Chief Justice JoAnn Jayne delivered her quarterly message to the Navajo Nation Council on the first day of the summer session on July 20.  In her message, she outlined the Judicial Branch’s response to the public health emergency due to COVID-19. The Judicial Branch had to immediately take protective measures by restricting travel, approving teleworking for certain employees, and quickly developing methodical processes for continued operations of essential services.

“The safety of our employees is our number one priority and the safety of the public is also our number one priority,” Jayne said. “We knew right away that we had to provide stability, we had to provide...

‘All powers originate from the Navajo people’

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer are calling on the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors to move forward with a referendum measure in the upcoming Navajo Nation General Election by allowing Navajo voters to decide whether or not Navajo Nation law should be amended to state that “all powers originate from the Navajo people” and that the “Navajo people maintain the inherent power and authority to govern themselves.” If approved by voters, the ballot measure would codify and protect the Navajo peoples’ inherent right of governance over those in tribal government.

As a...

The Indian Health Service and The University of New Mexico School of Medicine have partnered to create a family medicine residency program at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock. The announcement was made on July 22.

“I want to extend my most sincere congratulations to the Indian Health Service for establishing this unique and crucially important training program,” Paul B. Roth, MD, MS, UNM’s Chancellor for Health Sciences said. “It reflects the commitment and creativity of our faculty working side-by-side with IHS and the Navajo government to address their medical workforce needs.”

“The Indian Health Service is excited to work with the University of New Mexico...

Courts duel over restaurants reopening

The New Mexico Supreme Court granted an emergency request by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to stay an order issued earlier that on July 20 in Carlsbad.

That Carlsbad order by Judge Raymond Romero of the Fifth Judicial District Court in Eddy and Chaves counties would have allowed indoor dining at restaurants in New Mexico, despite an emergency health order to the contrary. The decision came at the request of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, which was seeking to overturn the governor’s emergency health order July 13 (7.13.20-PHO-1).

The order from Carlsbad said that restaurants and breweries in the state could reopen indoor dining at...