AIM members rally outside Executive office as Nygren skips protest, Montoya steps in

TSÉGHAHOODZÁNÍ

Members of the American Indian Movement gathered outside the Office of the President and Vice President this morning, asking President Buu Nygren to resign and calling attention to what they described as failed promises, lost funding, and growing fear among government employees who say they cannot speak freely.

Among the demonstrators were AIM members Mike Bahe and Amanda Tom, who traveled from Phoenix to stand in solidarity with others who say they have been ignored by Navajo Nation leaders. The group’s concerns ranged from defunded public safety programs to missing funds for housing and environmental cleanup.

“When I first heard them outside the offices, I thought, ‘OK, they made it here,’” Vice President Richelle Montoya said Friday night. “I saw the police escorting them and was grateful for that, because safety is important. But when I listened, I was sad that it had to come to this for people to be heard.”

‘Nobody’s stepping up’

Bahe, who is from Crystal, New Mexico, said he joined the demonstration because elders and community members had asked AIM to act.

“Everybody’s scared of the repercussion or retaliation,” he said. “A lot of people that are employed want to say something, but they’re afraid of losing their jobs. That’s what feeds their families. Nobody’s stepping up, nobody’s doing anything.”

He said the protest reflected frustration over what he described as an erosion of accountability and discipline within tribal government.

“(Nygren) promised us, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to cut 50 percent of unemployment—all these promises and that’s what people fell for economically, spiritually, politics,” Bahe said. “And now we’re still on the same boat. We’re working backward.

“We’re not there for tomorrow, we’re not there for next month, we’re there down the road,” he added. “We’re scared of down the road because the way it’s going, it’s not good. Next month there’s going to be a lot of families on the Nation without food because of that. What’s the plan set in place for that?”

Calls for leadership

Tom, originally from Tséyaa’tóh, New Mexico, said she and fellow AIM members have tried for more than a year to meet directly with Nygren to discuss reforms in the Nation’s justice system, particularly on cases involving Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives. Each attempt, she said, ended in avoidance.

“We tried to have sit-downs with him several times,” she said. “He tried running off from us a couple of times, but we always caught up with him. When we finally (met with his staff) to talk about changing laws and improving investigations, he didn’t show up.”

Tom said their AIM chapter in Phoenix has worked alongside the Turtle Island Women Warriors, led by Upper Fruitland activist Reva Stewart, to support families searching for missing loved ones.

“We’ve all offered to help with better ways to make these investigations of our people—those who are missing, dying—easier,” Tom said. “But when we found out the administration took away funding from the K-9 unit and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (program), we decided to go back up north again because he’s taking away from people who really need these services.”

Montoya steps forward

Vice President Montoya said she recognized several of the protesters from previous visits. When she heard them outside, she went out to listen.

“I wanted them to know that shi nálí President Nygren wasn’t in the office,” she said. “Usually, I would have to be the one to step in to greet them and to listen to them and to pass their concerns on to President Nygren.”

Nygren, around noon, attended the Southwest Indian Foundation’s groundbreaking for a new home construction facility west of Gallup.

After returning to her office, Montoya said she immediately emailed Nygren and Chief of Staff Heather L. Duncan-Etsitty summarizing the group’s concerns.

“I did have one individual who told me that I met with her and other families and she wanted to know what happened because I never followed up with them,” Montoya said. “Around that time, President Nygren had stripped me of my authorities. I basically had no answers for these families anymore.”

Montoya’s loss of authority began after the Council’s 2024 Spring Session and was later confirmed publicly by the president in a television interview.

Speaker joins

Speaker Crystalyne Curley also attended the gathering and met with AIM members, saying the concerns raised echoed what local chapters have voiced in resolutions across the Navajo Nation.

“The issues they voiced reflect many of the resolutions passed by chapters recently and the overwhelming amount of frustration that our people feel,” Curley told the Navajo Times. “I was pleased to meet and speak with the protestors to share what the Council has done and continues to do to hold President Nygren and OPVP accountable for many questionable and unlawful actions.

“Many of them called for the president to resign from office to spare our people and Nation from further harm and embarrassment,” she added. “The Council continues to provide the stability and accountability that our Nation needs right now.”

Deeper frustrations

For Tom, the latest protest was about more than missing funds. She cited continuing issues with abandoned uranium mines, housing shortages, and alleged financial mismanagement.

“He (Nygren) talked about cleaning up the uranium mines,” she said. “There are (hundreds) across the reservation that’s causing cancer. And then him going under our noses and making deals with ZenniHome, misplacing money. Money like that just doesn’t disappear in thin air. There are people homeless that need a house. Many of our elderly have no running water, no electricity, and then he’s just riding around with his entourage like everything’s OK.”

Bahe said many citizens feel Navajo leadership has lost touch with traditional values of balance and respect. “When something’s broken at home, you fix it,” he said. “Maybe this is what we need. Maybe the woman needs to clean out the house. Maybe she needs to rearrange things and let the man come back and say, ‘Look at and see what has changed in the house.’ That’s where our traditional stories come in.”

Plea for dialogue and prayer

Montoya said she believes change can only happen through honest discussion and spiritual grounding.

“When there’s disagreement, there has to be time for discussion,” Montoya said. “Everyone has to have an open mind and heart,” keeping the people at the forefront.

She said she hopes both leaders and citizens remember that healing and progress require humility.

“The only being who can change someone who’s not moving in a good way is the Creator,” she said. “I beg of my Navajo people to continue to pray and to have faith in our prayers that our leadership will (return) to hózhǫ.”

Despite the tension, Tom said the group remains committed to returning to Window Rock until they see genuine dialogue and accountability.

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