From the NYTs (Navajo Supreme Court opinion):

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo voters have never had much of a say in how their modern government was shaped. But that may soon change, after a tribal judge cleared the way for a special election on a restructuring that could alter the balance of power on the sprawling reservation.

The government structure was forced upon Navajo voters 86 years ago and was reorganized under three branches without their consent.

Maybe Navajos “will have a greater sense of ownership in the government than they now have,” said Dale Mason, who teaches Navajo government at the University of New Mexico, Gallup.

In 1923, the federal government created the Tribal Council to sign off on oil and gas leases. Before that, Navajos largely governed themselves. Small bands were led by headmen, or naataanii, who came together only in times of crisis to solve problems that extended beyond their communities.

Even if such a meeting, called a naachid, resulted in a decision to act, no Navajo was bound to comply.

With the discovery of oil on the reservation in 1922, the federal government needed an entity to deal with for leasing matters. It appointed three Navajos to a business council, but soon realized that the group needed to be more representative and expanded it to include delegates from across the reservation.

Continue reading →