“Skoden vote!”

Anyone who’s driven around Window Rock and surrounding communities has seen these signs popping up more frequently as of late. The 2024 Presidential Election is just days away, on Nov. 5. Republican Candidate Donald Trump and Democrat Candidate Kamala Harris are making their final critical pushes in the waning days, as are their running mates.

Vice President candidate Tim Walz traveled to Arizona on Oct. 26 to speak at a rally in Phoenix, but he made a stop closer to home for the Sun first: the Navajo Nation.

MARCHING FORWARD

Walz arrived after 1 pm at the Gallup Municipal Airport for a brief press event with city officials. Then, the candidate’s motorcade traveled toward Window Rock for a rally in the Navajo Nation capital.

Before Walz took the stage, the enthusiastic crowd heard numerous speakers share their support for the Harris-Walz campaign. These speakers spoke about the significance of this election and why they were there to support the Democratic candidates.

The event carried a sullen air at times due to the passing of Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr., which happened just days prior on Oct. 19. But his death resonated with the discussion of respect for the nation’s veterans and Indigenous peoples from multiple speakers, including Congressional Candidate and former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

“I speak today to honor our warriors and our Code Talkers,” Nez said in his address to the crowd.  Our veterans and their families, we thank you for your service. […] Today, we honor their sacrifices by actively participating in the democratic processes.”

Nez told the crowd that they possess a powerful tool: their vote.

“As Native Americans, our voices have long been marginalized, but now is the time for us to reclaim our power and make our presence felt,” he said. “Voting is not just a right; it is a responsibility we carry forward in [our veterans’] memory.”

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland followed Nez and spoke about the Democratic Party’s slogan for this election: “We’re Not Going Back.”

“On Nov. 5, we have the power to decide between a new way forward for America or the same old tired playbook of a former president,” Haaland said. “[We can choose] between our Vice President Kamala Harris and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz, both laser-focused on the future, or Donald Trump, who wants to drag us back to the past,” she said.

Haaland emphasized the Democrat candidates’ middle-class backgrounds as a point that many people in the crowd in Window Rock could understand.

“I will fight for Kamala Harris because she understands that story too. She has always fought for the middle class, for families like mine, and families like yours, because she knows what it means to be middle class. Throughout her career in public service, her only client ever has been the people,” Haaland said.

BUILDING SUPPORTIVE RELATIONS

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren spoke about the significance of Diné history, culture, and tribal sovereignty when he took the stage. He stated that the Navajo Nation will support candidates who will support them back by preserving these important foundations.

“As Navajos, we have survived the Long Walk of the 1860s, our veterans turned the tide in World Wars,” Nygren said. “Navajos have lived through forced relocation. We continue to speak our Navajo language, and we are still here. We cherish and practice our culture, we continue to instill our ancient teachings in our children. We hold the rainbow of our sovereignty in the highest regard.”

Nygren also mentioned the official apology given by U.S. President Joe Biden to Native American tribes for the tragic history of Indigenous boarding schools as well as Walz’s commitment towards Indigenous tribes within his state.

“President Joe Biden’s apology to Native nations is an important step toward healing, toward being heard, toward our pains being acknowledge, and toward the first Americans being prioritized, “Nygren said. “... Governor Walz was the first governor to visit all 11 nations in Minnesota. In 2021, [he] signed a bill codifying government-to-government relations with tribal consultation into law.”

Next to speak was Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who also highlighted the support from the Democratic candidates in the past and the future.

“Governor Walz could be anywhere in the country,” Kelly said. “But he’s here in Window Rock, because he and Kamala Harris care about you. They care about this community, and they care about the unique challenges that you all face. They care about earning your vote so they can partner with you to solve these challenges.”

One of the points that multiple speakers brought up was the reported playbook that Trump plans to use if he is elected, called Project 2025. Kelly also mentioned the former president’s disparaging quotes about veterans, which spurred numerous reactions from the crowd.

“His Project 2025 will threaten tribal and public lands and roll back environmental protections,” Kelly said. “How do we keep that from happening? It’s all about who works harder.”

Kelly wrapped up his statement by encouraging people to vote.

“The first order of business, make a plan to vote! Once you got it figured out, I want you to help your friends and family members to vote as well,” he said. “At this point, this is the entire election. The difference could be here on the Navajo Nation.”

WALZ TAKES THE STAGE

Once the music blared to signal the arrival of Walz, the crowd’s enthusiasm reached its peak. He began his speech by voicing his appreciation to the Navajo Nation for welcoming him on their land.

“I understand it is a privilege to be standing here on Navajo land and I am grateful that you would see fit to bring me here and I try and ask and earn your vote,” Walz said.

Just as all the preceding speakers voiced their support for Walz, he returned their support by urging the crowd to vote for Nez for Congress. He then thanked Nygren, Haaland, and Kelly for their accomplishments, and all the Navajo veterans in attendance and throughout history for their service to their country.

“You could be anywhere, you could be doing anything else, but you chose to come here because you understand that democracy matters,” Walz said. “Your love of the Navajo Nation and of the United States is strong, and your presence here is proof of that. We’re here because we’re not taking any vote for granted.”

The governor’s methods for this election are simple: they’re running like everything’s on the line because everything is on the line. He spoke about coming to the Navajo Nation to earn the Navajo vote because this visit shows how committed they are to serving the nation.

“I’m proud to be on this ticket with Kamala Harris because it’s pretty simple,” he said. “She has had one client, one focus her entire career: the people. When people came to ask her for help, she simply said ‘How can I help?’”

The crowd was receptive to Walz’s message about supporting and working with tribal nations in Minnesota and the rest of the country. Frequent cheers and enthusiastic whoops punctuated nearly his entire speech.

“I’ve been fortunate to work closely with our 11 sovereign tribal communities,” Walz said. “We run as a ticket in Minnesota. My partner in this work, Lt. Governor Peggy Flangan, is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. She will become this nation’s first ever Native woman governor of a state when we win this race,” Walz said. “... Kamala and I recognize that a new way forward is not just what Indian Country needs, but the rest of the country needs.”

Walz then listed several key issues that Native nations face with higher disparity: the rate at which women go missing or are killed, the challenges with raising a newborn child, and healthcare, including the price of insulin.

He also reiterated that the one reason that millions of Americans still have access to healthcare following the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act by Trump was because former Arizona Sen. John McCain did not support the motion.

Other dismissive acts by the former president were also brought up.

“Time and time again, Donald Trump had to do what was right for Indian Country, and he chose the opposite,” Walz said. “He had a chance to show you [he cared]. Instead, he excluded tribal businesses from receiving pandemic emergency relief. He tried to remove most of Bears Ears National Monument. He made it harder for tribes to reclaim ancestral lands, and he even tried to derecognize tribes.”

WHEN WE VOTE…

As Walz’s time wound down in Window Rock, he spent his last words urging the crowd to make sure that they vote and get their family and other community members to vote as well.

“If everyone one of us here goes and gets our family and gets them out to vote, we can tell them [the election] matters,” Walz said. “It matters who’s in the White House. It matters who cares about sovereignty. It matters who cares about our children.”

Then, to close out his speech, Walz shared the words often stated by Harris, except with one word switched to fit the tone on Election Day.

“When we vote, we win. Let’s go win this thing!”

Multiple speakers urged the crowd to visit https://iwillvote.com/ to determine their nearest polling location and other important details ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

By Cody Begaye

Contributing Editor

LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. — U.S. President Joe Biden delivered an apology on Oct. 25 for a U.S. policy that forcibly separated generations of Indigenous children from their families for more than 150 years and sent them to federally backed boarding schools for forced assimilation.

During his remarks, Biden called for a moment of silence in remembrance of hundreds of thousands of Native American children who were impacted by the boarding school system that forcefully removed them from their homes, aiming to assimilate them into mainstream American culture. Generations of Indigenous children experienced loss of language, culture, and community. Many suffered physical and mental abuse, and many lost their lives.

“I formally apologize as President of the United States of America for what we did,” Biden said. “It’s long overdue.”

