Former San Juan Farm board leader launches prez bid

TSÉBIGHÁHOODZÁNÍ

Dineh Benally had been hinting for months that he plans to run for Navajo Nation president again.

The former San Juan River Farm Board president will officially announce his campaign in Shiprock on Saturday, May 15. A rally will take place at the Catholic Center from noon to 5 p.m.

“I’ve been at this every year since 2014,” Benally said.

Benally, 45, was then candidate Joe Shirley Jr.’s pick for vice president eight years ago because Diné voters indicated they wanted a young candidate who would promote change. He also ran for president in 2018.

“I’m still seeing too many of our people dealing with social ills and high unemployment,” Benally said in an interview with the Navajo Times. “The Navajo Nation helped me get educated.

“It helped me obtain scholarships and go to school to get a degree,” he said. “My grandpa always told me, ‘When someone helps you, you go back and help the people.’”

Benally is the son of Donald Benally and the late Joann C. Benally. He is Bitáá’chii’nii (Táchii’nii) and born for Tó’aheedlíinii-Naakaii Dine’é. His maternal grandfather is Tódích’íi’nii, and his paternal grandfather is Naakaii Łizhinii (Nahiłii).

Dineh is married to Joyce Benally, and together they have four children.

Change maker

Benally is on a quest to transform the Navajo Nation for the better, everything from the economy and hardship to unemployment and violence.

And it starts with only a few steps, said Benally. It’s a risk, but the need is great.

“I don’t see the federal government providing that,” he said. “I know there’s enterprise established – Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority – but I don’t see individuals creating wealth for themselves.

“In order to build a nation, we have to move forward,” he said. “A lot of the problem we’re (Navajo Nation) having is we’re trying to invest, and we’re putting too much money into regulations and lawyers.”

The Navajo Nation president often receives legal advice from lawyers. Benally said the Nation is spending too much money on regulations, and those legal advisors know might not know how to navigate Diné Bikéyah.

“We’re tying ourselves up,” he said. “We’re putting too much into the regulation and too much into lawyers.

“Our people are not getting the resources they need to establish businesses and help their families because there’s no opportunity out there,” he explained. “The future is technology.”

Benally said Diné shouldn’t talk only about nááts’íílid and k’aabéésh to protect sovereignty – ak’ídádéest’į́į́.

“We have to look at technology and really exercise our sovereignty,” he said. “We need to build data centers (Bitcoin colocation hosting facilities).

“If the United States were to shut down, we’d have our own (electronic cash system) in place and operate from a financial standpoint, from a forward-thinking government standpoint,” he said.

“That needs to be implemented because, in order to be a great Nation, we have to control our own technology,” he said.

Crypto, employment growth

Outside of Diné Bikéyah, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gone from curiosity to punchline to investment, making many people wealthy.

That’s hard to ignore, said Benally, who sees a Navajo Nation future where the internet runs on blockchain-based tokens.

Crypto is a lot of different things, and it’s inescapable, said Benally.

In November, he told the Times that blockchain, a digital record that tracks cryptocurrency transactions, would be safer and faster in the Nation.

He said then if Diné didn’t get in the know about this technology, it would be a missed opportunity to defend Navajo sovereignty.

“We need to incorporate that into our Nation so future generations can use it,” Benally said.

“And I want to bring jobs to our Nation,” he said. “We’re not pushing that. I don’t see it. We have a shortage of homes, and we need to build houses for our people.

“And I want to make sure young people get educated and come home to work for the Navajo people,” he said. “We have so much opportunity to be great, but we’re not pushing forward.”

Benally said what’s most important to Diné varies, including safe communities and a strong economy, because many families don’t have enough emergency savings.

The public’s priorities need to be addressed, said Benally.

“To beat these issues, you have to create jobs for people,” he said. “I’m talking about the people who are dealing with social ills and problems.

“Some of our own people are on the streets,” he said. “We’ve got agriculture, we can move forward with green energy. We have rivers, mountains – there’s so much we can do.

“To me, you have to be a leader that’s willing to stay what you’re going to do,” he said.

Hemp empire

Benally was accused of growing illegal marijuana around his family home two years ago.

He and his businesses – Native American Agriculture Co. and Navajo Gold Co. – were accused of running an industrial hemp operation within the Navajo Nation and unlawfully issuing tribal land permits to foreign entities to grow and cultivate hemp.

Navajo Attorney General Doreen McPaul said the tribe at that time received numerous complaints, tips, and warnings about the illegal activities.

The Navajo Police also issued a warning against cultivating marijuana or hemp after confirming that authorities investigated complaints about a growth operation near Shiprock.

While people had thoroughly disputed the matter, it wouldn’t stop him from running for tribal president again, regardless of what people may say.

“We were on our third year on this project,” Benally said. “We’ve had meetings with the tribal government. We met with President Jonathan Nez, Vice President Myron Lizer, the attorney general, the speaker, Council, and former officials, telling them our farmers want prosperity and wealth.

“We used our own resources,” he said. “I did not ask a single dime from the Navajo Tribe, and we were ready to generate and provide a great opportunity for the people. Yes, maybe there are certain things we didn’t do properly, but that’s part of starting a business.”

Benally said he and his team of 400 Diné and non-Native workers – who taught Benally and others how to grow hemp – were near the finish line when the state, federal, and tribe ended the operation, which he says violated the Navajo treaty.

His workers comprised sub-contractors, electricians, carpenters and welders. Some workers cleaned up the hemp farms, removed trees, and cleaned ditches.

He said his businesses and project injected millions of dollars into local and border town businesses such as the Home Depot and Lowe’s.

“It broke my heart,” Benally said. “But what I’ve learned is that we have to all forgive.

“I can’t go back. We have to look forward,” he said. “I know the Almighty God has a bigger path for us. I know we can take this opportunity that we missed out on. I know there’s going to be more out there for us. We just have to be positive.”

Benally said building multimillion-dollar projects like this is a leader’s job.

“That leader has to help see the future for the people,” Benally said. “And I feel that God has given me that strength. And that’s what I’m telling our people now: the future is technology.

“We are so resilient as Navajo,” he said, “but there’s going to be a time it may not happen.”

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