Navajo President Begaye A Watchdog For His People

By Laurel Morales
October 29, 2015
The
Laurel Morales
The EPA waited two days before notifying the Navajo Nation of the mine spill. After the delay President Russell Begaye told his staff to get ready to sue the federal government.

The Navajo Nation president entered office in the wake of a major political drama. At its center was the issue of language. The Navajo people are grappling with a culture rooted in its traditions and history. But they’re also heavily influenced by a modern western world. And its leader is attempting to bridge that gap. 

Theresa Hatathlie and many other Navajos don’t trust politicians. 

They talk about honesty,” Hatathlie said. “The perception is something else. They talk about respect. A lot of that has to be earned.”

Hatathlie said this idea of leadership has evolved for Navajos from spiritual guide to policy maker. It appears Navajo President Russell Begaye is trying to be both.  

His political experience is limited. He served one term as a council delegate. 

Begay has spent much of his career as a Baptist minister. You can hear the preacher in him in his inaugural address. 

“When you look back, you never dreamed you would be the president of the great Navajo Nation,” he said to the crowd. “It’s a gift — a gift first from the people and a gift from almighty God.”

Begaye was given the gift of a second chance after a candidate was disqualified from the presidential race for refusing to prove his Navajo language skills. Begaye has since made language resurgence his mission.

“You will be left behind, we were told, if we spoke our language,” Begaye said. “As a result our people did not teach our children the language. Today we will not believe that anymore. Our language has great value. It is who we are as Navajo people. So let’s never be ashamed of speaking Navajo again!”

Not everyone values the language as much as Begaye. Soon after he was inaugurated the issue was put to a vote: Should the next president and vice president speak Navajo fluently? The people decided that the requirement was essentially unnecessary.   

Begaye blames low voter turnout — 21 percent of the tribe voted on the issue. 

“I think people just took for granted who’s going to vote against speaking Navajo, our leader speaking Navajo,” Begaye said. “Afterwards people saying, ‘if I knew this was going to happen I would’ve gone and voted and protected the language.’”

The vote was a blow to the president. But then something happened — a disaster to several Navajo communities, a boon to Begaye’s political career. 

In August the Environmental Protection Agency was investigating an old mine in Colorado when the agency accidentally released three million gallons of toxic waste into the Animas and San Juan Rivers.

Initially the EPA downplayed the incident and provided little information to the Navajo Nation, whose farmers depend on the water for their crops and livestock. So Begaye traveled to the source of the spill and posted pictures and videos of it on Facebook

Begaye continues to keep an eye on the spill and the federal government’s response. In September he testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

“The U.S. EPA has abandoned us,” Begaye said. “The water tanks are being pulled out. Feed for our livestock has stopped.”

Begaye said he wants the EPA to keep testing the water and clean up its mess.

“They’re just telling us you put enough water with these chemicals and then it becomes safe to drink,” he said.

Many Navajo people — young and old — have united behind the president against the federal government. 

“This is a fight that’s not going to be over today, tomorrow next month,” Begaye said. “We’re going to be fighting this for years to come.”

The president went from figurehead to tech-savvy watchdog. He tweets and posts updates on Facebook about his efforts to address the many problems facing the Navajo Nation such as unemployment, suicide and protecting natural resources. 

And thanks to social media, everyone can keep tabs on the president and hold him accountable.

President Begaye at the entrance of Gold King Mine, the origin of this tragedy explains the occurrence of events.

Posted by Navajo Nation OPVP Russell Begaye And Jonathan Nez on Monday, August 10, 2015