Capital Briefs | Delegates disappointed with U.S. Postal Service

Navajo Nation Council delegates on Nov. 9 said they are disappointed in the lack of response from the U.S. Postal Service to concerns over barriers to mail services for Diné citizens.

Delegate Kee Allen Begay Jr., who has pushed for permanent post offices in Many Farms, Tsélání/Cottonwood and Low Mountain, Ariz., said, “Many Navajo homes are unmarked and lack formal street addresses. This creates a situation where our people must rely on post office boxes and pay over $80 annually in fees.”

Most existing post offices on the rez have limited box availability, are often shared by family members, and require miles of travel to access.

President Jonathan Nez in October testified to the U.S. Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, saying, “Protecting the Native American vote requires taking into consideration the unique challenges faced by Navajo voters.

“Eligible voters on the Nation should not face hardship in registering to vote,” he said, “receiving important voting information, or casting their ballot.”

In November, Council requested a report from the U.S. Postal Service about mail services at the 110 chapters and how these services will be upgraded. No response has been received.

Leaders push redistricting map endorsed by tribes

TWIN ARROWS, Ariz. – At a public hearing at Twin Arrows Casino held by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission on Nov. 8, Navajo Nation leaders said proposed maps will dilute the voice of Native Americans and asked the commission to support a map endorsed by the Hopi, White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Havasupai, and Paiute tribes.

The redistricting commission was established in January to redraw Arizona’s congressional and legislative voting districts based on the results of the 2020 Census. In October, draft maps were proposed with final consideration scheduled for Dec. 22.

Pueblos praise House passage of STOP Act

WASHINGTON – On Nov. 9 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony, or STOP Act, which was introduced in April by New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, Alaska’s Don Young, Oklahoma’s Tom Cole and Sharice Davids of Kansas.

The act aims to stop the theft, export and sale of cultural items held sacred by tribes and pueblos. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by senators Martin Heinrich and Lisa Murkowski.

Wilfred Herrera Jr., All Pueblo Council of Governors, said, “The STOP Act represents a measure to protect our Creator’s and ancestor’s knowledge systems we utilize to this very day to maintain our lives – without them, we cease to exist.”

Brian D. Vallo, governor of Acoma Pueblo, said, “The Pueblo of Acoma has learned firsthand how important it is to have the STOP Act, and we have worked diligently alongside our congressional representatives to ensure its reintroduction in this Congress.”

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