Citing a lack of jurisdiction, a tribal court in Window Rock threw out an ethics complaint against Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren back in December. But earlier this week, another one was filed on Monday.
The amended 20-page complaint accuses Nygren of violating the tribe’s ethics and government laws on six occasions. But the Navajo president disputes these claims penned by Special Prosecutor Kyle Nayback, who is based in Albuquerque.
Nygren calls this second ethics complaint a “distraction” from his administration’s work, while reiterating that such allegations are “not findings or conclusions.” He also insists some accusations levied in the latest filing have been already refuted — even by Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley.
The Special Division of the Window Rock District Court dismissed Nayback’s original ethics complaint last year. When asked, Nayback would not comment on whether his findings could be applied in another legal venue, like a U.S. district court.
-
Researchers say remote geography, inaccurate federal maps, and funding barriers continue to limit reliable high-speed internet in many tribal communities.
-
Representatives from the Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes spoke in front of a Senate Committee to support the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement.
-
Native American tribes across the West are trying — and in more and more cases succeeding — in getting ancestral lands back.
-
American bison are a symbol of the West that might’ve vanished from this landscape entirely — if not for conservation efforts. Each year, the city of Denver donates buffalo from a long-established herd to federally recognized tribes and nonprofits.
-
The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has invited tribal leaders from across the Grand Canyon State to testify on Capitol Hill. The Northeast Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act is the subject of Wednesday’s hearing.