Navajo Nation Washington Office

Wááshindoon Weekly

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

NNWO Follows Up On Midterms

Congratulations to all of the elected Federal representatives who are the projected winners in their states. Election results are still being tallied and in Alaska, the congressional race won’t be certain until second and third choice rankings are applied today.

While the general U.S. Presidential Election makes big news in Indian country, midterms elections are important as they have a big impact on how the continuing Presidential term will go. With the Democrats no longer the single party in power, the current of the Biden Administration will require bipartisan support to get through Congress. Some priorities will come to fruition, others will not. For better or worse, this result will impact U.S. Citizens and certainly Indian Country.

The largest changes are in the House of Representatives. Since the members of the House are elected for two-years, all 435 seats are decided during the midterm elections. U.S. Senate terms are staggered in six-year terms so only one third of the 100 seats are up for grabs in any election. Which brings us back to, “Why are mid-terms important?” Political science professors across the nation might say, “Whoever controls the House or the Senate controls the agenda.” The Majority party determines who leads important congressional committees. A president’s ability to accomplish an agenda has everything to do with whether their party controls both houses of Congress. This also effects how the two houses interact and will vote on bills that are brought to the floor regarding Indian County.

Below are the actual and projected winners for Federal offices as of November 21, 2022:  

ALASKA

U.S. House of Representative Candidates – District 1

Peltola 48.1% (116,322), putting her well above 60,000 votes above the 2^nd and 3^rd place candidates. As a state that uses rank choice voting, the winner will not be known until the third place candidate is eliminated and their votes distributed between the first and second p0lace candidates based on their second choice.

Mary S. Peltola (D) – Peltola was born in Western Alaska into the Yup’ik tribe. In 1998, she was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. In 2010 she helped Senator Lisa Murkowski win her write-in campaign. Peltola was the Manager of Community Development and Sustainability for the Dolin Creek Mine from 2008-2014 and then served as a state lobbyist from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, Peltola was Executive Director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and from 2020 and 2021, she was a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council’s Tribal court. Her top priority is fighting to preserve the Alaskan way of life, by reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act.

ARIZONA

U.S. Senate

51.4% (1,316,358) 

Mark Kelly (D) – Mark Edward Kelly is a former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain serving as a United States senator from Arizona since 2020 and now reelected. A member of the Democratic Party, he was originally elected in the special election following the death of Senator John McCain, defeating incumbent Republican Martha McSally. This will be his first full term in office.

OKLAHOMA

U.S. House of Representative – District 4

66.8% (149,777)



Tom Cole (R) – From Shreveport, LA, Cole is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. He graduated with a bachelors in history from Grinnell College in 1971. He went on to receive his masters from Yale University and Ph.D from the University of Oklahoma in British history. In 1988 he was elected to the state Senate. From 1995 to 1999 he served as the OK Secretary of State. Elected to the U.S. House of Representative in 2002, his top priority is gun rights.

U.S. House of Representative – District 2

72.4% (167,843).  

Josh Brecheen (R) – From Ada, OK and is enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation. He received his BS with a dual degree in animal science and agricultural communications from Oklahoma State University. In 2010, he was elected to the State Senate 6^th district and served until 2018. Brecheen owns a quarter horse breeding operation and is motivational speaker. His top priority is to pass term limits on members of Congress.

ARIZONA

U.S. House of Representative Candidates – District 2

53.9% (173,537) over incumbent Tom O’Halleran (D).

Eli Crane (R) – Born in Tucson, AZ. Crane served in the Navy for 13 years and was deployed three times to Iraq with the SEAL team. Owner of a small business in Tucson, he ran on a platform of election integrity.  He does not live in District 2.

KANSAS

U.S. House of Representative – District 3

55% (163,138)

Sharice Davids (D) – Davids is from Leavenworth, KS and is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. She graduated with her BA in business administration in 2007 and then received her Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 2010. After graduation she worked with SNR Denton (a multinational law firm) and later directed community and economic development for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. In 2016 she was a White House Fellow in the Department of Transportation. In 2018 she was elected to the U.S. House in Kansas’s 3^rd District. Her number one priority is lowering the cost of living throughout the states.

NEW MEXICO

U.S. House of Representative – District 2

New to the U.S. Congress and representing the Navajo satellite communities of Alamo, Ramah, and Tohajiilee.  

Gabriel Vasquez (D) – From Ciudad

Juarez, Mexico he is a first generation American. He earned his Bachelor’s

Degree in English and journalism from New Mexico State University. His professional experience includes working in public relations and environmental conservation. Vasquez was elected to Las Cruces City Council in 2017, Mr. Vasquez ousted incumbent Yvette Herrell (R).  

OKLAHOMA

U.S. Senate

61.8% (709,169) – First Native candidate voted into the U.S. Senate since 1998, the last being Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) from Colorado.

Markwayne Mullin (R) – From Tulsa, OK, Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. He received his associate degree in construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. In 1997, at the age of 20, he took over his father’s business Mullin Plumbing and later branched out into owning Mullin Properties, Mullin Farms, and Mullin Services. He hosted House Talk, a home improvement radio program syndicated across OK. In 2012, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mullin’s top priority is having a strong national defense by investing in advance equipment and technology.

NNWO Welcomes Veterans to DC

for Dedication of Memorial

Last week, the Navajo Nation Washington Office staff had the privilege of hosting Navajo veterans as they arrived for the dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) on November 11, 2022.

Our honoring of Native veterans began the day before with a tour of the Pentagon. We walked with Air Force and Navy guides through exhibits displaying the histories of the five branches the military--US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Coast Guard, and US Air Force and now augmented by the addition of a new Department of Defense branch, US Space Force.

We also attended the Pentagon’s observance of Native American Heritage Month, which featured addresses by dignitaries including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Environment and Energy Resilience Richard Kidd who spoke of the distinguished record of military service among Natives. He was echoed by Cochiti Pueblo Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Maureen Trujillo who told the hundreds gathered in the Pentagon courtyard, “As of 2020, there are just over 20,000 in the active duty force [who are] American Indian or Alaska Native and approximately 140,000 American Indians [who] call themselves veterans today.”

Pentagon staff, veterans, and visitors listened to a blessing by Pechanga Band of Indians Tribal Chairman Mark Morocco, followed by the presentation of an eagle staff and military colors by the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society from Oklahoma, songs by local DC drum Uptown Singers, presentations by Native American military and veterans, and singers from the Cochiti Pueblo. Meskwaki and Navajo traditional dancer Larry Yazzie did an Eagle Dance and led a Round Dance.

The following day, after a breakfast hosted by law firm Powers, Pyles, Sutter, & Verville, who gave veterans an overview of initiatives the VA offers Native American veterans, NNWO joined Navajo and Native American veterans, active and reservist military, families, and other supporters in a nearly mile-long procession from the NMAI building, down 3rd Street in front of the U.S. Capitol Building and then to 7th Street where the procession returned to the National Mall. An estimated 1,700 Native veterans representing about 125 tribes along with family and other observers took their places on this rainy Friday to participate in the ceremony to honor them and those who worked to bring the memorial to DC.

Cherokee women veterans mug it for the camera at the Pentagon event. Photo courtesy of NNWO.

The procession was a mile long. Spectators lined the route applauding the veterans and their supporters (above). Photo courtesy of NNWO.



The eagle staff is a meaningful component of the National Native American Veterans Memorial at NMAI (left). Photo Courtesy of NMAI.

The first speakers at the dedication included Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian, Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo/Hopi/Tewa/Navajo), director, National Museum of the American Indian, Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk) D-Kansas, Sen. Daniel Sullivan, R-Alaska, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw) Lieutenant Governor Emeritus, Chickasaw Nation, and co-chair, Memorial Advisory Committee Harvey Pratt (Cheyenne and Arapaho), memorial designer American Veterans Memorial to the NMAI, which was placed two years ago. The pandemic has delayed the dedication.

The event was co-emceed by Chickasaw Retired Captain of the U.S. Navy and first Native American in space, John Herrington, and Cherokee Retired Sergeant of the U.S. Army and Academy Award Winner, Wes Studi.

The memorial is a place to contemplate the loss of warriors and visitors often leave tobacco and other sacred items to honor the fallen. Photo courtesy of NMAI.

The “Warriors’ Circle of Honor” was designed by Cheyenne and Arapahoe artist Harvey Phillip Pratt, a Vietnam veteran. Pratt says he chose concepts that he hoped would be universal to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.

He said the circles and pathways along with significant and sacred points and colors would speak to the many Tribal cultures that are represented by the memorial. The memorial is visual as well as auditory as traditional songs play through speakers along a stone path where benches offer a place to sit and reflect near a pool flanked by a large stone drum and a flaming torch.

Secretary of Transportation Comes

to Window Rock

Left to right: USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Arlando Teller, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Speaker of the 24^th Navajo Nation Council Otto Tso. Photo courtesy of NNWO.

Last week the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, visited the

Navajo Nation to engage in a roundtable discussion on transportation challenges the Navajo Nation has been experiencing.  

The meeting began with an invocation and opening remarks from the newly-elected Speaker of the 24^th Navajo Nation Council, Otto Tso. Tso expressed his thanks to the Secretary for coming to the Navajo Nation speaking to the importance of the unique government-to-government relationship that the Navajo Nation and U.S. Federal government have. This was followed by open remarks from the Secretary indicating the importance of coming together to find creative and innovative solutions to the challenges experienced by the Navajo Nation and all of Indian Country.  

Members of the 24^th Navajo Nation Council as well as representatives from local counties participated in an open discussion highlighting the need for Federal interventions to fulfill the government's trust responsibility. Many of the issues, challenges, and concerns expressed included lengthy bureaucratic processes impeding construction projects, lack of consistent funding, lack of inter-agency coordination, and the need for improved roads to connect to vital services.

Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Transportation, Garrett Silversmith presented on the current challenges the NNDOT faces working to complete construction projects complimenting many of the concerns raised by the 24^th Navajo Nation Council. Silversmith pointed out that the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) funding has increased over the last 40 years, but the allocation the Navajo Nation has received has remained constant.  

President Jonathan Nez also provided comments echoing the sentiments raised by members of the Navajo Nation Council and suggested the USDOT address the significant rights-of-way (ROW) challenges. The Federal government has a trust

commitment to tribes, which includes a number of essential responsibilities, two of

which are the preservation and upkeep of Indian trust lands and Tribal sovereignty. 

The primary responsibility for ensuring that these rights are respected lies with the

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The ROW on Indian Land final rule seeks to further foster Tribal self-governance by instructing BIA to defer to Native American property owners in their property determinations, including which ROW to give and how much compensation is fair. This is one of the many ways the rule can be interpreted and there is no predetermined maximum amount of compensation that can be given for land that is owned by tribes. Nevertheless, regulations require that compensation given to Indian landowners equal the land's value on the open market. 

The most frequent type of property ownership in Indian Country is trust land, which refers to situations in which legal land title is held by the Federal government in trust for an Indian tribe or for individual Indian owners. However, restricted land is also subject to Federal rules, and in order to get a ROW on such land, approval from the BIA is required.

The complexity of the ROW is a major hinderance on the progress for many transportation projects throughout Indian Country and has been a priority of the Navajo Nation Washington Office and the Navajo Nation government.

Haaland v. Brackeen Oral Arguments Attract Protests

Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court to support ICWA and deter any attempts to weaken it. Photo courtesy of NNWO.

On Wednesday, November 9th, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen, a case involving a Navajo child adopted by a non-Native family in Texas. The arguments lasted over three hours as the Justices heard opening statements and then asked questions of the lawyers representing the various parties. The primary law at issue in the case, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), was presented with a facial challenge as to its constitutionality, with opponents arguing that the law is outside the scope of Congress’ authority to regulate matters involving American Indians, and that it is racially discriminatory on its face, violating the equal protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to all citizens. 

The Justices appeared closely divided over the question of whether ICWA was outside the scope of Congress’ authority. On the one hand, the Constitution gives the Federal government exclusive authority to negotiate treaties and to regulate commerce with Indian tribes, and Congress’ authority over tribes is considered “plenary” or absolute. However, Mr. McGill, counsel for the individual plaintiffs, argued that the authority is nevertheless limited and should be viewed more as a sliding scale. When Congress is regulating activity that takes place on Tribal land, or commerce with tribes more generally, then it would have greater authority, but ICWA explicitly only regulates child custody proceedings that take place away from Tribal lands, as tribes already have jurisdiction when it takes place on the reservation, and custody proceedings are not “commerce.” Any attempt to regulate this would be in violation of the anti-commandeering doctrine that says the Federal government cannot co-op state governments to do their bidding.

Justice Sotomoyor pushed back arguing that the Federal government intervenes in state matters all the time, citing The Hague Convention as an example, which imposes certain requirements on states when dealing with international abduction of children. Justice Gorsuch was also skeptical of this distinction, and warned that should ICWA fail as unconstitutional, the court would spend years reexamining the entirety of Federal Indian Law, as almost all of it is based on the same foundation. 

Justice Kavanaugh was sympathetic to the original justification of ICWA as a means to undo historic efforts to destabilize tribes by taking away their children, but couldn’t get past the racial argument, noting that a law requiring Black children to only be adopted by Black parents and Asian children only be adopted by Asian parents would clearly be unconstitutional. This concern arises from the order of preferences imposed by ICWA. The first preference is for the child to go to an immediate relative. The second preference is for the child to go to a member of their tribe. The third preference is for the child to go to any Indian family regardless of tribe. Mr. Gershenforn, the attorney representing the tribes, agreed that an as-applied challenge might strike down the third preference given that a Navajo or Cherokee child would have more in common with someone from their community than a member of a tribe in Maine, but that in practice the vast majority of times the third preference is applied, the Indian adoptive parent lives in the Tribal community of the child, as it is common for Native Americans to live in Tribal communities other than their own. That said, the third preference is perhaps the most likely part of the law to be struck down, even if a majority of the Justices can agree to uphold the first and second preferences.

Needless to say, this case is being watched closely. It will have immediate implications for all sorts of Federal programs that benefit Tribal members, and depending on how the Justices divide themselves, it will give us a better understanding of where some of the newest ones stand on issues of importance to Indian Country. The final decision is not expected for several months. The Court typically releases opinions two to three months after hearing oral arguments, but more difficult decisions can take longer, with a final verdict often not being released until the end of the term in June.

NNWO Kicks Off Toys for Tots

The Navajo Nation is pleased to support the United States Marine Corps in their 2022 Toys for Tots campaign to make sure children on the Navajo Nation have a bright holiday. If you'd like to donate to Toys for Tots, click on the illustration by Charles Fazzino above.