WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The 25th Navajo Nation Council passed Legislation No. 0264-24, an emergency measure to ensure that Navajo Nation Fiscal Recovery Funds are fully obligated and expended before the U.S. Treasury’s deadlines of Dec. 31, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2026 on Dec. 16.

Speaker Crystalyne Curley, who sponsored the legislation, and Chair Shaandiin Parrish, who co-sponsored, highlighted the Council’s commitment to expending ARPA funding, emphasizing that the 25th Navajo Nation Council worked diligently to address funding oversight.

“We gathered updated information, held work sessions, and reviewed ARPA reports during Naabik'íyáti’ Committee meetings,” Curley said...

APACHE COUNTY, Ariz. — Navajo Nation First Lady Jasmine Blackwater-Nygren is making history as the first woman and Indigenous person to hold the Apache County attorney position. Besides being the First Lady of the Navajo Nation, she is also a former state representative.

Apache County Supervisors voted for Blackwater-Nygren with two yes votes and one no. She was officially sworn into the position on Dec. 16.

Blackwater-Nygren’s appointment comes after the Arizona State Board suspended  former Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting’s law license on Nov. 1.

Despite the suspension, Whiting still won reelection during the 2024 General Election on Nov. 5.

Whiting is facing multiple...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — During a special session held on Dec. 16, the 25th Navajo Nation Council voted 13 in favor and six opposed supporting Legislation No. 0242-24, an action to remove Ethel Branch as the Navajo Nation Attorney General.

Legislation 0242-24, sponsored by Law and Order Committee Chair Eugenia Charles-Newton, was passed as part of a consent agenda, without any discussion from the Council.

The Attorney General is appointed by the Navajo Nation President and confirmed by the Navajo Nation Council. In accordance with Title II of the Navajo Nation Code, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General serve at the pleasure of the Council.

Title II states, “the Deputy...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has been cleared of Vice President Richelle Montoya’s sexual harassment claim, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Justice.

“Now that I have been cleared, we need to move forward as a Nation and a people,” Nygren said on Dec.16. “This false allegation against me as President of the Navajo Nation has divided and hurt the entire Navajo Nation. We need to heal from this and focus on moving forward.”

A preliminary investigation was launched by DOJ on April 19 after Montoya accused Nygren on social media of sexually harassing her during an August 2023 meeting.

On Dec. 16, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel...