint. The meetings continue throughout the month. Future meetings are scheduled as follows: 1 p.m. today, Dilkon Chapter House 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 15, Chinle Community Center 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, Kayenta Chapter House 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, Tolani Lake Chapter House 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, Bááháálí Chapter House 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, Red Mesa Chapter House 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 22, Tuba City Chapter House 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, Piñon Chapter House

President Joe Shirley Jr. has launched a series of meetings to present proposals and seek opinions about how to draw those 24 council districts. The meetings are open to the public.

"This is educational," said Arbin Mitchell, director of the Division of Community Development, who headed a team of executive branch officials that developed 10 alternative maps for a 24-member council.

Presenters used PowerPoint presentations, color-coded maps and their voices to present some possibilities of what the Navajo Nation could look like with 24 delegates representing 110 chapters and an estimated 180,000 reservation residents.

More than 70 people attended Tuesday's meeting at the Navajo Nation Museum, which lasted for nearly three hours. Similar meetings are scheduled at various locations around the reservation over the next two weeks.

Mitchell added that in his experience the Navajo people at large haven't been a part of the reapportionment process before.

Andrew Curley, 27, of Houck, Ariz., an outspoken opponent of council reduction, took issue with the tribal employees developing the proposals.

"None of these people were elected yet they are reapportioning these boundaries for all Navajos," he said. "They aren't accountable to any community."

Mitchell responded, "To me this is still a Navajo plan. It will be the elected leaders that will vote on it."

Under tribal law, the Navajo Nation Council has the final say on which reapportionment plan to adopt.

Supporters of enacting reapportionment quickly also addressed criticism that they should wait until results of the Dec. 15 special elections are certified by the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors.

"Because (certification) is being raised. I look at the election laws," said Delegate Leonard Tsosie (Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse Lake). "The election laws does not say that you have to do reapportionment only after certification."

He added that waiting on certification is "passing the buck." The fact that someone has challenged the election shouldn't stop actions that are required by what the voters decided, in his view.

Curley took issue with the use of 10-year-old population data to draw up the proposals, noting that the maps were based on the 2000 Census.

"I am offended by the lack of foresight by our leaders," he said.

Tsosie acknowledged his point and said the council in 2002 specified using data from the 2000 Census to redraw council district boundaries.

"If we don't recognize (the mandate to use the 2000 Census data), council is going to tell us, how dare you not recognize the (2002) resolution?" Tsosie said.

Though some dissenters made their opinions known, others were supportive of the effort to get reapportionment underway.

"I thought (the meeting) was very informative. It's good to hear different opinions," said Jenny Yazzie Buckinghorse, 41, of Leupp, Ariz.

She added that she liked the colored maps because they gave her a better idea of how the nation could look after reapportionment.

As the presenters displayed their maps, a question arose.

"Where is Rock Springs (Chapter)?" an audience member asked when Mitchell was explaining how a district in New Mexico might look.

Mitchell conferred with colleagues and concluded that Rock Springs was missing from the maps.

"This is why we need your help," he told the audience.

Despite the Rock Springs gaffe, many seemed to feel as did Jimmie Taliman Sr., president of Cornfields Chapter: "It's a good move forward."

And Tsosie noted, "Of all the people I heard talk, not one said 'let's wait until 2014.'"

But he also acknowledged that his support of council reduction might limit his own future as a council delegate.

"You might not see me after the next election," Tsosie said with a grin.

Back to top ^