Letters | Official silence
Official silence
Editor,
The tragic events of Dec. 22, 2025, at the Kayenta Township Christmas Light Parade, should have been that one moment for our leaders to take action and bring changes that will mandate our laws and protect our people across the Navajo Nation.
Instead, it’s been silence and awkward glances when you ask officials, “Why did this happen?”
The cold hard truth is that even though an innocent child, a 3-year-old, was so horribly killed and his family struck by a vehicle, time nor business nor people stop to address an obvious ongoing problem that plagues the Navajo Nation.
I have been writing these letters to the editor along with pictures sent (unfortunately the pictures never get printed) in hopes that it will help bring this awareness. I’ve been to enough chapter and Law and Order meetings to understand that my late grandson Karson is just another add-on to the list of victims who have been failed by our Navajo Nation system.
I’ve been approached and had people share their stories and it’s heartbreaking. I was told by one member of the community to which I attended one of the Law and Order meetings, she told me, “Do you really think standing up there crying and telling your story is any different from mine?”
At first, I was taken back by what she said and then she went on to explain why she said it that way to me. Once she was done, I thought that’s what happened to my family and the loss of my grandchild, watching my daughter struggle with her entire sense of her motherhood being so drastically taken. I thought I could hurt no further, but it is truly devastating to know the facts and see the pain our people have been enduring for so long. I’ve learned that our people have died trying to get justice for their loved ones. That’s how long it’s been going on for many who live on the Navajo Nation.
We need transparency, we need accountability from our officials. We need leaders who do not look at this as just a job and a paycheck, but as a leader, who truly are working for the people, who are not afraid to bring these criminals to justice, create a justice system that will take away the things that they take for granted, that most of us hold very close and sacred. Many of us work hard to live a comfortable and sustainable life, but once that is disrupted and taken as ours has, there are no words, no thoughts. Our hózhǫ has been disrupted, along with so many others, we are not alone.
Yes, I will continue to remind everyone not to allow this to ever happen again. I will not be silenced.
When tragedy like this strikes your family, the world you once knew is gone and the world that you’re left in grows small and shrinks every day. It shrinks so tightly that at times you feel you can’t breath and can’t think. It’s all I can do to honor his name and remember the life he once had. Even at only 3 years old, he came into our lives and blessed my daughter in becoming his mom and me becoming his grandma.
The fact of the matter is that it was preventable and what happened could’ve happened to anybody. From the stories of that night there were five other families that told us their story. It was my grandchild that was so senselessly taken. He had a life, he had a home, he had a mom who devoted her entire life to give to his world, so much love and comfort.
His name was Karson Apodaca. He was only 3 years old, a month away from turning 4. He loved dinosaurs, Spidey & His Amazing Friends, and Paw Patrol. All his mother is left with are the memories and how it was Karson who had saved her the moment she became his mother. My daughter was holding him at the time of impact (tried to move and throw him out of the way), but the vehicle was too fast, and her final moments are forever played and robbed of ever getting to comfort her son, a way a mother should have.
Karson was only visiting family and great-grandparents. He was just like any other 3-year-old across the world when his life was forfeited to a failed system.
Carmelita Apodaca
Mystery Valley, Ariz.
Crane’s priorities
Editor,
Where do Rep. Eli Crane’s priorities lie?
To maintain a healthy workforce, i.e., one which can do their jobs efficiently and safely, it is essential that the workers and their families are able to afford secure, sanitary and comfortable housing wherein they sleep well and develop a sense of family/community cohesion.
This past year, our national Senate and House of Representatives have discussed, designed, drafted, debated and finally passed the significantly bi-partisan “21st Century Road to Housing Bill.” Of the 390 representatives voting, 32 voted against this locally and nationally necessary housing bill or 0.8 percent. Who chooses to ingratiate himself to a president that changes his mind with every other sentence? Representative Eli Crane.
This housing bill will cut through governmental red tape that stagnates helping those who keep our government and society working – perhaps you, prevents large firms from buying up lower cost housing and charging higher rates, and provides incentives to renovate older houses, which helps reduce energy use and climate change, as compared to demolishing and rebuilding.
Eli Crane pledged, via his oath of office, to do what is right for the residents of CD 2, yet he’s consistently done what’s promoted himself; thus we, his constituents, be damned.
Remember, every U.S. congressperson is entitled to a specified amount of federal money to help the citizens of his/her district. However, Eli Crane has chosen not to help “we, the people,” and other constituents, but rather to ensure Mr. Trump considers him for a promotion.
Bryan Bates
Flagstaff, Ariz.
Backing Pope
Editor,
“Move beyond the politics. The lieutenant governor must be able, at any moment, to take over and run the state of New Mexico.”
Lt. Gov. Howie Morales opened the New Mexico Democratic State Central Committee forum with those words. Before a single question was asked, he reminded us that choosing a lieutenant governor is about far more than campaign season. It is about selecting someone who is prepared to lead New Mexico if that responsibility ever arrives.
