Shelly promises to learn from past mistakes

As a small group of Navajos stood in the cold outside the Navajo Nation fairgrounds demanding that he step down and face charges that he spent government money for personal benefit, the tribe's new president was talking about a future where dedicated leaders would work toward making the Diné prosperous.

Calling for a new beginning and a "new horizon," President Ben Shelly had in the hours preceding his inauguration settled the criminal charges brought by Special Prosecutor Alan Balaran.

Shelly agreed to repay $8,850 that he was accused of giving to relatives from discretionary funds when he was a Navajo Nation Council delegate in 2006.

The new vice president, Rex Lee Jim, settled the charges against him on the same terms, agreeing to repay $3,200.

Both settlements specify that repayment will occur through automatic payroll deductions, and allows the men to keep their new positions as elected leaders of the Navajo people.

Shelly didn't refer to the charges directly in his inauguration speech but he did admit that in his 30 years of public service, he "did wrong and needed to correct them."

He alluded to the political unrest of the past couple of years, saying "the crisis is over" and promising to learn from the mistakes of the past. He promised to listen to the Navajo people, who would "tell us the right thing" to do in the future.

He compared the next four years to the time when the Navajo people were returning from captivity at Fort Sumner, N.M., in 1868, returning to a future full of uncertainty.

The Navajo people today are facing a "new beginning," Shelly said.

"We need to push ourselves up," he added, pointing out that the Navajo people have done this in the past "in times of setback and disparity."

Speaking of what he hopes to see in the next four years, Shelly promised to continue government reform, calling the system that now runs the government "temporary," and saying he would work to help create a new form of government that the people want.

"Each of you," Shelly said, referring to the thousand people who braved the cold to hear him speak and the thousands listening over local radio, "will play an important role."

"You have asked for changes and that can't come without growth," he said, as he began talking about some of the changes he is already planning.

Shelly said his administration will push energy projects through a "new comprehensive energy plan."

He also wants to see the Navajo Nation go to the forefront in technology, connecting the chapters and the Navajo people in a "new data highway."

He plans to work to create more businesses for Navajos by cutting back on red tape.

"We want more business and less government," he said.

To show this new approach, he said he is changing the name of the Division of Economic Development to the Division of Commerce.

He pledged to continue pushing the federal government to build and complete the Navajo-Gallup Pipeline.

He also spoke of developing a 10-year wellness program to bring about a healthier Navajo people.

"We will start in the homes," he said.

"Let the rebuilding of our nation begin," he said. "Let's not talk about it. Let's do it."

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