Opinion | Beauty and sovereignty: Who are they truly serving now?

By Shaina A. Nez

Editor’s note: Shaina A. Nez is Táchii’nii, born for Áshįįhí. A first-generation professional, she earned her Ph.D. in justice studies from Arizona State University. She is originally from Lók’a’ch’égai, Arizona.

In the Navajo Nation, beauty is more than a word. It represents a balance of life, from the morning prayers meditating at dawn to the way each of us fosters a compassionate relationship with one another. It is this compassion and love that radiates for our elders, how we raise our children, and how each of us walks in balance with the land. Beauty, for us, is not just about appearance; it is a way of honoring our lives as Diné and a responsibility to honor all Diné lives across imaginary borders that divide our Nation and exist in the United States.

And so it is with great discomfort, even outrage, that I witness the word beauty co-opted today by a man who does not understand its depth. President Donald Trump is expected to sign what he has called a “beautiful” bill, one of the most sweeping and unjust legislative acts of this generation. This bill, cloaked in rhetoric about strength and progress, is set to strip away protections for Native and tribal lands, funding cuts for critical programs that serve marginalized communities, and fast-track resource extraction on sacred sites.

There is nothing beautiful about exploitation. There is no balance in greed. There is no hózhǫ́ in legislation that prioritizes profit over people.

In this moment, as painful irony, brings to focus a much deeper question: what does sovereignty truly mean without the people? What is beauty, if not fundamentally exercised in the lived experiences and voices of our Diné communities?

On paper, both the United States and the Navajo Nation are democratic governments, grounded in three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. It’s a structure intentionally to provide checks and balances mirroring the will of the people. But as we look around, across this country and within our own Nation, we must ask: Who are they truly serving now?

In the halls of Washington D.C. and Window Rock alike, decisions are often made far from the communities most affected. Policies are passed with little transparency, and leaders speak in abstractions while families struggle without proper access to water, electricity, healthcare, broadband, or a quality education. Sovereignty should mean self-determination, but too often it becomes a shield used by governments to justify harmful inaction or political convenience to those who live such harsh realities.

True sovereignty, like true beauty, cannot be performative. It cannot exist without participation, accountability, and the people. If the Navajo Nation government does not reflect our values, traditions, and our voices, then what type of sovereignty is that? What are they exercising for if not for the people? And if our leaders adopt the language of our enemies to describe actions that harm us, what beauty are they truly talking about?

I encourage my relatives and friends of the Navajo Nation; we must not allow our sacred words and teachings to be twisted and politicized. We must reclaim hózhǫ́ not only as a personal principle but as a communal and political one. Beauty must guide our policies. Harmony must inform our leadership. Sovereignty must live, breathe, and shape the people it claims to serve.

Today, as the word “beauty” is weaponized from the highest office in the land, let us remember real beauty is not something that can be signed into law or stripped away by it. Real beauty – Diné beauty – is like a seed being planted with the proper care, encouragement, and service. Only then can it grow into abundance and become a source of prayer, humility, and nourishment for life. From a Diné justice perspective, beauty demands that we look not only at what is being said, but who is saying it and at what cost. Because, in the end, the question remains: Who are they truly serving now?

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