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Friday, July 11, 2025

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Letters | Local chapters, local authority

Local chapters, local authority

Editor,

What is the Local Governance Act?

The Navajo Nation chapters are the foundation of the Navajo Nation government. Each chapter produces, votes, and passes Chapter resolutions that are

later reviewed and passed at the Navajo Nation Council for the benefit of the local constituent interest members of the Navajo Nation.

On April 20th, 1998, the 18th Navajo Nation Council adopted CAP-34-98. “Navajo Nation Local Governance Act” for the Navajo Nation chapters, chapter officials and chapter administration.

The Commission on Navajo Government Development was established to lead the development of a government that provides to the chapters self-sufficiency and stability.

The commission included a chapter official from each chapter from all the five agencies, representatives from all three branches and four segments of Navajo society (Navajo women, traditional practitioners, graduate studies and Diné College Student Government).

After the research, public hearings, and work sessions they approve and presented their findings to return authority to the 110 chapters across the Navajo Nation.

Each Local Governance Act certified chapter is required to pass and maintain a five-management system certification.

They are an accounting system, Personnel Management, Records Management, Procurement procedures Management, and property control as define by 26 N.N.C. section 101(A).

The local authorities by resolution can issue home, business, and other site leases. The authority can also acquire, sell, or lease personal property of the chapter house, enter into agreements for goods and services, enter into inter-chapter agreements, enter into inter-governmental agreements, enter into contracts/subcontracts with the Navajo Nation for federal, state, and county and Navajo Nation general funds, acquire and appropriate funds, reallocate funds, retain legal services, establish a peacemaking system or administrative procedures for resolving disputes.

Chapters can also establish local ordinances to control a municipal form of government or sub-units based upon model. They can also levy taxes pursuant to a local tax code approved by the Navajo Nation Council, amend a land use plan, acquire property by eminent domain that are subject to procedures established by Navajo Nation law, acquire and administer capital improvement project funds, issue community bonds, enact zoning ordinances, enact regulatory ordinances consistent with Navajo law.

With these authorities why is the Navajo Nation Council still overwhelmed with requests for business site leases and homesite leases?

We at this time are in need of economic growth perhaps through grants that the chapters have access to via section 103 of the local governance act grants the chapters to enter into contracts and sub-contracts or even reduce risk by partnering with other chapters to mitigate risk in the pursuit of grants for economic development.

Discovering opportunities in the local governance act for our local chapter governments is and could be an opportunity to progress our communities and develop economic growth for our communities across the Navajo Nation.

Neal Riggs
Leupp, Ariz.


Protecting free enterprise

Editor,

What is the Monroe Doctrine? When we look back into history and the purpose of free enterprise. We can see how the United States has become a capitalist country.

We are a nation of citizens who have the right and the opportunity to exercise our independence by investing in free enterprise. For the building of community and economic development.

Our markets are available to just about everyone around the world. However, because we are but one nation and a member of this continent of North and south America outside interest such as foreign powers have in the past interfered with our sovereignty and free markets by influencing global politics to impose rules and international laws against the United States such as tariffs.

The difficult part of free enterprise in our republic is our country has a free enterprise market available to the world, with one day of democracy called voting day.

History records foreign influence can intervene in our elections by propaganda and false narratives.

Which can make decision making difficult for our leaders due to popular opinion and a lack of understanding based on all the economic consequences.

Facts are facts, interpretations are interpretations, it really does not matter what your party affiliation you have because this affects all of us through our taxes, inflation, and government spending policies in the city’s, state’s, counties, tribal, and federal agencies.

From 1817-1825 James Monroe was elected to be the 5th U.S. president and served two terms.

He was an unopposed candidate in the second term of his presidency in the year 1822.

During his presidency After the Napoleonic Wars, which ended in 1815, many of Spain’s colonies in Latin America declared their independence.
Americans welcomed this action as validation of their spirit of Republicanism.

Behind the scenes, President Monroe and Secretary of State Adams informed these new countries that the United States would support their efforts and open up trade relations.
Several European powers threatened to form an alliance to help Spain regain its territories, but pressure from Great Britain, who also saw merit in independent Latin American countries, stopped their efforts.

On Dec. 2, 1823, Monroe formally announced to Congress what would become known as the “Monroe Doctrine.” The policy stated that the Americas should be free from future European colonization and that any interference with independent countries in the Americas would be considered a hostile act toward the United States.

The Monroe Doctrine was implemented to removed outside interest from the western hemisphere. At the time foreign interest had develop influence in the western hemisphere to make things more expensive in our North American continent.

Much like today over the reports we hear of China’s influence over the Panama Canal which is the portal to and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
When foreign interest infiltrates our elections, when foreign interest fund division in our elections and push for a policy that supports foreign interest rather than American interest.

Our country’s policies can be turned on our citizens, and we pay the price of outside coercion in geo-politics as many of our own allies and foreign threats ally against United States citizen’s interests.

This threat is a threat to the national security of our government, and to the economic prosperity of our nation’s ability to provide free markets to our citizens and the world.

The Monroe Doctrine has been implemented and exercised by Teddy Roosevelt, as well as Ronald Reagan.

The real threat of outside interest affects even the smallest demographics of our nation’s political party interests who have used foreign assistance in elections to influence our citizens by policies that give money to our citizens, enticing them through special interests, and the disinformation to the impoverish and low-income citizens of our nation through handouts.

This exchange of promises for money has been a political tool since the beginning of our organized government.

But what are the consequences of giving money out to the citizens? Is it not good? Why should we not benefit from the taxes we pay to our government?
The truth is when governments rule over its people through handouts. The necessity of bigger government means the necessity of greater policies that limit our citizens and their freedoms to exercise their participation in free enterprise.

Regulations can overwhelm small business and limit our citizens in the all-inclusive ability to exercise self-determination.

No nation that calls itself free can also simultaneously have a tyrannical government that exercises its authority through regulated law to limit its citizens to free enterprise in their own country limiting their endeavor to provide for their families, protected by law.

The condition of the country that limits its own citizens to take part in its own free markets for the purposes of equality is truly a house without a foundation that cannot stand.

Neal Riggs
Leupp, Ariz.

 


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