Letters: Voice of the people is highest level of political authority

The 2014 Navajo Board of Election Supervisors have long recognized that the voice of the people is paramount in its declaration that from time immemorial, the people have a right to be directly involved in their governmental affairs and that their right to vote is supreme.

The government and its leaders and all of its branches needs to respect and honor the people’s request, that before any other election take place, they want to decide for themselves through a referendum vote as to the language requirement of their leaders. The people have declared that they want to make their choice through an electoral process that is impartial, fair, and without intimidation and fraud.

The people through the general election on Nov. 4, 2014, have elected their representatives to the Navajo Nation Council and recognized the Council as the official “governing body” of the Navajo Nation; thereby have the authority to enact laws in their best interest. At the request of the people, and in line with the statements of the Supreme Court and the Office of the President that the Navajo language fluency should be referred to the Navajo people by referendum vote, the Council passed Resolution CMA-06-15. This resolution enacted a law for the Navajo Election Administration to have sufficient funds to hold the fluency referendum election, and complete the election certification and thereafter, hold the presidential election.

On March 20, 2015, the Navajo Supreme Court without consulting the Navajo people, or the Navajo Nation Council ordered the presidential election before the Navajo language fluency referendum election. The people now refuse to participate in the electoral process and feel that their rights have once again been violated, by not allowing them to make their choice on the Navajo language fluency through a referendum vote prior to any other election.

The 2014 NBOES have filed a motion with the Window Rock District on behalf of NBOES and the Navajo people, that the government honor the Navajo Nation Council Resolution CMA-06-15, to hold the Navajo language fluency referendum election before any other election. The people have made their wishes known and believe that their participation in resolving the fluency matter will begin the healing process toward hozho and harmony.

The NBOES continues to support the people’s wishes, and have stood united in the belief that the voting rights and the voice of the people is supreme and at the highest level of political authority.

LeNora Fulton
Window Rock, Ariz.

 Government has become RICO

This government corruption has been growing ever since 1990, when the manner by which we have been governing ourselves since the beginning of the Navajo Nation government ​in 1923 was changed to a poor copy of U.S. three-branch government – the Title II amendments.

To this day, Department of Navajo Nation Government Reform has been in Window Rock ever since 1990, but by name only and no action. They are corrupt just like all other branches, departments, divisions, and enterprises. Millions of dollars meant to alleviate poverty on Navajo have gone to fund this huge corruption, nearly every office is tainted; thereby, corrective action has become impossible unless someone goes into Window Rock and cleans house with a strong detergent.

Sadly, it appears that leaders we elect to help clean house immediately become tainted as soon as they are sworn in – this includes the ones who are on the April 21st ballot. Watch, once they are sworn in, it’s back into the “Black Hole” (corruption) and business as usual. That’s all they know.

Yes, our Navajo Nation government has become a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization).

 Vern Lee
Fruitland, N.M.

Historic Preservation must protect sites, artifacts

In the last year, grassroots Diné have voiced concerns about threats to Diné sacred places from tourist development at the Colorado-Little Colorado Confluence and from fracking near Chaco Canyon. If the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department has done anything to protect theses places, we are not aware of it. There is also the issue of repatriating human remains and artifacts that archaeologists excavated from the mines on Black Mesa, which needs more leadership from NNHPD. These concerns lead us to call on both sets of presidential/vice presidential candidates and the NNHPD to organize, as soon as possible, a series of public meetings with Diné communities, hataaliis, and concerned grassroots organizations, to hear the people’s concerns about protecting and “managing” sacred places and other cultural resources. How about one meeting in each council delegate’s district, an average of two a month, all consultations finished in one year?

From the very beginning, NNHPD has recognized its responsibility to consult Diné communities and follow their guidance in protecting and managing cultural resources. In 1988, the year that the Navajo Nation Council created the NNHPD (Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Protection Act, CMY 19-88), NNHPD conducted a pilot project to consult 13 chapters scattered around Navajoland about their cultural resource management priorities. This project was supposed to be the start of consultations with all chapters, from which NNHPD would use the knowledge gained to draft a Navajo Nation Cultural Resource Management Plan guided by Diné culture, rather than one-size-fits-all federal law and policy. But to this day, 27 years later, NNHPD has done nothing more.

One way or another, cultural resources are at issue in most every development, but decisions about them seem to be beyond public control, made in the shadowy offices of Window Rock and the various federal agencies that also, yes, have a lot of control. With a new president, vice president, a new NNHPD director, and with increasing threats to Diné culture, it is time to bring grassroots Diné into the decision-making.

 Harris Francis
Window Rock, Ariz.

 Klara Kelley
Gallup, N.M.

 Honor Yazzie by being faithful to nation

Always Faithful. We must rise toward this goal as part of the legacy for fallen Navajo Nation Police Officer Alex Kee Yazzie, and his wounded brothers, James Hale and Herbert Frazier III, and all other nation public servants who have given and suffered – some to the last full measure – so that we may be protected.

