From riots to reform: The debate that still shapes Diné democracy

WINDOW ROCK

The debate over the future of Navajo government once again carries the weight of history, as former Navajo Nation Chairman Peter MacDonald Sr. and former officials Frank Brown and Norman Patrick Brown tie today’s constitutional reform proposals to the legacy of the 1989 riots that reshaped tribal politics and created the three-branch system.

Speaking in separate settings this summer, the three men offered starkly different reflections on the events that transformed Navajo governance. MacDonald argued that restructuring in 1990 “eliminated the will of the people,” while Frank Brown and Norman Patrick Brown, both present at the Window Rock protests that turned violent, recalled corruption and division that drove thousands into the streets.

Together, their voices capture the fault lines that still shape Navajo governance – sovereignty, language, democracy and the right to resist outside threats.

MacDonald: sovereignty undermined

In a July 16 interview during a government reform presentation at the Chinle Wildcat Den, MacDonald said the chairmanship system that had guided Navajo governance since 1928 was better suited to the Nation’s traditions.

“Between three branch––so-called three-branch government and chairmanship – two very different form of government,” he said. “The three-branch government is developed by United States of America. We don’t know why they made it three branch government. And it’s all written down in English language. And in our own Navajo history, we never experienced a three-branch government.”

MacDonald insisted his downfall was not just internal politics, but federal intervention to weaken Navajo sovereignty.

“If you are a threat in any way of becoming a sovereign nation as you, we are and should be, they’re going to go after you,” he said.

He pointed to the Navajo Nation’s 1988 purchase of the Boquillas Ranch – nearly a million acres in Arizona – as a turning point.

“After we purchased the Big Boquillas Ranch, they saw that Navajo is getting too big,” he said. “They did a good job on that. I end up eight years in federal prison.”
To MacDonald, his arrest and conviction were part of a broader campaign.

“They made an example of me,” he said. “So long as you don’t talk about sovereignty, so long as you don’t claim what is rightfully yours, they don’t bother you. They think you’re a good guy. Here’s some more commodity food. Here’s some more Social Security welfare check. That’s how they treat us. That’s where they want us to be.”

To read the full article, please see the Aug. 28, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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