Constitution effort would provide authority to Diné, Tsosie says
Special to the Times | Donovan Quintero
Harrison Tsosie of the Office of Navajo Government Development speaks at the Wildcat Den on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, as images from the 1989 riot are projected behind him during the government reform proposal meeting. Former Chairman Peter MacDonald Sr. and Neal Riggs are seated at left.
WINDOW ROCK
The Navajo Nation is taking a step toward fulfilling a decades-old pledge to let its people decide the permanent structure of their government, launching a new push for a constitution designed to return authority to the people and reflect traditional values.
Navajo Government Development Executive Director Harrison Tsosie said the proposed “Diyin Nohookáá Dine’é Bi Beehaz’áanii Bitsí Siléí” constitution shifts the focus from a government-centered model to one that prioritizes the needs and rights of the Navajo people. He and his staff have been traveling across the Navajo Nation and to off-Nation communities to meet with residents, explain the proposal and gather feedback.
“We’ve done three events so far,” Tsosie said, noting an Aug. 1 visit to the Utah Division of Indian Affairs in Orem, Utah, and a public meeting in Crownpoint that drew about 50 people.
The reform effort builds on promises embedded in a key moment in Navajo history – the December 1989 adoption of Resolution CD-68-89 by the Navajo Nation Council. That resolution separated the chairman and vice chairman positions from the Legislative Branch, creating a new Executive Branch led by a president and vice president. The change was prompted by political controversy that revealed, as the resolution stated, “too much centralized power without real checks on the exercise of power.”
To read the full article, please see the Aug. 14, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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