Response to President Nygren’s memos

Response to President Nygren’s memos

By Vice President Richelle Montoya

This letter serves as a response to the memos and public statements issued by the Office of the President and outlines the timeline and severe imbalance within the Office of the President and Vice President.

First, I want to establish a timeline of when changes began within the administration. Before and after I was selected as the vice president, my family and I supported you and campaigned on your behalf. After I joined the ticket as the vice president, we ran on the same platform with the same vision to protect and strengthen our people and our Nation with thinking toward the future a vision that we both shared, and the Navajo people believed in. We were elected to our respective positions by the Navajo people, and we became the Nygren-Montoya administration.

Within the two months between the election and inauguration, we worked together to form the Office of the President and Vice President staff and evaluated prospective executive directors. At that time, my input was included and valued as an essential leader of the administration. You have since deviated from our collective vision, betraying the trust of the people who voted for us as equals.

Unfortunately, immediately after the inauguration, our working relationship took a turn. My consult, recommendations, ideas, and input were no longer sought. Instead, I was treated as your subordinate and not as your equal. Since then, from you and your staff, I have experienced blatant disrespect, retaliation, isolation from issues and decision-making, and removal from critical planning and communication for the government, its employees, and the Nation.

Then, in August 2023, I submitted a complaint to the OPVP Chief Legal Counsel Bidtah Becker and Chief of Staff Patrick Sandoval that described the harassment I experienced from you. To my dismay, there was no offer of legal advice or guidance on how to proceed with the complaint, but instead I was asked to attend sexual harassment training with you — a tactic often offered but seldomly effective.

It is unfortunate that we are at this point.

Supervision of the vice president

As the president and vice president, we are equal. I am not your lessor nor am I inferior to you. Ordering or requiring me to report to the deputy chief of staff who is not an elected official and who is several steps below the vice president is disrespectful and devalues the Office of the Vice President.

In response to the July 3, 2024 memorandum, I believe that a legal opinion is necessary to specifically state whether the president indeed supervises the vice president and if the president has the authority to deny, restrict, cancel, or approve the vice president’s official travel. The president and vice president ran on the same ticket and resulting in both the president and vice president receiving equal votes.

Because the president and vice president are of equal stature, the Office of the Vice President requests from the Office of the President your travel schedule, access to your calendar, a rundown of the OPVP budget, a list of staffers and their salaries, a list of staffers who are on contract with a copy of the contracts, the projects each staffer is currently working on, along with copies of all reports submitted to you by division directors, staffers, departments, and budget documents for OPVP, etc.

All the necessary tools and information for the Office of the Vice President, I am reminded of the teaching story of how wolf, blue bird, mountain lion, and hummingbird each travelled to the four directions and brought back with them a crucial element for life, therefore all leaders must work together to sustain life. The people understood that there is no priority of leaders; that leaders must work cooperatively and in equal parts because all efforts are for the people to survive.
Most importantly, we know that words are sacred and the people have the right to keep us accountable in our use of the words we choose. As such, as leaders, we must always speak the truth and we have a responsibility to communicate that to the people. Any words we speak are absolutely meant and we can be held accountable by the people.

Staffing the Office of the Vice President

It is well known that the Office of the Vice President only has one employee. When we first came into office, I had two employees, an assistant/scheduler and a security detail. Now, my security detail, who is told to report to you, fills the roles as my assistant and scheduler, which are not within her wheelhouse.

In comparison, the Office of the President has an assistant, a scheduler, a note-taker, a chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, a chief legal counsel, and an entire media team.

The Office of the First Lady is also provided with two support staff, a public relations officer, and a bigger budget to accommodate salaried employees. The Office of the President has over 20 staffers, yet the Office of the Vice President has one person serving three roles at the same time. This is a bureaucratic issue, and it directly impacts my ability to serve the Navajo people.

Even the inability to purchase office supplies without your approval is impacting my ability to effectively serve the Navajo people, as I am having to use my own funds to supply my office. The lack of resources is not only challenging, but also creates significant barriers to fulfill my duties. It is urgent that these issues are addressed to ensure that the needs of the Navajo people are met.

Hostile work environment

After I submitted my complaint against you nearly a year ago, the work environment became strained. I was no longer provided with any information or communication, and I was intentionally left out of meetings and any decision-making within the Office of the President and Vice President. This treatment is not only unfair but also unjust. So, when I was asked about the working environment within the Office of the President and Vice President during the Council’s Spring Session in April 2024, I told the truth about the disrespect and lack of resources and personnel.

