Author: Krista Allen

The Western Navajo Agency Council voted Sunday to declare no confidence in President Buu Nygren and Vice President Richelle Montoya, approving a series of resolutions that ask the 25th Navajo Nation Council to remove the top officials or place them on administrative leave while investigations move forward.

When 19-year-old Dawnae Yazzie walked across the stage to accept the Miss Western Navajo crown Saturday afternoon, her mother, Victoria Yazzie, watched from the audience, proud as she remembered her own turn as Miss Navajo Nation 25 years earlier.

ZenniHome filings presented an awarded factory grant and a 200-home Navajo announcement. Months later the company reported the LeChee, Arizona, plant had closed after losses and changes to an expected order.

President Buu Nygren’s attempt to fire Controller Sean McCabe has been rejected by the 25th Navajo Nation Council, which says only the Council can remove or accept the resignation of the Nation’s chief financial officer under Navajo law.

A court-appointed special prosecutor is examining how Navajo Nation housing dollars were used after the modular-home maker ZenniHome closed its LeChee factory and delivered only a fraction of the units anticipated under a series of agreements that shifted over time.