Tue 19 Aug 2008
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., and Navajo Nation Vice president Ben Shelly told Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama that the nation’s largest tribe needs federal help to bring jobs and economic opportunity to Navajoland. (more…)
Sun 17 Aug 2008
(CNN) — Heavy overnight rains flooded a stretch of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of tourists and residents, officials said Sunday. (more…)
Thu 19 Jun 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.-A call to put pressure on the
House of Representatives to take up the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, S. 1200, was made this morning at the U.S. Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee meeting in the Capitol.
Tue 3 Jun 2008
RAPID CITY, S.D.-Vying for the core support of
the largest Native American tribe Sen. Barack Obama met on Saturday with Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly at a town hall meeting with the candidate.
“I was very pleased to meet with Senator Obama,” said Vice President Shelly. “I was notthere to make an endorsement,” said the vice president, “but instead to show Senator Obamawhat Navajo is doing and to instead ask for his support.”
Thu 22 May 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a meeting this week with outgoing Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman, Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly secured nearly a half million dollars for the construction of a 126 mile fence that border western Navajo. Vice President Shelly was accompanied with Council Delegate Jack Colorado in the meeting with the Assistant Secretary. (more…)
Tue 20 May 2008
CROW AGENCY, Mont. (AP) — Pledging to usher in a new era of honest federal dealings with Indian tribes, Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama on Monday made an unprecedented stop in Montana Indian country for a rally at the Crow reservation.
More: continued here
Mon 19 May 2008
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Indian educator lauded
Cibola County Beacon, NM - … from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., and an master of arts in educational administration from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz. … |
More: continued here
Wed 14 May 2008
A Navajo Nation man is in jail after allegedly stabbing his brother to death during a fight Friday.
More: continued here
Mon 21 Apr 2008
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A Hopi village is developing a $92.5 million retail, lodging and commerce center that tribal officials hope will help capture millions of tourist dollars.Named the ”Gateway to Hopiland,” the project in the Upper Village of Moenkopi will include a 100-room hotel and conference center, fast-food restaurants, a grocery store, art gallery and a building that could serve as a university branch on 72 acres across the highway from Tuba City, which is on the Navajo Nation.
Notably absent is a casino - the Hopi have consistently rejected gaming enterprises on their reservation.
A $6 million travel center with a car wash, gas station, convenience store and tax-free tobacco is already being built. More than 1 million drivers a year pass by the area, which is on U.S. 160 about 50 miles north of Flagstaff.
”This helps us at the village level, creates jobs, and it also provides opportunity for individuals to become entrepreneurs,” said Dan Honahni, president and CEO of Moenkopi Developers Corp. Inc.
Wed 16 Apr 2008
PAGE — In an 11th hour reprieve, managers of the local detox center have come to an agreement with the Navajo Nation allowing the center to remain open and continue providing a place for intoxicated individuals to spend the night and get help with their drinking.The center was set to close its doors on April 11 due to a cutoff in aid from the tribe, which indicated that it needed to shift funds from the Page detox center to a new facility being built in New Mexico. That aid amounted to $139,000 annually, and helped the local center provide a place for intoxicated individuals to spend the night rather than risk exposure to the elements.The center has been credited with saving many lives as well as helping steer people with alcohol problems into treatment.
Lake Powell Chronicle
Tue 15 Apr 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources received testimony this week on the Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments Act. The House bill, HR 5608, was introduced last month by Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, II, DWV-3.
Navajo Nation President Dr. Joe Shirley, Jr. testified in support of the bill that strengthens federal government accountability in any consultation with tribes.“Chairman Rahall, your legislation would be a welcome change to what has become the standard Washington refrain,” said President Shirley before the House Committee. “The legislation would recognize the relationship between the federal government and Native Nations as one of government-to-government, that we as tribal governments have a right to sovereignty, and a right to self-determination.”
Fri 11 Apr 2008
A federal panel’s decision Thursday to officially rename Squaw Peak after fallen soldier Lori Piestewa is a miracle, a blessing and a controversy that needs to end, her mother said.Priscilla Piestewa said she wants Piestewa Peak in Phoenix to serve as a symbol for all those in the military who make sacrifices to protect the United States.“But I hope that all the tension can be over,” she said. “I hope more people will come together for peace. If we can’t find peace at home, how can we find peace in the world?”
In an 11-2 vote, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, whose members represent Agriculture, Homeland Security and other federal departments, agreed to change the name of the summit, a move that follows action taken by a state panel in 2003. The new name will be used on maps and other federal publications, although “Squaw Peak” may appear on such documents as a second reference.
Thu 10 Apr 2008
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The Navajo Nation’s chief of police was placed on paid administrative leave this week, but tribal officials wouldn’t say why.Police Chief Jim Benally declined to comment Wednesday. Samson Cowboy, director of public safety for the tribe, said the issue is an internal matter and declined to discuss it further.
