Pop-up service offers delayed birth certificates

WINDOW ROCK

After nearly 80 years, some Navajo Nation members still don’t have their birth certificates, said New Mexico State Rep. Sharon Clahchischiliage, R-N.M., who serves the 4th District.

“A lot of our people weren’t born in the hospitals,” Clahchischiliage said.

This is proving to be an extra challenge for Navajos to renew their state identification cards or driver’s licenses — as New Mexico recently passed the Real ID Act.

The act created tougher requirements to renew driver’s licenses or identification cards.

For this reason, Clahchischiliage worked with state agencies to provide pop-up locations in Shiprock and Crownpoint for Navajos born in the state to work on getting their delayed birth certificates.

“A delayed birth certificate goes to a person whose birth has not been registered with the state,” Clahchischiliage said.

There are many reasons people don’t have birth certificates. One of the first reasons is because they weren’t born in hospitals.

“Usually this a result of several things. Number one – being born at home,” Clahchischiliage said.

For others, it was not sending birth documentation to state agencies.

“The other is when people receive their birth affidavit but didn’t forward that information to the state,” Clahchischiliage said.

Another reason, was having multiple documents with different names and birthdates for the same person.

“Then a lot of times what happens is in the third situation is a lot of the documents, when a person goes in for a birth certificate, don’t match up,” Clahchischiliage said. “Like the birthdates are different dates. The names are different. Nothing matches up. There isn’t a consistent bit of information about the person.”

For all these reasons and more, some Navajos are unable to get their birth certificates.

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