At least 18,000 children were taken from their families and forced to attend more than 400 boarding schools across 37 states or then-territories between 1819 and 1969. Three years ago, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, commissioned the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to review the schools’ impacts on Native Americans.

The final report, issued this summer, found at least 973 Native American children died while attending these federal boarding schools. The report showed that Navajo children experienced the greatest number of deaths than any other tribe during the boarding school era.

Biden acknowledged that “no apology can or will make up for what was lost during the darkness of the federal boarding school policy.”

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren expressed gratitude to Biden for his apology to Native nations for the harm caused by federal and church-run Indian boarding schools.

“I deeply appreciate President Biden’s acknowledgment of this painful chapter,” Nygren said. “For generations, Native children, including many Navajo, endured an education system that aimed to erase our languages, cultures, and identities.”

Speaker Crystalyne Curley also accepted Biden’s apology.

“President Biden’s apology is a critical acknowledgment of past injustices and wrongdoings by the federal government, and it lays the groundwork for continued healing,” Curley said. “This moment is both a recognition of what our children endured and a commitment to a better future where our voices, cultures, and traditions are protected and celebrated.”

Staff Reports

Gallup Municipal Airport to offer flights to Las Vegas soon

Advanced Air introduced their services to the Gallup Municipal Airport in August 2022. Now, over two years later, as demand has continued to increase, they’re adding a few more flights to their roster.

With the help of a grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation Aviation Division Rural Air Service Enhancement program, Advanced Air will now offer flights to Henderson, N.V. and even more flights to Phoenix. This new grant will run simultaneously alongside the existing airline service grant that was recently extended for years three and four. Both grants end on July 30, 2026.

The new grant is for over $4.3 million. Each year almost $2.2 million will be provided with the State’s 90% match of almost $2 million and the city’s 10% match of just over $200,000. Matching funding will be provided by the city’s general fund.

At the Oct. 8 city council meeting, Gallup’s Public Works Director Robert Hamblen explained why Gallup received the new grant.

“From what I’m hearing Gallup is doing very well with our program, pretty much better than anybody else in the state at this point,” he said.

Hamblen said people had been telling city and Advanced Airline staff that they would be interested in direct flights to Las Vegas.

But the Gallup Municipal Airport can’t offer flights to Las Vegas until it can host Transportation Security Administration services. TSA agents check that no one is bringing illegal drugs onto an airplane, which is a requirement for all flights coming into Las Vegas.

Hamblen explained that the airport’s current terminal is too outdated for TSA services. It was built in the late ‘40s. It isn’t currently outfitted with TSA equipment.

So instead of Las Vegas, passengers flying in from Gallup will fly into the Henderson Executive Airport. Henderson, N.V. is only a 15-minute drive from Las Vegas.

Passengers will be able to fly to the new location starting Nov. 4.

UPGRADING THE TERMINAL

The city is currently working on building a new modern terminal, which will support TSA agents. Hamblen said they are looking for funding so they can pay a company to complete the design element of the project.

When the new terminal is finally complete, the airport will be able to support 20-passenger aircrafts instead of only nine.

Besides the new location, Hamblen said the airport is also looking to offer a variety of new flight times.

Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, expressed dissatisfaction with the current flight times for flights to and from Phoenix. Those flights typically arrive and depart at noon. Piano said that for the average businessperson who may have to fly to Phoenix for work, the noon flight can mean they lose half the workday.

Hamblen said the flight schedule will change. Starting on Nov. 4, the Gallup Municipal Airport will offer both morning and evening flights to and from Phoenix on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

The Henderson flights will take off and come back to Gallup on Monday and Friday mornings and evenings.

Hamblen said the flight schedule is flexible, and if the city sees more demand for Las Vegas flights than Phoenix flights, they could add more and get rid of some of the Phoenix flights, or vice versa.

After every six months, flights will be re-evaluated and modified.

A one-way ticket to Phoenix cost $85 plus tax and a one-way ticket to Henderson cost $125 plus tax.

Hamblen mentioned that the city had considered a flight to Albuquerque, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth it.

“It’s just not feasible, you can get there within an hour and a half driving,” Hamblen said.

Staff Reports