Chapter rises from the ashes
Nageezi overcomes, fire, controversy to remain the heart of a community

Celebrating a new gathering place: Vietnam Veteran Olson Juan with the Lake Valley Veterans Association leads other veterans and military personnel in the color guard out of the new Nageezi Chapter House ending the Dedication on Saturday morning in Nageezi, NM. The original Nageezi Chapter House burned down in March of 2006. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

NAGEEZI — Just as the phoenix rose from the ashes, so has the community of Nageezi.

It was 18 months ago when the community was swept with devastation after a fire left their chapter house in ashes. But the feelings surrounding the memories of the fire were shadowed by the celebration of the new Nageezi Chapter House Saturday morning.

Smiles could be seen and laughter could be heard at the chapter’s opening dedication. Over 100 people assembled in the facility and listened as leaders and community members alike expressed their happiness about the new building, and told jokes in Navajo. The crowd was serenaded by musical entertainers Talibah Begay and the Eastern Swingers, and enjoyed a luncheon as part of the days festivities.

Many people expressed the new chapter house was bigger and better than the last, but while they were right about being “better,” chapter officials confirmed the chapter was the same size as the last chapter, and it was the new higher ceiling that created the illusion of a larger building. The $600,000 building includes amenities the last chapter had, including a kitchen, computer lab, and several offices. But the detail in the small things, like the decorative wood work in the stage and the new fancy coffee pot in the kitchen area, is what caught the eye of community members.

“I love it,” Alvin Willie, 55, said.

“Nizhoni! Ayoo ya’at’eeh,” Evelyn Cauto, 80, said, shaking her head in approval.

Sitting in the new chapter house brought comfort to the lifelong resident of Nageezi who was grief stricken last March when she got word the chapter had burned down.

“I was really sad about it for a long time,” she expressed in Navajo, her voice cracking a bit.

The new chapter brought solace to many who were in attendance.

Louise Martinez, 56, recalled how got a phone call at 6 a.m. and learned the chapter house burned down. The 10,000-square-foot building was declared a total loss by fire officials.

“When me and my husband we saw the chapter house was all gone, it just hurt me,” Martinez said. “I just started really crying. I just couldn’t believe it happened.”

Martinez recollected how many elders were crying when they gathered together at a nearby multipurpose center just days after the fire. Like the other 109 chapters across the Navajo Nation, the chapter had served as the heart of the community, where families gathered together for local government chapter meetings, graduation celebrations, and receptions, among a number of different purposes.

“We got used to it, like coming to the chapter meetings,” Martinez said. “It seemed like there was nothing there for us anymore.”

The new chapter house was a sigh of relief for Martinez, and she hopes the new chapter will be the start of further improvement in Nageezi.

Moving forward
“I feel real good about it,” Juan Betoni, the chapter house president, said.

The people spent the day rejoicing in their new facility, but it was only months ago when the community was in a frenzy.

Following the fire, it was confirmed that a combined total of nearly $45,000 was illegally taken by former chapter house president Calvert Garcia, and former community services coordinator, Sam Henry.

According to documents from the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules committee, Garcia took over $24,200, and Henry took about $20,000. The illegal events began Nov. 17, 2005, when Garcia instructed Henry to issue a $15,467 check to Michael Brown to repair the heating system at the chapter house which never was approved by chapter officials, and never took place. It would be the start of several illegally issued checks to come in the four months to come.

After the findings, Garcia and Henry resigned from their positions and were ordered to pay monthly installments back to the chapter house. The fire was alleged to have been started to prevent documents from being released to the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules Committee, although no suspects were ever arrested.

Regaining the trust
When Betoni was elected as Chapter president in October 2006, he and his administration inherited a number of financial problems from the former administration. They began with about $1,000 in their checking account, and were bombarded with calls from bill collectors, the IRS, and state legalese. Although functioning with no chapter house facility and stretching their dollars has challenging, Betoni said dealing with the mistrust the events led up to has been most difficult.

“It wasn’t the chapter house that was a problem,” Betoni said. “It was the community trust.”

Betoni said community members still bring up the illegal events that happened, but he said they are slowly gaining back the people’s trust back. He is hopeful the new chapter house will help to re-establish trust.

“We’re not forgetting what happened,” Betoni said. “We’re just moving forward.”

Daniel Lopez, 45, a community land use planning committee member, is optimistic the new facility will help to bring back membership and generate interest that has gone down in the past months.

“Like the theme says, ‘a new beginning,’” he said.