Weapons pulled outside the Gallup Indian Medical Center

Staff Reports

On June 21, shortly after noon, Gallup police responded to a call at the Gallup Indian Medical Center after an employee said there was a male who pulled a firearm and demanded money from someone outside the building.

The male with the weapon was described as Native American, about six feet tall, with a thin build and short hair, wearing a black and white checkered long sleeve shirt and blue jeans.

Police talked to the victim; also a male.  That person, later identified as Elijah Ivan Touchine, of Churchrock, said the man with the gun was Isaiah.  That was the only name he knew him by.  Touchine said the two were...

The Gallup Business Improvement District spent time during their two recent meetings discussing the operating budget for FY19-20.

The budget draft presented June 26 shows a total income of about $371,185 against expenses totaling $304,788, for a net income of $66,397.

One of the main talking points was the amount spent on marketing, a total of $13,350. Of that amount, the BID plans to spend $6,000 on print advertising.

The question then was where and how the print advertising would be handled.

District member Sammy Chioda said June 26 that running a quarterly ad in a local publication and updating the Gallup BID website to direct visitors to downtown businesses is a good move for the...

Zuni Olla Maidens are all blood relations

The Zuni Olla Maidens make the Summer Night Indian Dances in Gallup a sight to behold. The dances showcase different Native American tribes in traditional regalia, performing cultural dances and songs. In the case of The Zuni Olla Maidens, they are one of the few pottery dancing groups still active today.

From the Pueblo of Zuni come the Zuni Olla Maidens, an all-female group, who balance painted pottery jars on their heads as they perform dances to the beat of drums. The group sings songs of social dance and blessing, learned from the men of the pueblo, while balancing an “olla” on their heads. “Olla” is the Spanish word for...

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the 2014 death of Amy Lynn Hanson.

Hanson, who lived in Tohatchi, N.M., was last seen alive two days before her body was found in an arroyo at State Route 602 and Blue Medicine Well Road in Red Rock, N.M., on the Navajo Nation, on Nov. 30, 2014.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Hanson was 25 years old at the time of her death.

The FBI and Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety have been investigating since Hanson’s body was discovered.

Anyone with information about Hanson’s death is asked to call the FBI at (505) 889-1300...