Letters | With gratitude

With gratitude

Editor,

The family of Benjamin Halona would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood beside us during one of the most difficult times in our lives – the loss of our beloved father.

Losing our father has left a tremendous emptiness in our hearts. There are no words that can truly express how much he meant to us or how deeply we miss him. As we continue to grieve his passing, we find comfort in knowing that he was loved, respected, and cared for by so many people.

To our family, relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and Crystal community members, thank you for being there for us. Thank you for every prayer, phone call, message, hug, meal, flower, donation, and kind word. Thank you to those who traveled long distances to be with us, those who helped behind the scenes, and those who simply sat with us when words were not enough.

During a time when our hearts were hurting, your kindness reminded us that we were not alone. Every act of love and support gave us strength and helped carry our family through the hardest days.

Our father may no longer be here with us in person, but his love, memories, teachings, and the life he shared with us will remain in our hearts forever. We will continue to honor his memory by carrying the love he gave us and the lessons he taught us into the generations that follow.

Dad, you will always be loved, always be missed, and never be forgotten.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who helped us, prayed for us, comforted us, and stood beside our family. Your kindness will forever hold a special place in our hearts. With love and sincere appreciation.

Ortencia Halona and family
Gloria Halona and family
Anthony Halona and family
Casey and Pamela Tsosie
Nadine Brown.
Crystal, N.M.

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Accountability at stake

Editor,

In the spirit of k’é and cooperation between the executive and legislative branches, I have nominated JoAnn Jayne to serve as the attorney general and Kris Beecher to serve as deputy attorney general of the Navajo Nation.

These nominations follow the Navajo Nation Council’s Aug. 24 approval of Legislation 0195-26 and Legislation 0196-26, which declined to appoint Mr. Beecher and Ms. Jayne in their previous nominations.

In a joint press release on Aug. 26, 2026, Mr. Beecher and Ms. Jayne explained their legal conclusion that the Council’s resolutions are invalid and unenforceable because of procedural and separation-of-powers concerns, including an existing temporary restraining order. I have no reason to disagree with their legal analysis.

The resolutions were improperly classified as “emergency legislation,” which denied the Navajo people the required public comment period. The Council approved them without meaningful debate and without giving Mr. Beecher or Ms. Jayne an opportunity to respond.

Nevertheless, I have heard the Council. In the interest of maintaining stability and finding a path forward, I submitted new nominations.

JoAnn Jayne and Kris Beecher are qualified Navajo legal professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to the rule of law, government accountability, and the protection of Navajo sovereignty. Ms. Jayne has served as acting deputy attorney general since December 2025, while Mr. Beecher has served as acting attorney general since October 2025. Both have already served in DOJ leadership longer than the time remaining in the current administration and Council terms.

With only about 130 days remaining, removing them and forcing another leadership transition would create unnecessary uncertainty within the Navajo Department of Justice. Our nation needs experienced and steady leadership — not continued instability.

This Council has taken the unprecedented action of removing two attorneys general (Ethel Branch and Heather Clah) and voting against two others (Mr. Beecher and Ms. Jayne). All four were Navajo. All four were our relatives who stepped forward to serve the Navajo people.

Yet the speaker and the Council did not openly debate their removals or explain its votes against them. It did not follow our tradition of Baa yáti’ – talking things out respectfully and openly. Instead, the Council considered the latest measures as “emergencies,” preventing public comment and denying my administration a meaningful opportunity to respond.

That raises a question the Navajo people deserve to have answered: Why do Speaker Crystalyne Curley and the Council appear to be so afraid of an independent attorney general?

In their press release, Mr. Beecher and Ms. Jayne have warned that the Council’s repeated actions against DOJ leadership, its attempts to eliminate funding for the attorney general and deputy attorney general positions, and its efforts to defund the nation’s litigation account “appear to be an attempt to stop on-going investigations of certain legislative programs and legislative officials.”

That should alarm every Navajo citizen.

Why is the Council repeatedly targeting the officials responsible for investigating government misconduct? What is it trying to stop? What is it afraid the Department of Justice may uncover?

I have faced investigations during my administration, and I have cooperated fully. I welcome legitimate investigations because no president, speaker, delegate, or other public official is above accountability.

Speaker Curley and the Council delegates should be willing to do the same. If there is nothing to hide, why fear an independent investigation?

How many attorneys general must be rejected or removed before the Navajo people demand an explanation? Who is watching the Council? Why does the Council continue targeting those who have the authority to ask difficult questions and follow the evidence wherever it leads?

These nominations give the Council an opportunity to demonstrate that it supports transparency, accountability, and an independent Department of Justice. JoAnn Jayne and Kris Beecher deserve a fair, public, and transparent confirmation process – not another rushed vote without debate.

With so little time remaining in our terms, the speaker and Council should be focused on delivering hardship assistance and addressing the needs of the Navajo people, not destabilizing the Department of Justice.

I have presented a reasonable path forward. Now Speaker Curley and the Council must decide whether they will support an independent DOJ – or continue trying to weaken it.

Dr. Buu Nygren
President
Navajo Nation

 

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