TSÉBIGHÁHOODZÁNÍ – Miss Indian World Kassie John is her family’s “spoon keeper.” Though she isn’t a professional cook and is training in butchery and meat cutting, John is skilled in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on what Diné like to eat. “I really love my family. I love my Indigenous people. That love––but I don’t know how to butcher a sheep yet,” John said. “I’m training in that.” “They’re (family) like, ‘You’re a good cook!’” she said of her family in the Tsiiłchin (Chiiłchin) Bii’ Tó and the Tsé Ntsaa Deez’áhí areas. “I’m like, ‘Not by choice.’” Kassie John, 25, was crown ..read more

WINDOW ROCK – Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Wireless general manager Velena Tsosie, who has worked for NTUA for 18 and a half years, is accusing NTUA general manager Walter W. Haase of sexually assaulting her in 2022. Navajo Times | Boderra Joe Attorney Justin Jones of Farmington spoke during a press conference on April 24 at David R. Jordan’s office in Gallup regarding the case of NTUA Wireless general manager Velena Tsosie vs. NTUA general manager Walter W. Haase for alleged sexual assault. On April 24, Tsosie and her two attorneys, David R. Jordan, of Gallup, and Justin Jones, of Farmin ..read more

WINDOW ROCK – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied Pumped Hydro Storage LLC preliminary permits to dam Big Canyon. This decision was rendered on April 25, after pending – since 2020 – for four years. Big Canyon is a contributing canyon off the Little Colorado River where water above flows into the Colorado River, inside the Grand Canyon National Park. Big Canyon Project According to court documents, the Pumped Hydro project would have been located entirely on the Navajo Nation in Coconino County, Arizona. The request for the permit was filed on March 12, 2020. The project wanted ..read more

WINDOW ROCK – Some Diné are experiencing political quarrels, heated arguments, and harassment in their chapters. Now, they are concerned for their communities. The Law and Order Committee held a special meeting on Monday regarding these shared mishaps. The LOC members needed to hear reports from the Navajo Police Department, the prosecutor’s office, and the ethics and rules office on how they respond to these incidents. “I don’t want people to get hurt,” said Delegate George Tolth. “It’s getting that far.” As previously published in the Navajo Times, Leupp Chapter made headlines when an alterc ..read more

A letter to the 10th grade class at Thoreau High School Dear students, It lifts my spirits to see students engaging in the public discourse about how to address the long legacy of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. My job as a scientist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to help protect communities by cleaning up the mine waste rock and contamination left by mining companies decades ago. My job also includes helping people to understand the difficult decisions necessary to protect people and the environment from the long-term health impacts of uranium mine waste. As a scie ..read more

By Melanie Cissone Special to the Times PHOENIX – The popular and well attended Native American Basketball Invitational, now in its 21st year, is expanding its nationwide reach in tribal communities by endorsing “local” all-Native tournaments. Approximately 24% of the record-breaking 196 teams registered for this summer’s NABI tournament are Navajo. The remaining all-Native or Indigenous registrants are teams affiliated with tribes across the country and some come from as far away as New Zealand. Arriving to the blazing hot weather of Phoenix in summer for a chance to play a championship game ..read more

By Curtis Yanito and Davina Smith Editor’s note: Curtis Yanito is a member of the 25th Navajo Nation Council and Davina Smith is a Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition representative. The Bears Ears National Monument, known in Diné bizaad as Shash Jaa’, holds profound significance for the Navajo people, serving as a living testament to our rich heritage and deep ties to the Bears Ears region. Our oral traditions, supported by archaeological and historical evidence, document our enduring presence in and around Bears Ears. Places such as the iconic Bears Ears buttes, Elk Ridge, and Comb Ridge are n ..read more

KANAB, Utah – On Friday, April 26, the Best Friends Animal Society launched its new mobile spay/neuter clinic in the Navajo Nation to provide low-cost veterinary services to pets and their owners. Celebrating with staff, volunteers, and supporters, Best Friends CEO Julie Castle was among the speakers. “Navajo Nation is so vast, with 16 million acres, yet it only has four veterinarians,” she said. “Best Friends has done work on the Navajo Nation since I’ve been here in the mid-1990s. The difference is that today, we have a partnership.” That partnership includes working with former Navajo Natio ..read more

By Stacy Thacker Changes Labs TUBA CITY – The Change Labs Kinship Lending program’s newest cohort includes a former Navajo Nation Council delegate, coffee shop owners, artists, silversmiths, and a fashion designer. “We have a very, very unique group of business owners in this cohort,” said Kristine Laughter, the director of Kinship Lending. This is the fifth cohort of the microloan program and the first cohort of three planned for 2024. Change Labs’ Kinship Lending program is novel within Native communities. Launched in 2020, the program prioritizes Indigenous kinship or relationships to evalu ..read more

WINDOW ROCK – The St. Michael softball team needed just five innings to overpower No. 8 Fredonia on the road in the first round of the 1A state playoffs. The ninth-seeded Lady Cardinals advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinals with a 20-5 victory last Friday afternoon. Earlier this season, St. Michael had come up short to Fredonia in a 1A North Region doubleheader on April 13. “This was a really big win,” first-year St. Michael coach Julianne Billiman said. “We had a couple of people from our school make the five-hour trip to Fredonia, and we had most of the parents show up.” The Cardinals will n ..read more