Officer Yazzie served as a United States Marine. Like all Marines, he would know and use the Marine Corps motto “Semper Fidelis” (Latin word for Always Faithful and often shortened to “Semper Fi”).

Marines feel their motto sets them apart and creates a service bond unlike others. As the Marine Corps says, the bond goes beyond teamwork. It’s a comradeship that can always be counted on. One which leads Marines to remain faithful to their mission, each other, the Corps, and their nation – no matter what. Officer Yazzie gave his life for his original nation, the Navajo Nation. That is my painful motivation today.

A family meeting occurred at our home last week, and everyone, greatly saddened by recent events, wanted to see a new and profoundly greater faithfulness to the Navajo Nation that would be worthy of the sacrifices of Officer Yazzie, his fellows, and others who give.

We have seen Officer Yazzie’s close ties to the Marine Corps through his military funeral, and the active-duty and former Marines attending. But the observances are not over. They will not end until we make the most out of all the sacrifices made for us by him and others, and demonstrate we can be “always faithful” to those who offered them.

In his thoughtful March 26 letter to the Navajo Times former Hopi Chairman Ivan Sidney indicated some of what needs to be done. Other current commenters have made similar strong suggestions.

More officers, more training, more and better equipment, better leadership, much better government, and far better fulfillment of the federal trust responsibility are the challenges. And, we must not stray from the path to meet them.

I am intensely troubled when I think of Officer Yazzie and others like him and contrast their contributions to the nation with the subversion and unraveling of the nation all around us … and the misbehavior, greed, and political posturing we have seen so much of for so long. Officer Yazzie and others like him who give of themselves, deserve much better from those of us still here. We need to become more noble within the nation and provide it.

To the Yazzie family, Officers Hale and Frazier, and other public servants who protect us I offer my condolences and my deepest appreciation for the services we have received under very difficult circumstances on the nation. These are circumstances which rarely seem to improve, and which likely contributed in some way to the two deaths on March 19. But these same circumstances must improve, and dramatically, if Officer Yazzie’s nation is to survive and render payback – through its betterment and faithfulness – for those, like him, to whom we owe so much.

 Jack Utter
St. Michaels, Ariz.

 Tsosie, Bates needs to be removed

Honorable Leonard Tsosie, Lorenzo Bates, Ben Shelly with their Attorney General Harrison Tsosie has misled the Navajo people about the recent Navajo president election that went off-track since the 2014 Primary as they lead the Navajo Nation Council and Navajo chapters to interfere with the Navajo Supreme Court ruling that disqualified their candidate for president.

It all started with the election administration headed by Edison Wauneka failed to follow the Navajo Nation law then later elected Navajo Board of Election Supervisors encouraged Mr. Wauneka not to abide the law and the court order. That is where they entangled with the Supreme Court jurisdiction.

Title two is a three branch government established by the Navajo Nation Council to keep balance and to avoid actions like Mr. Tsosie using his authority to influence others to overthrow the Title II Navajo Nation government and the rest of the opposing party. When a complaint is filed with the court of law, it becomes the court jurisdiction, it clearly means no politician will interfere or using their authority to intimidate the court to change its ruling. Its only part of a fair democracy process.

On Jan. 9, 2015, Ben Shelly and pro tem speaker with certain Council members of 12 made an agreement to keep Shelly in the president’s office, which is also illegal according to the Election laws (11 N.N.C. 161; Appointments). Nobody challenged this illegal act in court so chief justice came and swore in Ben Shelly as interim president at that time they loved chief justice. This letter of agreement has the same power as a legislation that superseded the existing law (11 N.N.C.161; Appointments) without any special session to discuss or public comments.

Lorenzo Bates knew he could not be the president because he is not fluent in Navajo and had to leave the interim Council speaker position and was unable to run for the speaker of the Navajo Nation Council. Ben Shelly had nothing to lose; he already lost in the primary.

Leonard Tsosie is a lawyer without a license, but he continues to legal counsel the Navajo Nation Council, which is also an illegal act by writing all these legislations to remove the chief justice and pardon Board of Election Supervisors. Recently, he admitted to the Law and Order Committee he drafts the rules and procedures.

Mr. Tsosie has other better things to do; he is oversight of Community Development, Ethics Violation, Tribal Enterprises, and more. No improvement there as Lorenzo Bates has chaired the Budget and Finance also falls short to balance the budget and provide service to the public. Public infrastructures like chapter houses falling apart. They talked about all these millions of dollars and projects but year after year, we see the same old washboard road, poverty, and no jobs. Economic prosperity never comes.

Leonard Tsosie and Lorenzo Bates needs to be removed or recalled, if we need to move forward. Mr. Tsosie said, “I don’t doubt that Navajo people will overcome this doctrine of ma ii-ness.”

 (Editor’s note: Attempts were made to edit this letter for clarification. The writer insisted on publishing this letter verbatim.)

 Lester Begay
Crownpoint, N.M.

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