Western Agency Council votes ‘no confidence’ in Nygren, Montoya

TONALEA, Ariz.

The Western Navajo Agency Council voted Sunday to declare no confidence in President Buu Nygren and Vice President Richelle Montoya, approving a series of resolutions that ask the 25th Navajo Nation Council to remove the top officials or place them on administrative leave while investigations move forward.

The special meeting at the Tonalea Chapter House brought together delegates and chapter leaders from 18 communities across the western region. By the end of the meeting, the Western Agency Council had adopted four resolutions that together mark the strongest public challenge to the administration since Nygren and Montoya took office in January 2023.

Three measures passed unanimously or nearly unanimously, and one drew a narrower vote. Collectively, the actions call on the Navajo Nation Council to consider administrative leave for both leaders, restore branch funding cut from the fiscal 2026 budget, and investigate allegations of mismanagement of public money.

‘Tense’ session

Western Agency Council Secretary Latanya M. Williams said the meeting reflected frustration and urgency among area officials.

“It was kind of tense,” she said. “We sent these resolutions out, templates to the chapters, and they were supposed to review them and send feedback or put them under planning meeting or chapter meeting, and apparently some officials chose not to do that.”

She said she urged the chapters to bring the resolutions before their communities because “it’s up to the people from the community to decide and vote on it. It shouldn’t be up to the chapter officials.”

Williams, the secretary-treasurer for Tonalea Chapter, said the resolutions will be forwarded to other agencies, the Council speaker and the Office of the President and Vice President.

“That’s our hopes,” she said, “that we’re trying to get all these resolutions together before (the Council’s fall session) so we can have at least a Council delegate or two sponsor them for us.”

She added that Nygren and Montoya rarely visit the region.

“His (Nygren’s) office did try to attempt to come here to Tonalea but at the time we had meetings and other staff training going on and we asked to reschedule … and we still haven’t heard anything,” she said. “As for the vice president, I haven’t seen her since … she was running for election.”

Call for accountability

Western Agency Council President Dellard Curley said the votes were not political but about restoring trust.

“This, here, is a steppingstone to make sure that there’s accountability across the board,” he said. “We have to have the confidence in our leadership to make sure that they are executing everything to the T.”

He said all public officials must follow policies and procedures and be accountable for their actions.

Curley, the president for Ts’ahbiikin Chapter, said every level of government carries a fiduciary duty to protect the people’s money.

“We all have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that we maintain the transparency, the competence and integrity in our system of government,” he said. “We have to make sure that our constituents can trust the Navajo government in ensuring that their funds are being spent to the benefit of the Navajo people, not for one person or for their own self-interest.”

Four resolutions certified

Resolution No. WNAC25-10-SP01 asks the Council and Election Administration to place Nygren on administrative leave without pay and name Montoya acting president. It cites alleged breaches of fiduciary trust and misfeasance under Title 11 of the Navajo Nation Code and passed 13-6 with four abstaining.

Resolution WNAC25-10-SP02 supports Council Legislation 0219-25 to restore $8.1 million to the Legislative Branch and $941,000 to the Judiciary after Nygren’s September line-item vetoes. Western Agency Council officials said the cuts eliminated 28 Legislative positions and hurt judicial services. That measure passed 20-0 with three abstaining.

Resolution WNAC25-10-SP03 formally declares no confidence in both Nygren and Montoya and urges their suspension under Title 11 and Title 2 ethics laws to allow an impartial investigation. It passed 21-0 with three abstaining.

Resolution WNAC25-10-SP04 expands on those allegations, claiming mismanagement or loss of $24 million in housing funds tied to ZenniHome and Indigenous Design Studio and Architects and listing abuse of authority, neglect of duties, mismanagement, hostile work environments, and fraud, waste and abuse. It passed 21-0 with three abstaining.

Each resolution was signed by Curley, Angie Williams, the vice president for the Western Agency Council, and Latanya M. Williams and certified as adopted at the Oct. 12 meeting.

Legal framework, transparency

Agency councils cannot remove elected leaders but may recommend action to the Council. Title 11 Section 240 allows the Council to place an official on administrative leave for serious breaches of trust, provided due process is observed.

Curley said temporary disruption is worth protecting government integrity. “We need to ensure that there’s trust into the system,” he said. “Even the Navajo Nation Council needs to be able to disclose their audit findings. They put all of the chapter houses on scrutiny with their audit findings. But where is the accountability on that side for the Council? It’s the same thing with the Office of the President.”

Legislative, fiscal concerns

Delegate Shaandiin P. Parrish, the Budget and Finance Committee chair, attended to listen to chapters and explain the committee’s review of federal and tribal spending.

“I really do believe that the Creator puts you in a position for a reason,” she said in an interview. “So that’s why I was here today. It’s just to hear what the chapters had to say.”

She said Diné “want answers” and that transparency is essential.

Parrish said her committee introduced legislation for a formal investigation into federal funds. “Right now, there are six different topics that need to be investigated,” she said. “Maybe four of them are currently being pursued.”

She added that communication between the central government and chapters must improve. “The Government Development should be at the forefront of giving our chapters information about how the government is currently functioning.”

She said leadership must recognize and correct mistakes to avoid risk to public funds. “The president continues to make decisions and doesn’t learn from his mistakes,” she said. “That’s very concerning if a leader is not willing to admit they’re wrong. That shows there is a financial risk to the Nation.”

History and perspective

Tonalea Chapter Vice President Leslie Dele said the Western Agency Council’s actions follow past precedents set by former administrations.

“What we’re doing here, we did with (the late) Albert Hale, (who served as president from 1995 to 1998)” he said. “We had an oversight committee called Government Services. They dealt with him. As they discussed it, President Hale stepped down. Now, with Joe Shirley Jr., the Council put him on leave. About a month later, he returned.”

Historical records show that Hale resigned in February 1998 after reaching an agreement with prosecutors to avoid indictment over alleged misuse of tribal funds. They also show that in October 2009 the Council placed Joe Shirley Jr. on paid administrative leave while investigators examined possible ethical, civil and criminal violations tied to tribal contracts with two private companies.

Shirley was reinstated about seven weeks later, not one month, after the Attorney General’s investigation was dropped. The sequence Dele described remains broadly accurate, reflecting the Navajo Nation’s use of administrative leave and oversight procedures during prior political crises.

Dele said the current actions are part of a longer struggle to preserve the Nation’s self-governance. He cautioned against efforts to adopt a constitutional model, arguing that the Navajo Nation’s treaty-based government remains its foundation of sovereignty. He also recalled how former Chairman Peter MacDonald Sr. pushed the Bureau of Indian Affairs out of the Council Chamber in 1970, asserting tribal independence and limiting federal control.

What comes next

Williams said the resolutions will move quickly to Window Rock. “They will be forwarded to other agencies as well as the speaker of the 25th Navajo Nation Council and (other tribal offices),” she said. She added that agency officials hope the matter will be discussed during the Council’s fall session starting Monday.

The Western Agency Council’s actions are advisory but carry symbolic weight. Its unified votes signal a broad push for accountability. Curley said the intent is to protect the government’s integrity.

“As long as we can maintain the integrity in the government, that’s it,” he said. “I think that’s what the majority of the people are asking for.”

For now, the resolutions stand as the Western Agency Council’s message to naat’áanii in Tségháhoodzání that accountability, transparency and public trust must guide every decision made with the people’s money.

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