Dead broke

Navajo Nation burial program out of funds

WINDOW ROCK

The Navajo Nation has run out of money to help bury its people, according to a letter from the Department of Family Services.

Pearl Jewkes, the owner of Silver Creek Mortuary in Tse Bonito, received a letter from Gladys Ambrose of DFS dated Nov. 10.

“Due to the depletion of the FY2016 (Fiscal Year 2016) funding, the Burial Assistance Program will not be available beginning November 18, 2016 through the end of this year, December 31, 2016,” the letter said.

The letter also specified that the multi-year agreement between the mortuary and DFS still stands, but funding for the burial assistance program would not become available again until 2017.

Jewkes said she wanted to help the Navajo community members who might need the assistance, which she said totaled about $2,500 provided by the Navajo Nation against the cost of each funeral. She said her late husband, Reuben Jewkes, would have wanted to help the community in any way he could in a time like this.

“He always tried to help the Navajo people any way he could,” she said.

She said he prided his business for offering a low rate on the cost of caskets particularly.

To help during this time, she started offering a reduced-rate package to try to alleviate some of the costs to the bereaved.

“We’re trying to give them the same package that the Navajo Nation offers,” Silver Creek licensed embalmer and funeral director Curtis Kath said.

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