Additionally, in an overwhelming sense of frustration and fear, I informed the Navajo people via social media about my experience as their first Diné Asdzaan vice president. The people elected me to be their vice president and they deserved to know the challenges, obstacles, and working conditions preventing me from fulfilling the promises we made during the campaign. The same promises that gained our people’s trust and, ultimately, their vote.

Since the Council’s Spring Session, I have received more communication from your staff than from you. Yet, at that session, you assured the governing body of the Navajo Nation that you would work better with the Office of the Vice President and provide adequate staffing — that has not happened. In fact, since that session, you have actively made aggressions toward me by holding a press conference and interfering in the preliminary investigation by releasing my statement to the public, retaliated against me by sending authoritative memos and releasing those to the media, as well as pitting our people against me by urging them to “get angry” about how you’re perceived in the media.

There has been no peace in your approaches to resolving our issues. In fact, your behaviors are prime examples of retaliation, intimidation, and bullying. These exact actions are ones that our Navajo employees file complaints about, and they often suffer pain and trauma for years. Instead of addressing the toxic workplace issues, you contribute to its longstanding culture one that I vow to change. All our government employees deserve a safe and healthy workplace.

In addition to the direct smear, your accusation that my complaint is a ruse to the presidency campaign is hurtful and far from the truth.

Amid all this adversity, I continue my work as the vice president despite the lack of support, resources, and staff to assist me in addressing and completing critical work on behalf of the Navajo people.

Not a fair investigation

After the Spring Session, the 25th Navajo Nation Council issued a press statement calling for an independent investigation into the Office of the President and the Vice President. This call for an independent investigation is crucial for ensuring transparency and fairness. However, Attorney General Ethel Branch thwarted the Council’s action by using her authority to launch a preliminary investigation and had already hired Eric Dahlstrom, former Navajo Nation deputy attorney general (1987-1990).

I have deep reservations for two reasons: 1) Procurement policies, including development of a scope, evaluation, or bidding process to ensure a qualified independent investigator were not followed; and 2) The Council’s request for an independent investigation was ignored and only a fact-finding preliminary investigation was issued, and to date, has yet to provide a status report.

It is unclear when the preliminary investigation began as it was buried by the press conference you held on May 28, 2024, in response to my seven-month-old complaint, creating a national spectacle of the Navajo Nation and the Office of the President and Vice President. You directly interfered with the preliminary investigation by distributing the media packet at the press conference that was created solely to discredit my complaint and public statements, as well as damage my character as a leader and woman.

In addition to publicly shaming me, you intentionally released my complaint without my consent in the middle of an investigation as a way to retaliate and humiliate me in front of the public with the hopes of turning our people against me.
On June 17, 2024, I received a memorandum from you acknowledging my decision to not participate in a peacemaking session. Henceforth, the “preliminary investigation” appeared to be in progress, and the turmoil within the Office of the President and Vice President escalated beyond the level of peacemaking. As I continue to indicate, I submitted my complaint almost a year ago and, from that time to the present, you have overtly refused to support the Office of the Vice President.

Meanwhile, I continue to do the work our people elected me to do while respecting the investigation that I assume is still in progress. I request that the investigation continue without any interference from you, your staff, or your attorney; seek a proper investigator through the appropriate process and have staff with conflicts recuse themselves from any decision-making and oversight.

Response to demands

I acknowledged both your harassing and ill-intended memos disguised as demands for accountability to you, Mr. Beecher, and Mr. Sandoval. As the vice president, I am accountable to the Navajo people. We both took an oath to work for the Navajo people and answer to them. We are equals in this plight to govern and serve. I am not your subordinate. It is imperative that administration’s goals, objectives, vision, plans, and priorities are shared, but you have created a divide. This administration appears to be an administration of one only, the Office of the President — and the re-branding shows it. Therefore, I am requesting a legal opinion from the OPVP legal counsel outlining our respective roles, authorities, and oversight as jointly elected officials.

I wholeheartedly agree that all of the work conducted through the Office of the President and Vice President is important and progress should be reported to the people. As you stated, the people entrusted you to be the president of the Navajo Nation, accordingly, the people also entrusted me to be the vice president. If your intent is to know my work, whereabouts, and progress as the vice president, then provide my office with the essential resources needed to fulfill the needs of the people. As elected officials, we are equals, so I am also within my grounds to ask you to share your schedule, reports, and resources as well.

