Reporter’s Notebook | The year we reported

By Krista Allen
Navajo Times

Covering a year is rarely about identifying a single moment that explains everything. More often, it is about watching patterns form slowly, sometimes quietly, across months of reporting. Looking back at 2025, what stands out most is not one headline or one decision, but the way issues accumulated, intersected and revealed themselves over time.

This year-in-review was assembled to reflect that reality. Each month captures what was known at the time and how events unfolded in sequence. Read together, the twelve months show how governance, land, water, public safety, health and community life moved in parallel, often colliding in ways that were not immediately obvious when stories first appeared.

Early in the year, questions about accountability and authority surfaced through disputes over leadership, process and oversight. At the time, those stories could be read as isolated tensions or routine political disagreement. As the months progressed, it became clear they were not isolated at all. They were early signals of deeper strain that would shape the year’s most consequential developments.

Environmental and land-based stories ran alongside those political threads. Fire, drought, water access and the long legacy of extractive activity were not new to 2025, yet the year made plain how tightly these issues are bound to public health, housing and economic stability. Court rulings and federal settlements offered progress in some areas while reinforcing how long remediation and infrastructure projects can take. For many families, the distance between policy decisions and daily life remained wide, and that gap appeared repeatedly across the reporting.

Political conflict intensified as the year moved forward, particularly between branches of government. Committee hearings grew longer. Subpoenas and vetoes became more frequent. Disputes over confirmation, reporting requirements and spending authority hardened into open confrontation. These developments were often framed as leadership struggles, but the reporting showed their broader reach. When authority is unclear or contested, timelines slip, payments stall, and employees and contractors absorb the uncertainty.

At the same time, the year’s coverage consistently recorded endurance outside of political dispute. Community gatherings, ceremonies, fairs, youth competitions and daily acts of care continued even as institutions faced stress. These moments did not erase hardship or conflict, but they showed how people carried responsibility to one another regardless of circumstance.

The reporting this year also extended beyond the Navajo Nation’s borders. The Navajo Times covered the second inauguration of President Donald Trump and returned to the U.S. Capitol multiple times to report on federal policy with direct implications for Diné communities. That work included coverage of water rights, the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, and ongoing developments related to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. These stories reflected how decisions made far from home continue to shape land, health and sovereignty on the Navajo Nation.

Of all the stories reviewed this year, one stood out as especially consequential. The November reporting on the confidential audit memorandum, the attempted removal of the Navajo Nation controller and the struggle over financial oversight as federal spending deadlines approached.

That story mattered not because it was dramatic, but because it was clarifying.

It brought together nearly every theme that had surfaced earlier in the year. Questions about authority and accountability that appeared in January resurfaced with urgency as hundreds of millions of dollars in federal relief funding neared expiration. Long-standing concerns about internal controls moved from abstract warnings to documented risk. What had once felt procedural became urgent, with real consequences for programs, vendors and employees.

The audit memo’s warning about management override was particularly significant. It described a condition where safeguards fail not because they are absent, but because they are bypassed. That distinction matters. It explains why systems can appear functional on the surface while weakening underneath. The reporting showed how even a single deviation from established controls can ripple outward, especially under pressure.

The attempted removal of the controller, followed by court intervention, revealed how fragile oversight can become when authority is contested. The court’s decision to block the removal while litigation continued did not resolve the underlying dispute. It did, however, reinforce that checks and balances exist for moments precisely like this.

What made the November story stand out was its reliance on records rather than rhetoric. Court orders, audit findings, internal memoranda and statutory language formed the backbone of the reporting. The story did not hinge on accusation or speculation. It showed readers what existed on paper, what actions were taken and what limits the law imposed.

The significance of that reporting extended beyond one office or administration. It helped explain why so many other problems documented throughout the year persisted. Housing delays, unpaid invoices, staffing instability and program uncertainty did not occur in isolation. They were symptoms of systems under strain, operating without clear authority or consistent oversight.Most importantly, the November story illustrated a lesson that applies far beyond one year. Systems rarely fail all at once. They bend. They absorb strain. They continue operating, often unevenly, until vulnerabilities surface under pressure.

From leadership and administration to reporters, photographers, designers, press operators, drivers, carriers and support staff, this paper exists because of collective effort. I recognize and thank the entire Navajo Times team – Vernon Yazzie, Rhonda Joe, Olson Patterson, Mirage Wallace, Courtney Notah, Leander Begay, Rebecca Lee, Laverne Watchman, Briana Slinkey, Keough Tracy, Cameron Largo, Leandra Begay, Ryan Yazzie, Evelyn Walker, Marsha Carl, Georgia Chischilly, Clarita Jim, Ursula Gail, and Betty Manuelito – who make this work possible. Each week, many hands contribute at every stage, from gathering information to printing, transporting, and delivering the paper to communities across the Navajo Nation, Albuquerque, Towaoc, Page, Flagstaff and beyond.

Special thanks go to the news-editorial team whose work, judgment and persistence helped shape the paper throughout the year. Amber L. Wauneka, Donovan Quintero, Quentin Jodie, Kyle Leslie, Lee Begaye, Truman Begaye, Jalen Woody and Nolan Bruno brought discipline, curiosity, and fairness to their reporting, ensuring that complex stories were handled with clarity and respect.

To our fearless reporters, Donovan Quintero and Quentin Jodie, thank you for traveling across the Navajo Nation and the country to cover stories that matter deeply to our Diné. Your commitment to being present, asking hard questions and showing up where decisions are made continues to strengthen this paper. Thank you for everything you do.

I also extend thanks to Rick Abasta, whose steady support showed up in simple but meaningful ways. On some deadline days, he brought donuts and coffee that fueled long hours and offered encouragement that reminded the team their work mattered. His presence and kindness did not go unnoticed.
The Navajo Times also celebrates Nolan Bruno, who was accepted into Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League, earlier this month. Nolan’s work ethic, thoughtfulness and dedication to learning have been evident at the Navajo Times, and his achievement reflects both his talent and his commitment to growth. Congratulations, shi yáázh. We are very proud of you.

As the Navajo Nation moves forward, the value of this year-in-review lies not in prediction, but in clarity. These stories offer a documented account of what 2025 revealed about decision-making, oversight, endurance and consequence.
This is not a final word on the year. It is an accounting of it. Thank you for reading the Navajo Times.

 

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