Crystalyne Curley, Chris Deschene win Navajo Nation president, vice president race

Curley becomes the first woman elected to the tribe’s highest political office

 

By Noel Lyn Smith
Special to the Times

FORT DEFIANCE

History was made Tuesday night when voters on the Navajo Nation elected their first woman president.

Crystalyne Curley and her running mate, Christopher C. Deschene, won the race for the Office of the President and Vice President with 32,094 votes, according to unofficial results released by the Navajo Election Administration.

The unofficial results, comprising votes from the 110 chapters, show presidential candidate Justin Jones and his running mate, Emily Ellison, receiving 30,979 votes.

“Thank you so much. …This is your victory. We have all worked hard because we said we want a positive direction and this was an outcry from the people for love,” Curley said to a packed gymnasium inside the Veterans Memorial Field House.

During her victory speech, she spoke in the Navajo language to acknowledge voters in supporting her and Deschene.

She reiterated her campaign’s messages of hard work, compassion and positivity as well as touching on that history was made.

“We have to empower each other to do the best that we can,” she said. She also took a moment to ask supporters to send prayers to Jones and Ellison.

“This is a new direction for our people,” Curley said.

Shouts of “Curley, Deschene” erupted at about 9:25 p.m. as supporters waited for the last eight chapters to report results. Later, they swayed to Beyoncé’s song, “Girls Run the World.”

Curley rose to the highest office in Navajo politics after serving as Miss Navajo Nation from 2011 to 2012, working as a public information officer in the Legislative and Executive branches, and being elected to the Navajo Nation Council in 2022 to represent the chapters of Tachee/Blue Gap, Many Farms, Nazlini, Tséłání/Cottonwood and Low Mountain.

In January 2023, she was voted by Council delegates to serve as speaker. She is in her second term in that role.

Deschene, an attorney, Marine Corps veteran and former Arizona state representative, sought the tribal presidency in 2014. Although he advanced to the general election, his candidacy was disqualified over questions about his abilities to speak the Navajo language.

Tuesday’s victory was viewed as vindication by many Curley and Deschene voters.

Curley’s selection of Deschene was the reason why Iyanbito, New Mexico resident Helena Charleston casted her ballot during early voting.

“I think they’ll do a good job because she’s female and she’s got experience,” Charleston said.

She added that she voted for Deschene when he ran for president.

“I already knew who I was going to vote for,” Charleston said.

Curley supporter Luke Thompson sat next to his 90-year-old grandmother, Catherine Thompson, listening to music and to cheers from the crowd whenever vote tallies were read out loud.

“She’s been a supporter since day one,” Luke Thompson said about his grandmother, who was awake past her bedtime.

As for him, he backed Curley because of, “her compassion, her love for the community and her love for the Nation.”

He added that Curley’s demure in response to comments by Jones on the campaign trail.

“She didn’t put anyone down,” he said.

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