As such, the following are responses to the seven expectations listed in your June 17, 2024 memorandum:

1. Schedules. Once a scheduler has been selected and onboarded, a schedule will be provided to your office. However, if you are assisting me with my scheduling needs, and in fact, assigning the Deputy Chief of Staff Kris Beecher to report to the vice president, then please provide the directive in writing and outline how and in what capacity the deputy chief of staff shall assist the Office of the Vice President. In addition, due to the sensitive nature of the work and correspondence that go through the Office of the Vice President, I am requesting a copy of Mr. Beecher’s background check conducted through the Navajo Nation Office of Background Investigations and required for individuals hired into sensitive positions.

2. Reports. As indicated, the Office of the Vice President operates with one support staff, serving three roles simultaneously, making the Office of the Vice President ill-equipped to provide the detailed written reports you are demanding. The Office of the President has far more support staff, as well as the help of legal counsel, the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, and the executive directors all who assist you with written reports, drafting statements, and issuing press releases for you and the First Lady. Therefore, my reports shall be provided once the Office of the Vice President is adequately staffed.

3. Travel Requests. We are elected tribal leaders. Like you, I receive many invitations from our constituents, partners, funders, and others requesting my attendance. As one of two of the Navajo Nation’s top elected officials, it is my duty to show up — to engage, learn, listen, and advocate. Until a legal opinion is issued stating that the president supervises the vice president, you have no authority to approve or deny my travel requests. As stated previously, the president and vice president are equals with equal authority over the Office of the President and Vice President. In fact, my travel requests should be processed in the same manner as yours.

4. Meetings. I appreciate your invitation to attend the division director and OPVP staff meetings. I agree to attend all meetings that benefit the Navajo people. I also look forward to hearing your reports and strategies for this administration, as well as the progress on projects you are currently working on. However, requiring division directors and OPVP to attend 6 a.m. meetings, outside of normal work hours, is unprofessional and likely in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

5. Projects. All projects within the Office of the Vice President absolutely align with the Nygren-Montoya administration not “your administration.” Perhaps a legal opinion is necessary to answer whether the administration is indeed the “Nygren-Montoya administration,” only the “Nygren administration,” or if both, the Nygren administration and the Montoya administration are separate but equal. If the latter is true, the Montoya administration must be funded commensurate to the Nygren administration as it is severely underfunded. In the meantime, I look forward to working with you to finally set the priorities for the Nygren-Montoya administration and create a plan that ensures the entire administration understands the priorities and their roles to achieve each and are aware of projects currently underway.

6. MMDR. The Missing Murdered Indigenous/Diné Relatives is an issue that is of utmost importance to our people and is dear to my heart. As you know, I am a survivor of domestic abuse, and it is through my experiences that I am a valued voice and compassionate advocate. The Missing Murdered Indigenous/Diné Relatives is a sensitive and emotional cause that impacts everyone and should not be used by you as a means to degrade and discount the work I have already been a part of. Despite your directives to limit my involvement, as vice president, I intend to continue to meet with survivors and families and advocate on their behalf. The First Lady and Ms. Azua are welcome to join the MMDR efforts and I invite them to share resources.

7. Conduct. We collected votes from our Navajo people to hold these equal positions in the highest office. Through their votes, they placed trust in us. As the president and vice president of the Navajo Nation, we have a duty to conduct ourselves respectfully, in a professional manner with integrity and honesty. Throughout the term of this administration, I expect you to conduct yourself professionally and for any communication between us to be respectful, informative, and not delivered in a degrading, humiliating, or in an authoritative manner as if to imply that my position as the vice president is inferior and lessor than the president. I also ask that you be honest with our people. Tell them the truth about all the “forced resignations,” changes in positions and personnel, delays in ARPA projects, and how your attorney, David Jordan, and the new deputy chief of staff, Mr. Kris Beecher, are being paid.

With your recent aggressive actions, you are further exacerbating the rift within OPVP, and it does nothing but harm our work and responsibility to our people. Your undiplomatic decisions and actions threaten the very foundation of tribal sovereignty and self-determination. The Navajo people entrusted me equally with their votes and confidence to advocate for their needs, including MMDR and other critical issues that affect our Navajo people. Your behavior has vast consequences, not just for the Navajo Nation but for other tribal communities as well.

The Nation, other tribal leaders and communities, and our allies look to the Navajo Nation for leadership and guidance, and actions like these diminish our role on a federal, state, and local level. It is essential that we honor the trust and responsibility given to both of us by our people.

I propose that we work together to create an Operations Plan for the Office of the President and Vice President that clearly outlines our roles and duties as elected leaders and those who work within our offices, as well as sets objectives and expectations for our teams.

My commitment to the Navajo Nation and the Navajo people remains unwavering and rooted in our Diné culture and tradition. I will continue to work towards our goals and priorities despite the challenges I face.

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