15 water der complicate say souls sept vibrant ballots feeds lacks los sells ballot van restrictions woman nation continuity ap hopefuls ariz going narrow tribe state election slice navajos angeles

Articles for Navajos

This epic slice of Arizona feeds their souls but lacks a basic necessity: Water
8 months, 2 weeks ago

This epic slice of Arizona feeds their souls but lacks a basic necessity: Water

LA Times  

Gilarya Begaye looks out across the brush-blanketed pastures, red-dirt plains and flat-topped mesas that surround her home in the Navajo Nation. “My heart’s always been here.” But for all the ways that living on the reservation feeds the soul, one basic necessity has been sorely lacking for Begaye, her six children and other Navajos: water. Water barrels lie empty at …

Water Arizona Los Angeles Der Brian Navajo Nation
‘My heart was always just with the sheep.’ One Navajo’s push to keep tradition vibrant
1 year, 1 month ago

‘My heart was always just with the sheep.’ One Navajo’s push to keep tradition vibrant

Associated Press  

GANADO, Ariz. — Growing up in Ganado, a small town in Navajo Nation in eastern Arizona, Nikyle Begay always wanted to visit their grandmother’s sheep. Nikyle Begay shears a sheep Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, on the Navajo Nation in Ganado, Ariz. Begay’s family used to have around 150 head, but that isn’t possible now. Nikyle Begay teaches a weaving class …

Sept Nation Navajo Nation Navajo Wool John Locher Ariz
How a solar eclipse threw a remote Utah town — and its Navajo workforce — into crisis
1 year, 2 months ago

How a solar eclipse threw a remote Utah town — and its Navajo workforce — into crisis

LA Times  

When Mayor Ann Leppanen learned that the moon would cross in front of the sun above her home on Saturday, she foresaw calamity: a tidal wave of tourists engulfing her tiny town as they pursued the annular eclipse, with its spectacular ring of fire. “If even 1,000 people show up, it will be a disaster,” Leppanen said last month, shaking …

Tourism Traffic Ash Small Town Eclipse Tourists
Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park
1 year, 6 months ago

Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It was supposed to be a homecoming of sorts for U.S. But her return to Chaco Culture National Historical Park on Sunday was derailed when a group of Navajo landowners blocked the road, upset with the Biden administration’s recent decision to enshrine for the next 20 years what previously had been an informal 10-mile buffer around the …

Interior Land Biden Withdrawal Park Haaland Navajos
Navajo presidential hopefuls represent change or continuity
2 years, 1 month ago

Navajo presidential hopefuls represent change or continuity

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Navajos next week will choose whether to elect a president who has never held political office or one whose career in tribal government spans two decades. Incumbent President Jonathan Nez and challenger Buu Nygren emerged as the top two vote-getters among 15 candidates in the tribe’s primary election in August. Nygren’s energy in some ways resembles what …

Tribal President Nation Navajo Nation Navajo Shirley Nez
Navajos narrow list of 15 presidential hopefuls in primary
2 years, 4 months ago

Navajos narrow list of 15 presidential hopefuls in primary

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Natalia Sells has a list of qualities she wants to see in the next Navajo Nation president: Approachable. The field includes incumbent Jonathan Nez, former Navajo Vice President Frank Dayish Jr., former tribal Attorney General Ethel Branch, attorney Justin Jones, and Buu Van Nygren, the vice presidential candidate from 2018. I think it’s going to be an …

Tribal President Nation Tribe Navajo Nation Navajo Sells
Navajos say new Arizona restrictions will complicate voting
3 years, 7 months ago

Navajos say new Arizona restrictions will complicate voting

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona Republicans say the voter restrictions they’re pushing after President Joe Biden’s win in the state last year are designed to strengthen the integrity of future elections. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said Ducey’s actions belittle tribes and fail to recognize the unique challenges Native Americans face when casting ballots. “Here in Arizona, it’s pushing back on …

Voting Election Democratic Arizona Native Americans State Voters