President Shelly: 'The crisis is over'

As a small group of Navajos stood in the cold outside the Navajo Nation fairgrounds demanding that he step down and face the charges against him, the tribe's new president, Ben Shelly, was talking about a Navajo future where dedicated tribal leaders would work toward making the Diné prosperous.

Calling for a new beginning and a "new horizon," Shelly had in the hours preceding his inauguration settled the criminal charges brought by Special Prosecutor Alan Balaran. Shelly agreed to pay back $8,850 that he was accused of giving to relatives from the tribe's discretionary funds when he was a Council delegate in 2006.

The new vice president, Rex Lee Jim, settled the charges against him on the same terms, agreeing to pay back $3,200.

Both settlements specify that repayment will occur via automatic payroll deductions, and allows them to keep their new positions as elected leaders of the Navajo people.

Shelly didn't refer to the charges directly in his inauguration speech but he did admit that in his 30 years of public service, he had "did wrong and needs to correct them."

He alluded to the political unrest of the past couple of years, saying "the crisis is over" and promising to learn from the mistakes of the past. He promised to listen to the Navajo people, who would "tell us the right thing" to do in the future.

Speaking of what he hopes to see in the next four years, Shelly promised to continue government reform, calling the government that now runs the tribe "temporary" and saying he would work to help create a new form of government that the people want.

He said his administration will push energy projects and will work to create more businesses for Navajos by cutting back on bureaucratic red tape. To show this new approach, he said he is changing the name of the Division of Economic Development to the Division of Commerce.

He pledged to continue pushing the federal government to make the Navajo-Gallup Pipeline a reality.

He also spoke of developing a 10-year wellness program to bring about a healthier Navajo people.

"Let the rebuilding of our nation begin," he said. "Let's not talk about it. Let's do it."

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