“When we do internal issues, we like to keep it that way, stick with the policy,” he said.
Benally will be on leave until at least Tuesday, and Cowboy said he then will assess whether to extend it. Window Rock Capt. Ronnie Wauneka is serving as chief in Benally’s absence.
Fri 4 Apr 2008
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Utah-based company that provides public Internet access to the Navajo Nation plans to shut off the tribe’s service Monday, leaving thousands of Navajos without online access to do school work, post community announcements or communicate with others across the 27,000 square-mile reservation.“It’s going to be a sad day,” said Ernest Franklin, director of the tribe’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. The shutdown stems from a decision by Universal Service Administration Company — which administers the E-rate program under the Federal Communications Commission — to withhold $2.1 million in reimbursement funds to OnSat Network Communications Inc. over concerns about a federal audit of the Utah-based company.
Sun 30 Mar 2008
MEADOW LAKE, N.M.—A teenager accused in the death of a Meadow Lake man has surrendered to authorities.Brittany Brylowe, 19, turned herself in Friday night, Valencia County sheriff’s deputies said.Brylowe and Daniel Penrod were arrested Thursday in Flagstaff, Ariz., driving a stolen car, but Brylowe was released before authorities there discovered she had been charged in last week’s death of George Burns, 59.
Investigators said Burns had wounds on his upper body and head. Both suspects are facing murder charges.
Brylowe was being held at the Valencia County Detention Center on a $200,000 cash-only bond.
Penrod was in custody in Arizona, also on a $200,000 bond.
Fri 28 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Navajo Nation took a giant leap forward toward developing renewable wind energy this month by signing an agreement with Citizens Enterprises Corporation, the energy development subsidiary of nationally-renowned Citizens Energy Corporation and the Navajo Nation’s wholesale energy enterprise, the Diné Power Authority (DPA), to move work forward on the development of utility-scale wind energy projects on Navajo lands.The agreement, signed by Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., Citizens Energy Chairman and President Joseph P. Kennedy II, DPA and other key Navajo entities solidifies an on-going partnership that anticipates the development of more than 500 MW of wind energy in several locations throughout the Navajo Nation.
Mon 24 Mar 2008
FLAGSTAFF - The beat of drums, rattle of traditional shakers and hum of chanting fill the room as 10 teens from the Navajo Nation and other tribes join in what’s known as a drum circle.It’s an after-school activity at the Kinlani Bordertown Dormitory, a place where nearly 150 Native American youths live while they study at Flagstaff High School. As they pursue their education, the dorm’s staff works to make sure the students continue developing the values important back home.
“Our culture isn’t completely forgotten here,” said Cherish Tso, who is a senior from the Navajo Nation.
“Here, people aren’t afraid to express it,” said freshman Nicolas Begay, a fellow Navajo.
Wed 12 Mar 2008
The first Native American appointed to the Arizona Board of Regents admits she was surprised at her appointment.But those people who have worked with LuAnn Leonard aren’t. “She is compassionate about education,” said Wayne Taylor Jr., a financial adviser and former chairman and vice chairman of the Hopi Tribe. “She is driven and a hard worker.”
The executive director of the Hopi Education Endowment Fund for the Hopi Tribe has been named to an eight-year term on the governing body for the state’s three universities.
This year, the two appointments to the board are both from areas with a population of fewer than 800,000 people, as mandated by state law. Leonard and Bob McLendon, a former Arizona House Democratic leader from Yuma, are replacing Christina Palacios and Gary Stuart, whose terms expired.
Leonard and McLendon were confirmed by the full Senate last week and served on their first meeting as voting members of the Board of Regents on Thursday and Friday.
Mon 10 Mar 2008
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., today vetoed a $17 million appropriation resolution after a request for $1 million for the Navajo Nation’s weather-related state of emergency had ballooned for non-emergency purposes.In his veto message to Navajo Nation Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, the President said he requested $1 million to help address weather-related emergency throughout the Navajo Nation.
“However, with one amendment, requests to fund projects, which were not emergencies, ballooned to an amount of over $17 million, and added on as riders to the emergency legislation,” he said.
The President said legislation to address funding for national emergencies needs to stand alone without amendments added for funding from the undesignated, unreserved fund.
Mon 4 Feb 2008
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., told KTNN listeners on Thursday that he and First Lady Vikki Shirley plan to vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton on Feb. 5.“The biggest thing I think is everything in Native America starts with sovereignty,” the President later told the Associated Press. “Sovereignty is a sacred thing to us. They found us with our sovereignty. Sovereignty in the simplest terms is independence. They found us independent, very fierce and very proud.
“And they took a lot of that away, but they didn’t take all of our sovereignty away, not the Navajo Nation. We still have our color, we still have our language, we still have our ceremonies, our sacred stories, our land, our way of life.
