Navajo Tribal Council

Navajo Reapportionment Map

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Navajo Times via Pechanga:

The reapportionment map representing the plan approved Friday. PDFDownload a large-format PDF version of the map. (2.1 MB, requires Adobe Reader.)

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The Navajo Board of Election Supervisors approved on Friday a reapportionment plan dividing the Navajo Nation into 24 voting districts for a new, reduced tribal council election.

The board also voted to extend the filing deadline for council delegate candidates by one business day, to 5 p.m. Monday, June 14. This will give candidates at least a little time to acquaint themselves with the new apportionment plan, the board said.

“This is good,” said President Joe Shirley Jr., who presented the plan approved by the board. “This is something we should have done a long time ago. We are moving along and progressing.”
The board unanimously approved both measures.

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Navajo Tribal Council Overrides Veto of Law that Would Limit Application of Dine Fundamental Law

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

News article via Indianz:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Navajo lawmakers voted Tuesday to override the veto of a bill that prohibits tribal judges from using a set of laws based on centuries-old traditional values and customs in court cases.

The Tribal Council voted 67-11 in favor of the override during a special session in Window Rock.

Judges often have interwoven what’s known as Dine Fundamental Law with other statutes that are not always consistent with Navajo cultures. Now, any dispute regarding the validity, application or interpretation of fundamental law will not be heard in Navajo courts but be resolved consensually through peacemaking.

“Judges and justices themselves do not know what fundamental law is all about,” said Delegate Lorenzo Curley, an inactive member of the Navajo Bar Association. “In this vague system that we have, how can we expect justice or fair play? There’s been no certainty at all.” Continue reading →

Navajo Voters Approve Referendum Reducing Size of Council and Granting Presidential Veto Power

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Navajo Times:

If he were a gambling man, this would be the week for President Joe Shirley Jr. to buy a lottery ticket.

Navajo Nation voters overwhelmingly supported his government reform initiatives including a question to reduce the membership of the Navajo Nation Council, just one day after a Window Rock District Court judge rescued Shirley from a two-month-long forced leave imposed Oct. 26 by the council.

“I am very happy for the people,” Shirley said Tuesday night at the Window Rock Sports Center, where election results were posted along the wall as they came in from the chapters. “I’ve always said this is their initiative, their money, their laws. They put the initiatives in the books. This is history in the making.”

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Navajo Gaming Loan Threatened

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

We blogged previously about the lawsuit filed in Navajo tribal court over the proposed Navajo gaming loan. It turns out the lawsuit was successful in apparently causing the lender to change the terms of the deal (H/T Indianz). This is an interesting development and probably not a welcome one from the perspective of gaming tribes. If tribal court lawsuits challenging the terms of a gaming-related loan, or in this case the authority of the Navajo legislature to approve the loan, are successful in any area, my guess is the price for loans will go up everywhere.

Update: No suit has been filed in the Navajo Nation courts.  The 30 day waiting period required by the Navajo Sovereign Immunity Act (the title doesn’t use “Nation”) just expired and we were preparing to file suit.  There has been no public announcement, but there are rumors to the effect that the notice of suit stopped the loan.  They are now looking at other sources of funding for the casino, such as a trust fund set aside for acquiring land.

From Indianz:

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Suit in Navajo Tribal Courts Over Gaming

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the Las Cruces Sun-News (h/t Indianz):

 

Group to legally challenge Navajo Nation’s plan for first casino

The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE – Months before the Navajo Nation’s first casino is scheduled to open, a group is planning to sue over the validity of legislation that provides for financing the development of that casino and others.

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