Thank you, Lt. Gov. Morales, for your years of service and for framing the evening with that reminder.
As I listened to the candidates, I found myself thinking back to the Native American Democratic Caucus of New Mexico meeting just a week earlier. Sen. Harold Pope Jr. spoke there with the same quiet determination and sense of purpose that he brought to the SCC forum. His message never changed. Whether discussing affordability, healthcare, or working across the aisle, he returned to one simple principle: “It’s not about the credit. It’s about getting things done to help people.”
He closed the evening by saying, “I’m not the establishment pick. I don’t come from a political family. All I know is how to serve people.” Hearing those words after listening to him over the past week, they felt less like a campaign line and more like the foundation of his public service.
Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, a 19-year educator and New Mexico’s Commissioner of Public Lands, emphasized collaboration, literacy, healthcare, and protecting our public lands. Her comment, “No flamethrowers allowed,” drew smiles while making a serious point about respectful leadership.
As an SCC member, I left the forum with a greater appreciation for the responsibility before us. After hearing both candidates, I will be casting my vote for Sen. Harold Pope Jr. because I believe he has demonstrated the steady leadership and commitment to service that New Mexico deserves.
Brandan Shakey
New Mexico Democratic State Central Committee
Congressional District 3
Gallup, N.M.
Choose wisely
Editor,
Democracy in its raw, pure form is evident in Native religious ceremonies. As an observer since childhood and now at the age of 71, I now see why a young tree shouldn’t randomly be chopped down, or why an ant hill mustn’t be destroyed. Native healing rituals have taught us to co-exist with other living beings. Validating people in your environment, including nature and species of plants is hózhǫ meaning equilibrium, harmony, balance or nirvana. The Navajo traditional belief is to strive for this every day. Sometimes it is attainable and sometimes not, if not you have a chance every morning to pray for harmony and balance within your physical self.
It is very possible that when European colonizers were building their government after gaining independence from their oppressive British monarch, the founders divided this new concept from the “new world” into a three-branch government. The white people did not and will never give us credit for this.
Anyway, this democracy worked well for the white men until they got greedy and started pursuing fame, glory, more wealth and influence. Today the three-branch government in Washington, DC, is warped with self-interest, injustice and cruelty. Need I say more?
Someone said it here a few weeks ago in the Navajo Times (letters to the editor) that our Navajo Nation three-branch government is copied from the white men’s three-branch government. That (letter) writer was highlighting the irony of our elected Navajo officials who disregard honesty, respect, and qualities of leadership. That’s why they are begging us to vote for them again.
It is, indeed, alarming that our elected Navajo officials are blind by their thirst for greed, power, and personal glory. Diné voters, myself included, have been seduced by empty promises in the last Navajo presidential election. This time we must select new candidates and we will choose wisely. We must look for the likeness of previous leaders who were respected for their integrity, wisdom, and humanity like 1800 Chief Joseph of the Northwest, Apache headman Geronimo, and of course, in recent times – Peterson Zah. Such noble men, who truly went to bat for us, the common people. The shared character trait among these individuals was their deep connection to the healing ceremonies, thereby they knew the practices, the prayers, and songs were democracy in its purest form. Select New candidates. Defeat career politicians.
EleVena Burbank
Tachee/Blue Gap, Ariz.
Choose experience
Editor,
It is vital for us, the electorate, to perform a formal retrospective analysis as the 2026 Navajo Nation Primary Election approaches, to extract actionable awareness for the political careers of the two incumbents vying for our votes.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, reports have circulated widely concerning purported political corruption within the Nygren-Montoya Administration, the problematic appropriation of ARPA funds, and evading public engagement with the electorate. Equally, the 25th Navajo Nation Council is not exempt from responsibility for these fiscal illegalities.
My focus will be on four prominent Navajo presidential candidates based on electability (position numbers 4, 8, 13, and 16) out of the 16, a choice predicated on information gathered from multiple presidential forums.
First, I applaud the remaining 12 candidates for entering this race to allow the Navajo electorate to hear about their visions, platforms, leadership approaches, and sometimes, grievances. Your motivation – your “why” – is the emotional fuel that will carry you through every difficult moment beyond this campaign. Each of you possesses leadership qualities, both transactional and transformational, which merit commendation.
The two incumbent candidates, Buu Nygren and Crystalyne Curley (speaker bears responsibility for the 25th Navajo Nation Council), are now established politicians, with their time in office stained by claims of corruption, poor transparency, and failure to enforce laws and regulations. We must ask ourselves: to what extent have factors such as a lack of experience in public office, lacking lived-experience, and underdeveloped competences in younger candidates contributed to the inability to deliver tangible, “political bacon,” consequently exacerbated by political polarization, governmental service gridlock, and intricate legal disputes with multiple parallel proceedings?
