To’hajiilee chapter shake-up

TO’HAJIILEE, N.M.

After imprisonment at Hweeldi from 1864 to 1868, a band of Diné returned to their homeland, settling near an active spring where water habitually flowed.

In historic records, the community is known as the Cañoncito Band of Navajo Indians, located 30 miles west of Albuquerque. Presently, it’s called To’hajiilee, referring — in Navajo — to the spring that gave the people hope of a prosperous future where their crops and animals would thrive.

But Dolores Mcthias, Diné, a concerned community member, said that those dreams have been dashed.

For some time now, Mcthias and other community members have been calling for a more accountable chapter administration. They’ve brought attention to missing equipment, questionable spending, environmental concerns, and lack of response to community people in need.

On a recent drive around the community with Mcthias, she drew attention to several homes in deteriorating condition with windows broken; torn tarps covering holes in the roofs; washed out dirt tanks meant to capture rain for livestock; and a double-pond sewage lagoon a little more than a stone’s throw away from Mcthias’s own home.

“When I open my window that smell comes in. It’s not good. Dogs, horses and birds drink water there and then the kids play with the (animals),” she said, worried about the potential spread of contaminants.

Mcthias said that she’s brought these and other concerns to chapter officials, who include President Raymond Secatero, Vice President John Chavez and to Nora Morris, who was in the position of Community Services Coordinator for several years until a recent shake-up.

Morris characterized the concerns as “allegations” and says no money is missing.

As CSC, Morris took charge of the day-to-day Chapter budget, according to several sources.

“People who really needed help, didn’t get help. It’s all messed up,” remarked Mcthias.

Over the years, Mcthias said that community members also started to notice comings and goings that seemed out of whack, like some members apparently getting help from the chapter, while others didn’t.

“It’s hard to hide anything out here. People talk,” mentioned Mcthias noting, that the population of To’hajiilee is around 2,000 residents.

But she said community people were afraid to speak up because they might be denied services when they needed them.

Anderson Sandoval said that’s what happened to him. While he received a few hundred dollars in years past to help with housing repairs, after he started to speak out, he said that the chapter didn’t want to bother with him anymore.

At his home site, about three miles north of the chapter house, Sandoval pointed out places where his roof needs mending after a heavy hail storm tore it up again.

“I’ve been asking for help (from the chapter) for two years now, but it seems like they don’t want to respond,” said Sandoval, adding that he’s also been requesting help for his 78-year old father, Alvino Sandoval. The older Sandoval’s home has water damage with mold setting in.

“I think they threw the applications in the trash,” said Sandoval.

Mcthias said that she went door-to-door around the community with a petition in 2014 that called for an audit of the chapter’s budgets and Morris’s removal.

The petition cites questionable activities attributed to Morris that include: misuse of Nation funds, theft of property, destroying documents, kick-backs and missing materials, to name some.

Mcthias said she secured around 200 community signatures and delivered the petition to the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules Office last winter, but she was told that she didn’t have enough evidence.

But investigations seem to have proceeded because according to Jackie Platero, another concerned community member, officials announced during the May chapter meetings that Morris was fired after higher-ups looked into what was going on.

Community members have questioned why there wasn’t tighter supervision before this and a more open accountability system.

A representative from the Ethics and Rules Office said that no information about the case could be released until an investigation is complete. Carl Smith, a top-level official for the Navajo Nation Division of Community Development, the administration that oversees chapter budgets, said the same thing.

Calls to the Navajo Nation Auditor General’s office weren’t returned.

While Mcthias was collecting petitions, Platero, who’s running for chapter vice president in the upcoming election, started following the money trail. She estimates that the chapter received millions of dollars over the 10 years Morris was CSC. She noted that funds came in from the Navajo Nation along with fees paid by non-tribal businesses like film companies. (Segments of “Breaking Bad” were filmed at To’hajiilee.)

“It doesn’t click for me,” Platero asserted during the June 20 chapter meeting, referring to the amount of money the chapter purportedly received compared to the lack of development and the sub-standard conditions that many people are living in.

The meeting was presided over by Secatero and Chavez with about 30 community people in attendance.

Jenny Early, an accountant from DCD’s Crownpoint office, who works with several chapters, was on the agenda the same day.

Holding up a very large spreadsheet, Early took on the task of explaining how the chapter budget was broken down into line items such as: youth programs, chapter official stipends, utilities, scholarships, veterans’ services and emergency assistance.

“Not all goes directly to the community,” she stated adding that tribal officials also need travel funds.

But, pressing the matter, Platero questioned why so many people didn’t get help with basic services, like getting their roofs fixed.

“There have been problems. It is hurtful. These people deserve better. These people should have gotten help,” voiced Platero who added that she’s tried to speak up in the past but was told to sit down and be quiet.

Recognizing the rising frustrations, Early responded, “There’s an outcry here,” adding that she couldn’t address what happened in the past. But, she promised that she would keep an eye out and make sure needed funds get to the people in the future.

Responding, one community member stood up and stated, “We need to work together in order to make improvements,” which sparked others to say, “Yes. Yes.”

During the meeting, Early referred to “five months ago” several times, seemingly meaning that she’s been on the case since then, about the same time Mcthias presented the community petition to the Ethics and Rules Office.

In a phone call with the Times last week, Morris said that everything that’s being said about what happened are just allegations.

“To my recollection there’s no missing money. All money has been accounted for,” said Morris.

When asked why some residents’ requests for help were turned down, she said, “We couldn’t help everyone. It was based on need,” adding, “People are always complaining. They want the chapter to run like a welfare system.”

She also mentioned that some applications weren’t complete and were put into a pending file.

Regarding allegations that some resources went to family members and/or friends, Morris responded, “It is not true.”

In final comments, she said, “No matter what you do, there’s always criticism. I did my very best for the community.”

Morris wouldn’t elaborate on how she left her position as CSC, except to say, “I’m no longer there.”

Chapter President Secatero didn’t respond to phone messages from the Times prior to deadline. But during the June 20 chapter meeting he commented at one point, “There’s not enough money,” and at another, “There are two sides of a coin,” which he didn’t elaborate on.

During the meeting, Early proposed that the Chapter budget and travel reports be posted from now on, which officials agreed to do.

Platero said that this was a move in the right direction, but she still wants to get the past records straightened out.

“There are details that we should know. This was community money,” stressed Platero.

Officials from the Division of Community Development and the Ethics and Rules Office wouldn’t comment on when reports would be made available.

Mcthias hopes that the shake-up will improve conditions in To’hajiilee with people getting their roofs fixed; dirt tanks for livestock built back up; and the sewage lagoon cleaned up, to start with.

Additional calls to Chapter officials and the water department about housing concerns and the sewage lagoon were not returned before deadline.

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