SANTA FE —Gov. Susana Martinez announced July 12 that Department of Indian Affairs Cabinet Secretary Kelly Zunie will be stepping down to pursue other opportunities.

“Secretary Zunie has been a strong asset in building and growing our relationships with New Mexico’s tribes, nations and pueblos,” Martinez said. “Her leadership helped us work with Native American communities throughout the state to strengthen schools, improve healthcare and create more economic opportunities for all our families. Her skills and experience will be missed.”

Governor Martinez appointed Zunie as cabinet secretary in November of 2014, and she was the first woman to lead the Department. Since her...

ALBUQUERQUE – Abner Joe, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty t in federal court in Albuquerque July 12, to assaulting a federal officer.

Joe was arrested on Aug. 10, 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a federal officer.  According to the complaint, Joe assaulted an officer of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety on Aug. 4, 2016, by spitting on her and threatening her with a hammer and a wooden board. At the time of the assault, the tribal officer was commissioned as a Special Federal Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.

Joe was indicted on Aug. 23, 2016, and charged with assaulting a...

ALBUQUERQUE – Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that hundreds of New Mexico students will receive refund checks from DeVry University as part of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement over deceptive statements made by DeVry about their job prospects and earning potential after graduation. On July 5th, the FTC began mailing 173,000 refund checks worth more than $49 million to some students who attended the school between 2008 and 2015. The checks will expire 60 days after they are mailed so it is important for former students in New Mexico to watch the mail.

“Ensuring that New Mexico students who are deceived by for-profit schools get their hard earned dollars back into...

ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Curley, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guiltyin federal court in Albuquerque July 10, to an assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Curley was arrested in Nov. 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Navajo woman by stabbing her in the leg and sternum area with a knife.

Curley was indicted on Dec. 20, 2016, and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife, with intent to do bodily injury and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, the offenses took place on Nov. 20, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan...