Speaker Morgan has plan
to get rid of Navajo president
Morgan: Do away with executive branch

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan didn’t get to read his entire report to Council on Monday, but the written version shows Morgan has a well-researched plan on government reform in mind which includes doing away with the Office of the President.

On Sept. 26, Morgan submitted to Council a document entitled “Navajo Nation Constitutional Feasibility and Government Reform Project,” which was prepared through a partnership with the Office of the Speaker and the Diné Policy Institute of Diné College. The document analyzes the feasibility of a constitutional government for the Navajo Nation.

“The Office of the President continues to portray this impression that Speaker Morgan is not promoting comprehensive government reform, but the reality is that he is,” said Joshua Butler, communications director for the Office of the Speaker. “Comprehensive government reform has always been on Speaker Morgan’s political platform.”

Butler said the plan was welcomed by Council and will be considered as an option toward the movement in reforming the tribal government.

“For the Office of the President to say that Speaker Morgan has stalled their reform initiative is preposterous. It’s just another tactic in trying to gain more steam for their initiative — that’s all it is,” Butler said. “Speaker Morgan is a team player in this movement of comprehensive government reform. He has provided a detailed plan.

“We have yet to see any kind of plan from the Office of the President. Where’s their plan and what is their option?

Government reform should not be reactionary, but a well thought out process. There’s more to reform than just reducing the Council, and there’s more to reform than just issuing press releases on the issue.”

The Diné Policy Institute report examines several models for government reform and recommends restructuring the executive branch by moving away from the U.S. presidential model and moving toward a limited parliamentary model with “checks” on power coming from empowered local communities.

Historically, the Navajo Nation had a decentralized form of governance. The U.S. government created the Navajo Council in 1922 to centralize decision making for the Navajo.

Currently, the Nation operates under a “unitary” model where all power is reserved in the central government through Council and the president, while local governments have very limited autonomy and take most of their directives from the central government.

“Centralization of power has created a new danger for the Navajo people, since one source of political authority means that outside interests with bad intentions only need to corrupt a few powerful officials,” according to the Decentralization Model by Nikke Alex, Andrew Curley and Amber Crotty.

Through their research, they found that the current government system is not meeting the needs of he Navajo people and that there is a disconnect between common Navajos and Window Rock tribal employees.

They recommend that since women play a fundamental contribution in passing down knowledge, it is crucial that women should be considered in this broader government reform, as well as youth and young adults.

In their proposed model, they would replace the Office of the President and Vice President with an 11-person Executive Board, comprised of five female members and five males, with the Navajo Nation Speaker as the rotating chair. The members would be elected, two from each of the five agencies.

Though the Speaker would be a member of the Executive Board, he or she would not have ultimate authority over the rest of the council and therefore, would be a minor and not a controlling member. The Agency Councils would have more autonomy and chapters would address their concerns at Agency Council. The 88 delegates would be elected in the same fashion as they are today.

A major difference, however, is Council would consist of 100 members, which includes 12 non-voting members representing the non-profit sector and the youth of the Navajo Nation.

With the removal of the Executive Branch, it also is recommended that the committees, commissions and divisions be restructured into four committees made up of 12 members which would include 10 delegates and two non-voting members of the Council appointed by the Executive Board.

The committees would be: the Social Committee, the Economic Committee, the Families Committee and the Environmental Committee. Under each Committee would be the appropriate program or division. For example, under the Environmental Committee would be the Division of Natural Resources the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency and the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission. Irrelevant and redundant divisions would be removed.

“It is my belief, we, the Navajo Nation Council, must be open to the notion of comprehensive government reform. If this is the desire of our Navajo people, we must acknowledge their needs and move toward satisfying their desires. After all, we are a democratic government and the collective voices of our people shall be heard,” Morgan said.

The report speaks of a number of ways to restructure the existing government. “My goal of providing you a document has been fulfilled, now I need you to decide the course of action to follow,” he told Council. “I look to you, my fellow leaders, to take the next step toward a comprehensive government reform for our Diné people.”