This is a profoundly challenging and discomforting question that causes introspection in each of us as Navajo voters. If one of the two incumbents secures your vote, be ready to take accountability for that decision, acknowledging your complicity and role as an enabler. Thus, the two incumbents have political baggage and favors to dole out.
For example, someone under the 23rd and 24th Navajo Nation Council opened doors and extended an opportunity for candidate Curley, and those who extended the appointment, such as former speaker(s) and delegates stand to collect reciprocal favors, which is a natural and tacit human behavior. Recycled politicians and washed-up colleagues will probably vie for roles as division directors, cabinet members and executive staff, despite some of their college degrees dating back to the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Sources report that candidate Curley, as a freshman delegate, had minimal constituent contact while in office. This is because her duties shifted to Window Rock, which inherently clashes with representing local chapters while also leading the entire legislative body. How is this letdown in legislative representation to constituents compensated for?
The campaign narrative, specifically its themes of rebranding as nobility and self-sacrifice, and proclaiming to be an indispensable savior to solve the current crisis in the executive branch, is grossly offensive.
It’s obvious that choosing to re-elect Nygren would be the wrong decision. To back the incumbent is to be complicit in his alleged wrongdoing. One can never excuse knowing participation in a harmful collective action and its subsequent outcome. For those involved in a wrongful plan or an illegal scheme, the notion of complicity will pose a significant and enduring burden, akin to the present repudiation of MAGA voters. A widespread consensus suggests that keeping individuals with prior involvement and inadequate qualifications in the Nygren Administration is ridiculous for another four years, given their role as co-conspirators in fostering a toxic, stagnant, and dysfunctional work environment.
Nygren and his administration have evaded accountability and lacked transparency, engaged in blame-shifting, thrown tantrums like a stubborn child, circumvented the long-standing presidential traditions and protocols that counter much of Title 2 of the Navajo Nation Code. The Office of the President and Vice President at 100 Parkway has succumbed to a firestorm of dysfunction and destructive behavior, all while deflecting blame from themselves. An arsonist ought not to lay blame on the fire department.
The most recent charge is that Nygren’s campaign used public funds for a live radio broadcast, and conversely, Curley’s campaign is purportedly permitting her legislative employees to travel to campaign events without adequate time off from their employment, as purportedly evidenced by invoices and timesheets, respectively. The two incumbents have made grievances their brand, and critically, if we continue to ignore poor financial management decisions and the collapse of legislative leadership, the chickens will come home to roost when the federal government intervenes.
Alternatively, candidates Tom Chee and Justin Jones are prepared to introduce a novel vision, alternative approaches, emergent opportunities, fresh perspectives, and innovative leadership that the Navajo people have not yet encountered. These two candidates have no connection to fraudulence or misuse of ARPA funds within the Navajo Nation, and they also do not fall within the age range of their late 30s or a 40-year-old. Instead, both individuals are in their 60s, exhibiting heightened integrity and substantial professional dependability. This is primarily because of a lifetime of accumulated specialized knowledge, enhanced emotional intelligence, and a propensity to cease spending energy on the criticisms of others. Lifelong instruction from our elders around the hogan fire imparts an outcome-based aptitude for constant adaptation, focus, persistence, and innovation.
The Diné lifeway conviction is an ebb and flow to that of transformational leadership performance, which directly influences project outcomes, as Chee and Jones articulate. It’s highly effective in implementing significant organizational shifts or starting novel projects. For example, the need to explore uncharted territory, such as finally resolving the need for a permanent government model and settling the temporary three-branch government, is crucial.
The crux of their Navajo traditional knowledge and hogan-centered teachings is a profound system emphasizing harmony, balance, and interconnectedness within the hogan cosmos. These living practices offer an immaculate pattern for sustainable living and holistic wellness. The Diné traditional teachings strive to teach culture untouched by anthropologists and archaeologists.
Tom Chee and Justin Jones’ teachings are based on a pure understanding of the language and oral history passed down from generation to generation. Generations have inherited Diné lifeway knowledge via narratives originating from time immemorial, a point underscored by the two candidates’ discourse on the campaign trail.
I can envision both these gentlemen using Diné fundamental values as metaphors and analogies, as a skill to craft results-oriented policies and tap into collaborative negotiating dialogues with all external sovereigns and jurisdictions for a new direction.
The Diné knowledge systems comprise a variety of epistemologies, developed through a spectrum of cognitive frameworks in a hogan or on an agricultural farm plot or in a sheep corral, founded upon centuries of meticulous observation, experiential learning, and the ongoing transmission of our cultural wisdom and prayers.
Henceforth, candidates Chee and Jones will uphold our generational sacred beliefs and customary governance to manage land, water, ecological, and cultural resources in a manner that fosters long-term sustainable balance.
We must trust experienced candidates who offer stabilizing expertise with a long-term outlook and bring valuable, accumulated wisdom and skills to navigate and transform complexities for the Navajo Nation’s success.
Edward Dee
Phoenix, Ariz.
(Hometown: Red Mesa, Utah)
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